Gearbox: Not All that Glitters is Gold

[daveman247]

So a dev came out with another bad game. Whats new? Very few consistantly put out good content.

Borderlands was pretty good co op. But really boring singleplayer because of lack of story on top of the other problems.

Borderlands 2 fixed this and made it kind of crazy (at least story/character-wise) Which is getting pretty rare these days.

Plus those games are some of the few that actually have decent DLC.


Brothers in arms was quite good back in the day too. Had some great tactical gameplay (if slightly shoddy shooting).

So thats 2:2 for good and bad games. Don't count gearbox out yet

 

[Compatriot Block]

This is ridiculous. The Aliens game bombed, and now all of a sudden dozens of people come out of the woodwork to criticize Borderlands.

Especially suspicious considering the mysterious lack of harsh criticism when Borderlands 2 actually came out, aside from scattered complaints.

I'm as disappointed as anyone else, and yet I'm not willing to help cause another goddamn BioWare-style incident where a couple missteps by a fairly well-regarded developer ended up in a flaming shit-storm where people all of a sudden become critical of past games.

If you really didn't like Borderlands, forgive me for finding your sense of timing questionable if now is when you choose to voice your complaints.

 

[Zhukov]

If you really didn't like Borderlands, forgive me for finding your sense of timing questionable if now is when you choose to voice your complaints.

Often people who are merely unimpressed by a game (as opposed to hating it with a passion) will just keep their mouths shut for the sake of not getting jumped on by the fans.

Then you get a shift in the wind and those people start coming out of the woodwork.

Incidentally, I'm one of those people who didn't think much of Borderlands. It has a certain amount of visual flair and the second game has some funny moments, but that's about all the nice things I can say about it.

 

[Happiness Assassin]

I have only played one of their games: Borderlands 2... and I really didn't like it. I found the game to be underwhelming and the world fairly boring. Claptrap was hilarious, but there were no standout moments that grabbed me. I think it has to do with the fact that I just don't like co-ops games for the most part. I also hated Left 4 Dead 2 (but not 1 curiously). DNF was going to be garbage no matter what and I won't judge Borderlands 1. But my friend bought Aliens after seeing the demo released for it and seeing what was so great. Too bad that the demo was a total misrepresentation of what he bought. Now that he has beaten the game, he is considering taking the game back to Wal-mart tomorrow because he feels he recieved a sub-standard product.

 

[Kyrian007]

So, Aliens is what Gearbox was "finishing" while they were "trying" to solve the problem with level caps in BL 2. It is at least consistant failure.

 

[Eddie the head]

<3

Finally, someone who actually has a fucking brain!!!

I'm glad that I'm not the only one in the universe who sees Borderlands for what it is.

And by the way, the artstyle loses points because they stole it from an indie movie part and parcel.

I only played the first one, but with that I am inclined to agree with both of you. It wasn't particularly good at anything and wasn't that fun to play.

 

[Snotnarok]

I think Borderlands is a rather bland copy pasta mission sort of game who's only real strength is fun with friends. I mean really is there any mission that's more than fight enemies that have spawned in in a spot? Nothing was really dynamic or different.But does that count as a good game? Sure when you and your friends get it on discount. Or one friend wants to buy it for you so he can play it with someone.

 

[zumbledum]

t.

So, what do you think? Is Borderlands still that great of a game if it can't be enjoyed singleplayer?
And if it isn't that great of a game, then why all the hoopla about Gearbox? How do you feel about the company at this point?

eh? myself and a great many other people have only ever played borderlands single player , who told you it wasnt fun?
ive played through the first loads of times and the second a few (not a lot of free time lately)

Ill agree the single player on aliens CM is weak , but the Multiplayer... if only they had set up dedicated servers! its frickin awesome fun, if they had hacked off the single player and spent the time and resources on more MP stuff and servers i think the game would of rocked.

how do i feel about gearbox? well i never believe a PR guy regardless who it is they are the only people that could loose a truth telling competition with a politician , but there sole ownership title borderlands is great imo and the two partial jobs have been poor i still will be hopeful of any title they make in house.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Borderlands is dungeon crawler/loot grinder in FPS form really, but it is a very thin formula as is and Borderlands is the new boy that has only started to figure stuff out while the veterans have it down to a science.
But on the whole Borderlands, Diablo, Torchlight and the others feel the same to play, combat is sort of fun, story was done in 15 minutes, there are interesting designs all around but because you see them so many times it's all boring by the end, but the level/loot grind is all they put time in and that part is great.

