Have you ever watched someone else play a video game? It is a strange experience; you get all the joy of the story, explosions and whatnot, but you do not get to actually affect any of that. You are a silent observer to somebody else's adventure.
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Playing though Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!, the third entry into the beloved RPG/FPS hybrid series, I could not help but feel like I would rather be watching all of this. That is not to say that the game is not enjoyable - it is - but the little frustrations add up until those are the only things you are focusing on. In true Borderlands fashion, it is the characters and the story that will keep you going during the very long stretches of gameplay that send your character back and forth across the moon, Elpis.
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! tells the story of the rise of Handsome Jack. Basically, it's the entire Star Wars Prequel trilogy distilled into a single game: a story of a 'good' man who becomes corrupted. As villain origin stories go, a conceit I generally loathe in media, the Pre-Sequel! is quite excellent. The game is written by Anthony Burch and Maurice Suckling, who have worked on the previous entries, too. The dialogue is pithy and biting, everyone is a sarcastic sonofabitch and while it shouldn't work, they are all sarcastic in different ways. If there were awards for best supporting character in a game, it would go to Handsome Jack. Sure, he's not a PC (though there is new DLC which lets you assume his role in all of this), but he's by far the most interesting person you're going to meet on the moon.
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Which is not to say that the four Vault Hunters you can choose from are uninteresting. Far from it. That is the strength of the writing and world-building of The Pre-Sequel! The new Hunters are all familiar faces from previous games: Nisha The Lawbringer (who you kill in Borderlands 2), Athena the Gladiator (seen in the original Borderland's DLC), Wilhelm The Enforcer (another boss in Borderlands 2) and everyone's favorite dub-stepping robot, Claptrap (The Fragtrap), who aided you both previous adventures but makes his playable debut here.
Each of the characters' playstyles are more suited to certain player's proclivities and preferences. I, being a fan of sniping and general gunplay, spent the majority of my runthrough as Nisha, whose special abilities are all about the guns (bout the guns). Athena's shield makes her an excellent close range fighter and I would be remiss if I failed to mention that playing her is kind of like playing Captain America. Wilhelm and his cybernetic helpers are for more advanced kids, who can juggle many things at once. Fun as hell, but not my style.
The game also introduces new Cryo weapons, which allow you to freeze and then shatter your enemies like they're the T-1000 from Terminator 2. This never once got boring.
The Pre-Sequel! offers a bunch of new mechanics while retaining a lot of the flaws from the previous games. The world of Borderlands is a great one! the characters are all 'characters', the dialogue is sharp and the storytelling is some of the best in the medium. Unfortunately, you have to play through what's soemtimes a not-fun game to experience it all. If there is a way to experience Borderlands without necessarily having to play Borderlands, sign me up.
Oh, wait, there is!
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Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! was reviewed using a PS3 retail copy provided by the publisher. It's also available now for the Xbox 360 and PC.
