Tales from the Borderlands Episode 2!

Yesterday I came home and started up Steam.  I was surprised to see something downloading and realized that I had completely forgotten about the release of episode two of TellTale's Tales from the Borderlands.  A large part of the reason why I had forgotten was because it kept getting pushed back...and pushed back...and pushed back until I finally gave up on trying to figure out when it was actually going to be released.  Now it's finally here and we get to learn more about the fate of our strange group of companions.  (Spoilers ahead!  Don't read it if you haven't already played)

One thing I regretted when starting episode two was that I didn't take the time to go back and replay the first episode.  There is a nifty little refresher in the intro to episode two, but I still felt somewhat disconnected from the story--the first episode was released in November and it had been a long time.  The story starts with our group stuck in the strange bunker beneath the death race arena.  At the end of episode one the group has stumbled upon the bunker and found a mysterious Atlas item that resembles some sort of key.  The "key" when assembled brings up a map of Pandora that seems to mark the location of something.

Much of the plot in episode two follows the group as they work to figure out the purpose of this mysterious item.  There are many fantastic obstacles that make this task challenging for the group.  One of the most memorable moments from the series comes toward the beginning of the game.  In the Atlas bunker Fiona, Vaughn, and Sasha come upon an Atlas computer that requires a retinal scan from an Atlas employee in order for it to become active.  As you search the room you realize that there is an odd cabinet in the bunker.  After you do a little investigating you realize that this crate is actually some sort of stasis pod containing the body of an Atlas general.  Fiona finds a big yellow button and decides to press it.  The pod pops open!  The only course of action becomes obvious almost immediately--the only eye that the retinal scanner will accept is currently lodged in the skull of the general.  Some more investigating reveals a spork sitting on an abandoned lunch tray.

I am not sure what TellTale's thing is with wanting players to experience things like Clementine in The Walking Dead stitching together her own arm or Fiona using a spork to gouge out eyeballs.  If you're squeamish this may not be the moment for you.  Maybe that's part of their strategy...to make something that disturbs you.  It's definitely memorable.

Once the group has escaped the bunker things get much more interesting.  There's a high speed chase featuring some rakk and a rakk hive, the ghost of Handsome Jack, a strangely ripped Vaughn, a narrow escape from Vazquez, bro-fisting a loader bot, and an alien artifact.  It's action packed and filled with some difficult choices.

I'm not sure I liked this episode as much as the first one.  There are definitely some great moments that I'm sure people are talking and laughing about today.  I enjoy the divergent storylines that split and let you follow events as they happen to Rhys and Fiona.  I am hoping that the wait for the next episodes won't be as long.