Underrated Episodic Fun

I am not really sure where episodic story games fall in the world of gaming.  Are they too casual for those who consider themselves to be more "hardcore?"  Or too simplistic?  It just doesn't really feel like they get much attention.  This is unfortunate because I've had a lot of fun and had to really think through some difficult choices in several of them.  I recently decided to revisit (and finally review) one of my favorite episodic story games, Tales from the Borderlands.

Tales from the Borderlands follows the TellTale pattern of taking a pre-existing fandom and spinning off a choice based series of stories set in a specific universe.  The Borderlands games are a whacky combination of FPS mixed with RPG and a wicked sense of strange humor.  Taking those genres and throwing them together into an episodic story game seemed like a misstep, but somehow it works.  It more than just works though, it's one of the best TellTale games.

The story is centered around two very different characters--Rhys, who is your typical Hyperion corporate climber, but who harbors a not-so-secret vein of admiration for Handsome Jack--and Fiona, part of a sisterly duo of Pandoran con-artists who are out to land a big score.  You begin the game playing as Rhys, who has recently found out that he is up for a promotion, and who is heading to the office of his boss to receive the good news.  Once there, he discovers that his boss has been replaced by an arrogant, jackass named Vasquez.  Rather than receive his promotion, Rhys instead finds himself demoted to "head janitor" and is looking for a way to get back at Vasquez.  He overhears a conversation about a possible deal to buy a vault key and decides that stealing the key would be the perfect opportunity to get revenge.  Rhys teams up with his accounting buddy, Vaughn, and his requisitions pal Yvette, to steal $10 million from Hyperion to land on Pandora and buy the key out from under Vasquez.  What could possibly go wrong?

It turns out that everything could go wrong.  The entire idea of two mid-level corporate idiots navigating the dangerous world of Pandora, even for a short trip, is laughable.  Things go bad from the start--Rhys and Vaughn get lost and end up getting attacked by the locals (bandits...of course) and barely manage to make it out of that scrape.  They finally make it to the deal and have to try to negotiate a deal with August (a Pandoran gangster/pierced scumbag) and Sasha (Fion's con-artist sister).  The deal seems to be progressing well when Sasha starts acting weird and decides she doesn't want to sell the key.  It looks like the deal has gone south, so Rhys has to come up with some way to salvage it...

At this point the perspective changes to that of Fiona.  It turns out that the vault key was a fake all along and that Fiona and Sasha, with the help of their master con-artist adopted father, Felix, have set up this entire elaborate scheme.  You play as Fiona and get to see the work to set up the deal as it plays out.  Fiona enters the scene as Rhys is trying his absolute best to save the deal--she knows that Rhys can use his echo eye to scan the vault key and that he will know it's a fake.  She has to slip an electronic device onto the case that will scramble the signal from his echo eye.  With some crafty help from Sasha, Fiona manages to get the device onto the case.  The deal seems like it's actually going to go through, Rhys opens the case and is awed by the key and Vaughn offers to pony up the cash.  Disaster strikes when the vault key is accidentally dropped and broken, revealing that it is a fake, and the party is massively crashed by Zero (a vault hunter from Borderlands 2) and a large contingent of angry bandits.  In the chaos the money is stolen and Rhys and Vaughn decide to team up with Fiona and Sasha in an effort to get it back.

The rest of the story follows this unlikely team as they try to recover their stolen money, then stumble onto a horde of Atlas technology that promises to lead them to an actual vault.  The journey is filled with action packed moments, a boatload of choices, and a wide range of emotions--from laughs, to being grossed out, to being sad.

Pros:

--Borderlands characters and related humor.  If you're at all familiar with any of the Borderlands games you will enjoy the zany humor infused throughout the game.  It's dark, it's violent, and it's hilarious.  Bandits entertain you with their typical mix of strange talk--meat bicycles, face pizzas...that kind of thing.  Some of your favorite vault hunters make an appearance or play a big role in the story--Zero, Athena, Brick, and Mordecai all pop up at some point.  Other characters from the series also play a large role--Handsome Jack, Scooter, Janey Springs, and even Loader Bot.  Thankfully, there's no Claptrap.

