There is sometimes a small window of sheer, ball-clenching frustration when it comes to choosing when to play a video game. I choose my opportunity carefully, and responsibly. You never know what could call you away from the screen. If you’re knee-deep in a deadly shoot out where one fatal step will see you miles back at the last check point. A long winded conversation or cut scene that you have not witnessed before, and your other half/child/parent/dog/Jehovah’s witness is pestering you
for attention. To attempt pausing the screen could mean skipping an entire section and then what do you do? You have no choice but to keep going forward, unaware of what precious information you have missed out on. I don’t know about you, but that is not how I roll. If I know I have other stuff to do, I will put my brain into overdrive and come up with some way of getting in a little game time.
Does that make me sound sad? Because, I kinda don’t care.
Once I have finished my chores - or managed to keep myself, and my son alive for a certain period of time – I will always celebrate with a blip on the Xbone. However, this is where it can all fall apart, and I end up with nothing to show for my downtime except cold sweats and a loss of appetite. Which ‘ruddy game do I play? If I know I only have half an hour, there is no way I’m going to have any fun with Fallout 4. I’ll only be halfway through the initial loading screen when I have to pull myself away. What if I jump into Alien Isolation? I don’t feel like changing my underwear every five minutes. Minecraft? Hell no; I need to go outside at some point and socialise. And so on I go, working through my list of games, until I am back at the beginning again. Then my time is up. It’s back to reality. Damn.
Although this happens a surprisingly large number of times, every now and then a true gem of a game rises up and shakes the very foundations of my routine. Whether I can play for ten hours or ten minutes, there are those games that hold my attention, and the anticipation to load them up and play them is a constant running through the back of my mind. This sort of hold on a person could only be mustered by the biggest of triple A games around, surely? Well, no. I’m sure by now you have all heard of Telltale Games, most famous in recent years for their episodic take on the very popular The Walking Dead. I played through that game from the very beginning, and although the amount of time that lingered between each episode would feel like an eternity, I wanted to complete the story. It had me gripped from the opening sequence. Unfortunately, my attitude waned a bit for the more recent iterations. I found it too hard to wait several months for the next part of another story, and so my biggest regret in the world of gaming is not playing Tales from the Borderlands sooner than I did.
To be honest, it wasn’t just the way Telltale released their games, it was also my experience of the Borderland games in general that made me very cautious to try the series out. Now, when I say experience, I mean I played several hours of Borderlands 2, on my own. I know it doesn’t make me an expert on all things Vault hunting, but I knew what I liked, and what I didn’t from my short time with the game. The gameplay itself was ok - nothing special – but not horrendous to play. I spent an awfully long time mulling over which new guns I had picked up would be best to carry on with; as there is a never ending stash of different guns with different perks and attributes, I was in a constant panic over what I would do with my new favourite gun once it became rendered useless by the overly fucking powerful rocket launcher I just looted off a corpse. I loved that gun, I did.
The highlight for me - as I am sure it was for many others - was the dialogue, which I found to be hilarious. I would love to go back and play that game just to listen to the quips and the monologues that are constantly being thrown out by the characters. By the time Tales of the Borderlands had become available I had; finished series one of The Walking Dead, started series two, and had almost completed The wolf Among Us. I knew of Game of Thrones,and was unsure as to whether or not I would want to play it. Being one of my favourite television programmes - and series of books – I did not want any medium inadvertently sullying its reputation.
This was the point where my interest was starting to die down. Thankfully though, Microsoft gave the first episode of Tales of the Borderlands out for free one month. How could I not download it? It was freaking free. The worst thing to happen would be I wasted half an hour or so installing it. I didn’t expect to be horrified; it’s Telltale Games for crying out loud. Yet, I really wasn’t thrilled by the thought of it. I always thought it would be good in some way. There was no way for me to know just how good it actually was.
I’ll start off by addressing the obvious issues this game has. Just like the other Telltale Games, there is a slight problem with sound cutting out every now and then. Sometimes, when you make your dialogue choice, the scene awkwardly cuts to what you have chosen to say, not caring if the other character has finished their sentence. I also found the checkpoint system with this one significantly relentless. There were a couple of occasions where I had been playing for what felt like at least an hour – if not, more - and no save icon had appeared in any corner of the fucking screen. One time, I even had no choice but to turn the game off to go about my business, only to come back and have to complete that whole section again. The real shit-stained toothless bitch of it was, if I had played for just a few more minutes the first time around, I would have reached the checkpoint.