Obviously as I said Borderlands being the new kid still has loads of annoyances but they mostly have it down.
Of course if you aren't into dungeon crawlers this shit will never be for you.

 

[Dexter S. Bateman]

I think part of the appeal of Gearbox is Randy Pitchford. I know with DNF and Aliens here Gearbox doesn't exactly have a stellar track record, but Borderlands really has a personality all of its own that is more than just how good the game is. Randy Pitchford's plugging of Gearbox's products always comes across as genuine and sincere to me, he always seems so nice to reviewers and other journos, and it personalises the whole company. Gabe Newell does similar things with Valve (though Valve's games are admittedly more consistent in quality), in that although they have a sizable fanbase due to their games, his comments really distinguish Valve from other devs/publishers.

 

[BrotherRool]

This is ridiculous. The Aliens game bombed, and now all of a sudden dozens of people come out of the woodwork to criticize Borderlands.

There have always been Borderlands critics, less for 2 than 1 (although there were a couple). The advantage of 2 (apart from being a better game) was that it's market was now defined and we knew who it was meant for. The people who didn't like 1 didn't buy 2 because the common knowledge was it was more of the same but better, and so those people didn't need to criticise it. And because by most accounts 2 was a better version of 1, the people who did play it, loved it

 

[Slowbear]

I had fun with borderlands 2 single player

 

[flarty]

As far as I'm aware, Gearbox didn't develop DNF, they just helped get it polished and shipped. As for Randy hyping up DNF and alien Colonial Marines, what do you expect him to say? "Don't buy my game, its shit?"

I was Dubious about ACM after the long development time and lack of publicity through the years. Especially after buying DNF. So i waited for the review. I guess people are suckers for nostalgia.

P.S Borderlands 1 and 2 were awesome fun

 

[Duffeknol]

Where were all you Borderlands haters when I called the game 'putrid' when part 2 first came out and got nearly flamed to death on this very forum? It's a skinner box with meme references (not jokes, references) and bad shooter mechanics.

 

[SSJBlastoise]

This is ridiculous. The Aliens game bombed, and now all of a sudden dozens of people come out of the woodwork to criticize Borderlands.

Especially suspicious considering the mysterious lack of harsh criticism when Borderlands 2 actually came out, aside from scattered complaints.

I'm as disappointed as anyone else, and yet I'm not willing to help cause another goddamn BioWare-style incident where a couple missteps by a fairly well-regarded developer ended up in a flaming shit-storm where people all of a sudden become critical of past games.

If you really didn't like Borderlands, forgive me for finding your sense of timing questionable if now is when you choose to voice your complaints.

If you were on the Gearbox forums there were a few threads almost every day about complaints with the game. It's just that the way things have changed in demo and pre release videos is now being compared which is why they are being scrutinised. People were pretty vocal when they found out about outsourcing the DLC and each DLC has had a few complaints when they are released.

 

[Palademon]

What do you mean it can't be enjoyed singleplayer?
I completed Borderlands 1 all by myself and had great fun doing it. I jsut seem to be having trouble with difficulty spikes in the second one, but apparently people have experienced the spikes in both games rather randomly.

 

[McFazzer]

Firstly, I had fun in each Borderlands. Maybe it wasn't stellar, but I had fun. Secondly the name "Randy Pitchford", in my eyes, is slowly becoming more and more synonymous with "Peter Molyneux" when I decide on how large a pinch of salt I take his words with. Love these guys, but there is a salt shortage at my place.

 

[w@rew0lf]

I've only played Borderlands with friends so I can't give any meaningful insight to what the game would play like from the single-player standpoint. What I can say is that without my group of friends attempting my murder each other at the slightest provocation and the assorted dickery that comes with gaming as a group, the original Borderlands more than likely would have bored me to tears.

On the other hand I have plenty of experience with the single-player aspect of Borderlands 2, stemming from my friends progressing through the game slower than a DMW line serviced a demented grandmother from a land where time doesn't exist. I have to say that Borderlands 2 is more that adequate in the single-player department, providing me some of the most fun I've had with a game in years (even if claptrap is trying to hard to be funny). I like the story, the villain, the mechanics, all in all I feel that I've more than made back then $29.99 I spent to pick it up in entertainment. Oh and I actually want to played more than one class in Borderlands 2, unlike the original where I felt that Lilith was the only character worth putting time into.

Eh it's my opinion. It is what it is.