In the newest Borderlands 2 DLC Headhunter pack we get a very small taste of Thanksgiving flavored Holiday delight. I have to stress the very small part, this is considerably smaller than even TK Baha's Bloody Harvest was.
Mister Torgue is hosting a show for the Torgue Corporation that is very much inspired by the Hunger Games. There are Tributes from a few locales from around Pandora that appear as sort of paired mini-bosses on the way to fight the (Actually) Invincible Ravenous Wattle Gobbler. I know I've joked about having an actually invincible boss before but never thought it would happen, and then came the Wattle Gobbler. Well Played Gearbox.
The story here is actually much better than Bloody Harvest. As soon as Torgue arrived with the Campaign of Carnage, he was easily one of the most well-rounded characters in the series in addition to his superb characterization. Anyways- Torgue goes against the Torgue Corp. and helps the Vault Hunters beat the rigged game show because A) He likes them and they are friends and B) He wants to eat the Gobbler.
The Vault Hunter's get the inside scoop from Torgue and you are sent in to poison the Gobbler and beat all the other contestants on the show. While this doesn't sound like much there is a mass narrative segment at the end in a mission with...
Grandma Flexington
The elder Lady Flexington is something I thought was an odd, but ingenious addition to the game. She provides a very long-winded quest involving a ridiculous meandering story. (I think her voice sounded way to young, I think they should've gotten a real old lady to do a Torgue impersonation for the role)
This is the toughest raid boss yet. Sitting through an old women's tale. Throughout the telling however, we get to know Torgue and his past quite well. What happened to his parents, how he became fascinated/obsessed with explosions, and the fact he had a full mustache before he was 10 years of old.
It gives you a view of his character, and Grandma's, something like sympathy and respect for the struggles and embarrassment he went through. And the reason he does things for- pure awesomeness. No really, he does things because they are awesome.
I'm sure this is a divisive quest among many long time fans as it requires players to do something they really haven't had to do yet- listen to someone at length without action. There are those that really dig in for story, and those that just want to shoot things. Since I fall in with the former, I enjoyed the story. Scouring it for clues and hints for future Borderlands related stuff. She does mention "the end of the universe..."
Wattle Gobbler, the Vulnerable
The content here is unbelievably minimal and makes me question why they didn't plunder more areas for Tributes simply for filler. Think of all the places we haven't seen since the first Borderlands and it's DLC- maybe a couple Tribute's from the Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, or a pair of Clap-Trapped leftovers from the Claptrap's Robolution. They could've thrown in teaser Tributes from Pandoran locations we've never heard of but they could save for future use. Or even Hyperion bots sent as Tribute proxies!
And so far I haven't been able to find any real Easter Eggs like the Clark the Combustible Cryptkeeper from Bloody Harvest. Although there is a large black hole in a wall out by the stabber jabber nests that seems completely unused.
Although the cooks names are great references- Chef Gouda Ramsay and Chef Bork Bork (A Muppets reference!) to name a couple. There is also the oven with a batch of cooked up crystal slag, pointing towards the show Breaking Bad.
Overall, I highly appreciate the fact Gearbox is still putting out small DLC for the fans to stave off our hunger for a third Borderlands installment, but I really wish they were a bit longer. We are paying a fifth of the DLC cost for much less than a fifth of the gameplay. When the presumably Christmas-themed How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day arrives next month, I will gladly purchase it to spend a little more time in my favorite game world.
Also- why aren't there any Torgue Vending machines in this Headhunter Pack?
No comments:
Post a Comment