Aside from that, this is my favourite Telltale Game so far, and at this point, I’ve nearly completed them all. If you have any doubts about not understanding the story due to never picking up a Borderlands game before, fear not. You need no backstory to appreciate what is going on; sure, it helps to get some of the subtle in-jokes, and there are a couple of characters who have been present in Pandora before, most notably the politically incorrect and insulting Handsome Jack. Yet, this does not affect the enjoyment of the game because every character is fully fleshed out and fits within this specific story, in such a perfect way you never feel like you’re missing out on anything. The
protagonists are new to the series as far as I can tell, and are so perfectly human and unfortunate,they feel like the Coen Brothers brought them to life.
If you have played previous Borderlands titles, then you will appreciate a lot from those games that make it into this series. Everything from cameos, to the environments, to how the information box for a gun pops up and looks just like it does in the actual first person shooters. This is porn for your eyes. Instead of, you know, actual porn. What I’m trying to say is that the fan service is here, and in oodles and oodles. The voice acting is superb; household name Troy Baker fits perfectly as the wannabe hero Rhys. Patrick Warburton of Joe Swanson from Family Guy fame is plain hysterical with everything he says in his epic voice. The show is somewhat stolen however, by that of Dameon Clarke, who brings Handsome Jack back to life again, reprising the role of the sadistic antagonist who just wants to be your friend, and has no ulterior motive at all. Whatsoever. Honest.
Each episode has an introduction worthy of a big screen blockbuster, and more than once I sat back and watched in awe, jaw hanging mere inches from the floor, at just how good these sections were. From the music, the settings and the drive, to tell a story which is as compelling as it is exciting is evident in each segment of the game. My favourite part of the whole series comes in episode four, with the most inventive and side-splitting “battle” in any game took me by surprise. I had to put the controller down and take a break due to the sheer volume at which laughter was bellowing out from my mouth. That said, there is no shortness of laugh out loud moments. Nearly every conversation holds a gem of a sentence, or a snappy one-liner that will make the straightest faces crack at the corners. Then, to go from hilarious to touching is something else that this game does very well. Some events that play out really ground you as player, and make you aware at just how much you like these characters.
Unfortunately, the worst part of the game was that it had to end. If anyone has enjoyed a good television series knows too well that void left inside once it has wrapped up. I suppose, in a way, that is another good point though. It just doesn’t make it any easier to move on. All I know is, I will be playing every Telltale Game that comes out in the future. Never again will I pass judgment on one of their games until I have played it. Although, like the rest of them, I expect I will only have good things to say.
for attention. To attempt pausing the screen could mean skipping an entire section and then what do you do? You have no choice but to keep going forward, unaware of what precious information you have missed out on. I don’t know about you, but that is not how I roll. If I know I have other stuff to do, I will put my brain into overdrive and come up with some way of getting in a little game time.
Does that make me sound sad? Because, I kinda don’t care.
Once I have finished my chores - or managed to keep myself, and my son alive for a certain period of time – I will always celebrate with a blip on the Xbone. However, this is where it can all fall apart, and I end up with nothing to show for my downtime except cold sweats and a loss of appetite. Which ‘ruddy game do I play? If I know I only have half an hour, there is no way I’m going to have any fun with Fallout 4. I’ll only be halfway through the initial loading screen when I have to pull myself away. What if I jump into Alien Isolation? I don’t feel like changing my underwear every five minutes. Minecraft? Hell no; I need to go outside at some point and socialise. And so on I go, working through my list of games, until I am back at the beginning again. Then my time is up. It’s back to reality. Damn.
Although this happens a surprisingly large number of times, every now and then a true gem of a game rises up and shakes the very foundations of my routine. Whether I can play for ten hours or ten minutes, there are those games that hold my attention, and the anticipation to load them up and play them is a constant running through the back of my mind. This sort of hold on a person could only be mustered by the biggest of triple A games around, surely? Well, no. I’m sure by now you have all heard of Telltale Games, most famous in recent years for their episodic take on the very popular The Walking Dead. I played through that game from the very beginning, and although the amount of time that lingered between each episode would feel like an eternity, I wanted to complete the story. It had me gripped from the opening sequence. Unfortunately, my attitude waned a bit for the more recent iterations. I found it too hard to wait several months for the next part of another story, and so my biggest regret in the world of gaming is not playing Tales from the Borderlands sooner than I did.
 |
| "Wasn't even trying to make him look camp, honest" - Si Tye |
To be honest, it wasn’t just the way Telltale released their games, it was also my experience of the Borderland games in general that made me very cautious to try the series out. Now, when I say experience, I mean I played several hours of Borderlands 2, on my own. I know it doesn’t make me an expert on all things Vault hunting, but I knew what I liked, and what I didn’t from my short time with the game. The gameplay itself was ok - nothing special – but not horrendous to play. I spent an awfully long time mulling over which new guns I had picked up would be best to carry on with; as there is a never ending stash of different guns with different perks and attributes, I was in a constant panic over what I would do with my new favourite gun once it became rendered useless by the overly fucking powerful rocket launcher I just looted off a corpse. I loved that gun, I did.