--Storyline that follows two characters.  Switching back between Rhys and Fiona provides the opportunity to make choices and mold those characters into who you want them to be.  It also is a fun way to provide background on both characters and give them more of their own story.  I cannot remember if I've played any other TellTale games that have used this character switching approach.

--Same graphical/art style as the Borderlands games.  Having 2K work hand in hand with TellTale helped make the game feel like another piece of the Borderlands series.  Pandora and Helios felt like the same places, but that we got to experience them as different characters.

--Amazing soundtrack and opening sequences.  I really enjoyed the music that they sprinkled throughout the game and loved the credit sequences at the beginning of each game.  There are some cool songs as well as some music from Borderlands throughout the series.  (I wrote about this here).

--LoaderBot.  They managed to take one of the most annoying foes from Borderlands and turn it into a lovable, loyal, robot buddy.

--Choices that feel meaningful.  Yes, I know that it's the illusion of choice, but dammit if those choices aren't tough!  In a few seconds you have to decide whether or not to trust the AI version of Handsome Jack (don't do ti!  Or do...it's up to you...which is my point).  TellTale are the masters of this particular illusion.

--A fun story.  It zigs and zags all over the place and you have no idea how things are going to end up, but the journey is an absolute blast.  Sprinkled throughout are tons of moments where you will be laughing (or possibly crying).

--Weirdly gross moments that add to the flavor of the story.  They involve an eyeball and a face.  That's all I'm going to say.

Cons:
--QTE sequences that feel weird on a PC.  I kind of like them, but I know that some people loathe them.  They're super easy with a keyboard.

That's really my only con...I have genuinely enjoyed this series both of the times I have played through all five parts.

If you're a fan of the Borderlands series, someone who wants to play a less serious (but still fun!) TellTale game, or just someone who's looking for something new you really should check out Tales from the Borderlands.  It's by far one of my favorite TellTale series and one that didn't get the attention and love that it really deserved.  I think I actually liked it better than Borderlands:  The Pre-Sequel. 

Tales From the Borderlands Episode Four--Sad, Happy, Weird

In my fervor of watching the clock count down to the release of Shadowrun:  Hong Kong I lost sight of a few of my episodic games.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that episode four of Tales From the Borderlands was released yesterday.  This left me with no other choice than to immediately get to downloading so I could learn more about the adventures of Rhys and Fiona.  Let me just say that episode four was an interesting one that differed quite a bit from the third installment but was still very enjoyable.  (There will be spoilers about episodes 3 and 4 ahead!)

The unlikely heroes on their way to Helios.

At the end of a very action-packed third episode the squad is beset by the villainous Vallory and her squad of morons.  Things look pretty bleak as Athena is captured and hauled off by fellow vault hunters Brick and Mordecai, Fiona is pinned helplessly beneath Vallory's massive rocket launcher, and Rhys has managed to get himself and the robots (Loader Bot and Gortys) captured.  At the very end of the episode Gortys reveals that the last of her (it's?) needed components is on the Hyperion stronghold of Helios.

Episode four starts off much like the others with Fiona and Rhys re-telling their versions of events as they continue their strange trek as captives of an unknown assailant (I think it's Shade....because of the hat...or possibly Vaughn).  As they recall the events it is revealed that they are left with no choice than to promise to work with Vallory and her goons to infiltrate Helios and find the final Gortys piece.  Gortys reveals that once the pieces are all in place that she (it?) can reveal the location of a vault that essentially allows anyone to travel to any other vaults scattered throughout the universe.  The location of the Vault of the Traveler would be a prize that any vault hunter would more than willingly die for.

