There's a lot to love about Gearbox Software's eclectic last-gen poster child. After the relatively modest but still noteworthy success of the original Borderlands, Gearbox brought their cel-shaded shoot-and-loot adventure to new heights with Borderlands 2. You may remember the hype train, the gratuitous adverts, the promises of 'joy puking', 99.5% more wub wub, and the same raunchy humour that the original employed to smile-cracking effect. This was a sequel with real potential, ready to break out of its niche and take the triple-A scene by storm. Surprisingly, it pretty much did: Even now Borderlands 2 is widely regarded as one of the defining games of the PS3/X360 generation, as well as one of the best co-op experiences on the market. Despite its humble beginnings, many now put it on a shelf with Far Cry 3 and BioShock Infinite. And with good reason: From its stylised and now heavily imitated aesthetic to its wacky cast and equally colourful array of things that go bang, Borderlands 2 is just a plain good time. Sadly, much of that momentum was lost with the release of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, which was content to simply iterate on the core of the IP and highlight its faults in the process. It was more Borderlands, sure, but it wasn't the sequel most fans were hoping for. Technically, it isn't a sequel at all, but who's counting? That's where the nigh-inevitable Borderlands 3 comes in, the first real chance to bring Pandora into the new console generation and rekindle the Borderlands legacy.
A freelance games writer, you say? Typically battling his current RPG addiction and ceaseless perfectionism? A fan of horror but too big a sissy to play for more than a couple of hours? Spends far too much time on JRPGs and gets way too angry with card games?
Well that doesn't sound anything like me.