The highlight for me - as I am sure it was for many others - was the dialogue, which I found to be hilarious. I would love to go back and play that game just to listen to the quips and the monologues that are constantly being thrown out by the characters. By the time Tales of the Borderlands had become available I had; finished series one of The Walking Dead, started series two, and had almost completed The wolf Among Us. I knew of Game of Thrones,and was unsure as to whether or not I would want to play it. Being one of my favourite television programmes - and series of books – I did not want any medium inadvertently sullying its reputation.
This was the point where my interest was starting to die down. Thankfully though, Microsoft gave the first episode of Tales of the Borderlands out for free one month. How could I not download it? It was freaking free. The worst thing to happen would be I wasted half an hour or so installing it. I didn’t expect to be horrified; it’s Telltale Games for crying out loud. Yet, I really wasn’t thrilled by the thought of it. I always thought it would be good in some way. There was no way for me to know just how good it actually was.
I’ll start off by addressing the obvious issues this game has. Just like the other Telltale Games, there is a slight problem with sound cutting out every now and then. Sometimes, when you make your dialogue choice, the scene awkwardly cuts to what you have chosen to say, not caring if the other character has finished their sentence. I also found the checkpoint system with this one significantly relentless. There were a couple of occasions where I had been playing for what felt like at least an hour – if not, more - and no save icon had appeared in any corner of the fucking screen. One time, I even had no choice but to turn the game off to go about my business, only to come back and have to complete that whole section again. The real shit-stained toothless bitch of it was, if I had played for just a few more minutes the first time around, I would have reached the checkpoint.
Aside from that, this is my favourite Telltale Game so far, and at this point, I’ve nearly completed them all. If you have any doubts about not understanding the story due to never picking up a Borderlands game before, fear not. You need no backstory to appreciate what is going on; sure, it helps to get some of the subtle in-jokes, and there are a couple of characters who have been present in Pandora before, most notably the politically incorrect and insulting Handsome Jack. Yet, this does not affect the enjoyment of the game because every character is fully fleshed out and fits within this specific story, in such a perfect way you never feel like you’re missing out on anything. The
protagonists are new to the series as far as I can tell, and are so perfectly human and unfortunate,they feel like the Coen Brothers brought them to life.
If you have played previous Borderlands titles, then you will appreciate a lot from those games that make it into this series. Everything from cameos, to the environments, to how the information box for a gun pops up and looks just like it does in the actual first person shooters. This is porn for your eyes. Instead of, you know, actual porn. What I’m trying to say is that the fan service is here, and in oodles and oodles. The voice acting is superb; household name Troy Baker fits perfectly as the wannabe hero Rhys. Patrick Warburton of Joe Swanson from Family Guy fame is plain hysterical with everything he says in his epic voice. The show is somewhat stolen however, by that of Dameon Clarke, who brings Handsome Jack back to life again, reprising the role of the sadistic antagonist who just wants to be your friend, and has no ulterior motive at all. Whatsoever. Honest.
Each episode has an introduction worthy of a big screen blockbuster, and more than once I sat back and watched in awe, jaw hanging mere inches from the floor, at just how good these sections were. From the music, the settings and the drive, to tell a story which is as compelling as it is exciting is evident in each segment of the game. My favourite part of the whole series comes in episode four, with the most inventive and side-splitting “battle” in any game took me by surprise. I had to put the controller down and take a break due to the sheer volume at which laughter was bellowing out from my mouth. That said, there is no shortness of laugh out loud moments. Nearly every conversation holds a gem of a sentence, or a snappy one-liner that will make the straightest faces crack at the corners. Then, to go from hilarious to touching is something else that this game does very well. Some events that play out really ground you as player, and make you aware at just how much you like these characters.
 |
| Guess you could say, it's a bloody good game then? |
Unfortunately, the worst part of the game was that it had to end. If anyone has enjoyed a good television series knows too well that void left inside once it has wrapped up. I suppose, in a way, that is another good point though. It just doesn’t make it any easier to move on. All I know is, I will be playing every Telltale Game that comes out in the future. Never again will I pass judgment on one of their games until I have played it. Although, like the rest of them, I expect I will only have good things to say.