The main problem that the group is faced with is figuring out a way to infiltrate Helios.  Fortunately the group can rely on Rhys and his insider knowledge of Hyperion to get them inside.  There is a fun sequence where Rhys envisions himself creating a master plan that will easily get them access to the base (of course we all know that this plan is destined to have difficulties).  The group decides to enlist the help of Scooter to build a rocket that will get them to Helios.  Scooter, however, doesn't have the skills to build a rocket but points Fiona and Sasha to Janey Springs.  In asking Springs for help, Fiona is forced to very uncomfortably reveal that Athena has been captured and is now missing.  Janey is visibly upset and asks if Athena said anything before they took her.  Here you are forced to make a decision--do you lie to Janey and tell her that Athena said that she loved her or do you tell the truth that Athena was out cold so didn't really get the opportunity?  I opted for the little white lie...which could turn out to be bad.  Athena wants to be a vault hunter but Janey wants her to stay out of danger.  I just really wanted Janey to build me a rocket, so what's the harm in having her think that Athena declared her undying love?

Every episode has contained what I call the "cool musical sequence."  The cool musical sequence doesn't happen immediately but takes place fairly early in the episode.  As the questionably constructed rocket takes off we get to watch the group as they make their way into space and towards the stronghold of Helios.  The plan thus far is for Rhys to use Vazquez's body to digistruct a disguise that will make him the doppleganger of the dead douchebag (this turns out to be somewhat disgusting but hilarious).  He will pretend to be Vazquez and proceed to disable the security so that Fiona and Sasha can break into the former office of Handsome Jack and find the final Gortys piece.  Fiona and Sasha are putting their con artist skills to work as fake tour guides leading VIP Handsome Jack tours.

The rocket lifts off without incident but soon they find that there are some critical malfunctions that are threatening to blow up the rocket.  Scooter had previously agreed to travel with the group in order to help if anything went wrong with the rockets (he also reveals a crippling crush on Fiona that is sort of cute).  Scooter and Fiona are forced to don Oz Kits and trek to the exterior of the rocket to make repairs to the broken thrusters before they explode.  It's here that the game decides to jerk your heart out.  In order to fix the rockets players must execute a timed punch of a button to avoid getting the arm of their character stuck in a panel (it's easy).  As Fiona you easily punch the button and released the damaged booster.  Fiona climbs to the other rocket and finds that Scooter has gotten his arm trapped in the panel and that there is no way to release him.  He instructs her to released the rocket--with him still attached--in order to save the rest of the group.  Players are then given the choice of sending Scooter off with a hug, a handshake, or a kiss.  (Only the coldest people would chose handshake!)  I opted to send Scooter off with a kiss.  Dammit it TellTale....you made me care about a character who I didn't even really like that much!

Fiona returns to the interior of the rocket and the group makes the rest of the trip to Helios without incident.  The next sequence sees you playing as Rhys disguised as Vazquez.  Many of the dialogue options you can choose allow you to play a goofy Rhys-like Vazquez or the traditionally douchey Vazquez.  I tried to play Vazquez the way I thought he would act...like a elitist jerk.  Immediately the plan seems like it's going to be a lot harder than what Rhys imagined--he's questioned by guards and confronted by an angry Yvette.  It's here that Yvette drops the bomb that Vazquez was sent to find and kill Rhys in order to bring his head back--undoubtedly to gain access to the Handsome Jack data trapped in his skull.  Wow...another of his friends betrayed him.  Seems like all these Hyperion people are horrible.  Eventually Rhys manages to connive his way to Vazquez's office and start working on disabling security for Fiona and Sasha.

Fiona and Sasha proceed to the interior of Helios and attempt to locate a tour guide whose ID they can steal.  They work their con magic with the help of Gortys and grab the badge.  Sasha leads the tour guide off as Fiona uses her badge to access an elevator that will take her to the tour area...and the office of Handsome Jack.  As the elevator arrives on the upper levels of Helios, Fiona meets her tour group--a mob of Jack-masked wannabe's.  Players are then forced to lead the fake tour through the Jack museum.  This is where some Borderlands knowledge might come in handy.  Some panels show the fake exploits of Jack as he raids and defeats a vault monster.  A statue appears to be Jack's diamond pony Butt Stallion--you explain that Butt Stallion craps weapons.  It's a magical moment.  As the group moves towards Jack's office they are forced to go through a metal detector.  It's obvious that Fiona is going to be in trouble because of her spring-loaded derringer.  The alarm, of course, goes off but it's not because of the gun...it's because of the box with Sasha's gift in it.  I totally forgot about that!  Seeing the box made me wonder about what is actually in the box.  The guard gives it back but tells Fiona that she needs to get rid of it next time she comes through.

The door to Jack's office looms ahead and it looks like Fiona is finally going to make it.  It is here that Fiona realizes there is an invisible force field blocking the office.  Unfortunately one of the Jack-wannabes decides to run ahead of the group and is vaporized.  As he hits the force field a hulking security door slams shut and blocks the way forward.  The rest of the Jack tourists disperse in fear and Fiona calls Rhys/Vazquez to see if he can open the door.

Rhys attempts to bypass security but realizes that the firewalls are beyond his skill level.  The 3-D apparition of Handsome Jack appears and offers to aid Rhys in his efforts to shut bypass the firewall.  Rhys has little choice (or very willingly--depending on your choices) but to accept Jack's help in defeating the security measures.  Even though the security is shut down the security door blocking Jack's office remains closed.  Jack then reveals that there is a secret trap door that Rhys can use to access his office.  Reaching the trapdoor requires Rhys and Fiona to gain access to the prison level.  Rhys dons his Vazquez disguise and heads for the elevator that will take him there and instructs Fiona to get arrested.

It is at this point that one of the quirkier moments in the series takes place.  In the early episodes of the game it is revealed that there is this weird finger-gun type of game that the employees of Hyperion play.  They mockingly shoot and kill each other in a bizarre ritual of goofiness.  As Rhys/Vazquez heads for the elevator a large group of accountants confront him in this strange ritual.  Players issue commands as Rhys/Vazquez mows his way through what must be the entire accounting department on Helios.  It's a really silly sequence and it made me laugh--it's just so weird and so....Borderlands.

Fiona manages to get arrested quite easily--players can choose to shoot the statue of Butt Stallion or lead into a panel depicting Jack raiding a vault.  I (and seemingly most players) opted to shoot the statue.  Another weird moment occurs as the statue appears to start bleeding.  Was it actually a statue?  What?!

Rhys/Vazquez arrives in the guardroom where Fiona is being held and bumbles through getting the guard to leave.  The guard finally leaves and Rhys, Fiona, and Gortys head toward the trapdoor that leads to Jack's office.  Once you arrive at the trapdoor you discover that it is essentially a blob of devices designed to kill anyone passing through it.  Rhys discovers how to shut it down and with the help of Fiona and Gortys manages to navigate the killing devices and make it into the office.

Once inside the office players are reminded of Rhys' obsession with Jack.  He is awed to be in the office of his hero!  Jack makes an appearance and urges Rhys to take his time and take a look around.  Players can lead Rhys around the room looking at various objects while listening to Jack talk about their significance.  Oddly enough there is a picture of Angel on Jack's desk and he hints that he would like to see her (this was confusing to me...isn't Angel supposed to be dead?).  Jack leads Rhys to a wall filled with his various collected memorabilia and Gortys attempts to puzzle out which piece is the final piece that she (it?) needs.  After the piece has been collected Jack urges Rhys to sit in his chair and get the true feeling of what it would be like to be the leader of Hyperion.  He also makes Rhys an offer that seems too good to be true--if Rhys allows Jack to stick around in his head and wants it he can become the new leader of Hyperion.  Do you trust Jack?  Do you take the deal?  I chose not to--how can you trust that lunatic!

Rhys heads for the trapdoor to return to the prison.  Fiona is waiting below and keeping the killing devices from becoming active.  She hears a noise behind her and props a broom under the lever keeping the machines from activating (this seems bad).  She rounds the corner to find Gortys revealing her location to some guards...led by Yvette they seem to have captured Sasha.  It looks like the gig is up.  This is where the episode ends.  Cliffhangers!

I enjoyed this episode but felt like it was a little short (maybe it was just that episode three felt long with all the action).  There were a lot of great moments that had my emotions jumping all over the chart--from being sad about the demise of the lovable Scooter to laughing at Rhys as he peeled Vazquez's face off of a sleeping psycho to feeling confused at the whole finger-pistol-gun-knife silliness on Helios.  This series has kept me entertained and looking forward to every single episode that has come out.

Tales From the Borderlands Episode 3 is Action Packed

Even though I love big RPG's with a strong story and enthralling characters, sometimes it's nice to take a break.  Simple point-and-click story games have earned themselves a special place in my gaming library and are worth playing.  Tales From the Borderlands has become my fun little escape from the heavy content that I usually play.  Each new episode gets better and better.

(This is where the spoilers begin.)

Episode three starts off with our slightly inept heroes being trapped in the Atlas facility where they were searching for the mysterious Gortys project.  The story involves them trying to figure out what exactly Gortys does.  This episode had a lot of action--many gunfights and great, but still sort of goofy, action sequences.  There are a lot of cameo's by the characters from the Borderlands series--Athena, who seemed like she was pursuing the group earlier actually saves their bacon and joins in, while Brick and Mordecai show up later.  Gortys, which seems like nothing but a small metal ball, turns out to be a cute little robot!  Once the group has managed to escape from the Atlas facility, Gortys informs them that there are other locations with parts that can upgrade it and could possibly lead to a vault.  It then points them in the general direction where they need to search.

The opening title sequence features another great musical entry that I enjoyed.  One of the big plot points involves Rhys choosing whether to listen to Handsome Jack or ignore him.  Seriously?  Why would you trust that whack job?  I opted to not trust Jack....this could be a bad decision.  After a long trek across Pandora the group arrives at another hidden Atlas base that seems to be some sort of weird agricultural research station.  There are some funny scanning descriptions as the group explores the station and opportunities to interact with different members of the group  Eventually the group comes to a sort of control room where they discover that someone has been living in the facility.  After some exploration, a mysterious man stumbles into the room and you have to make some decisions about trusting him.  He seems very scholarly but a little dubious.  Gortys tells the group that they will have to traverse through the jungly facility to find the part it needs.  They decide to split up with Fiona and Athena heading to where the part is located and Rhys and Sasha heading towards a central core to disable any security (there are lots of turrets in this episode).

The story then bounces back and forth between Rhys and Fiona.  Rhys and Sasha seem to almost have a sort of little flirtation going on as they explore more of the facility.  It's kind of cute.  There are some genuinely funny moments as they are forced to navigate a broken catwalk.  Fiona and Athena's branch seems to be more about toughening up Fiona and making her more like a true vault hunter.  Athena bestows some handy advice...and lots of bullets...on Fiona and gives her ample opportunity to practice her skills.

Vallory, the new villain.

Eventually Fiona and Athena reach the location of the hidden Gortys part.  They find out that Rhys and Sasha haven't deactivated the security measures.  The story then switches back to Rhys and Fiona as they unwittingly flee from a storm or cute, but possibly deadly critters, that they managed to set off.  There is a short puzzle sequence to match nodes and deactivate the security.  Fiona and Athena grab the part and make their way out.  Unfortunately they are met by Brick....who seems to be after Athena.  As Brick and Athena tangle, Fiona is forced to tangle with a hidden sniper who is taking potshots.  It's Mordecai and he's accompanying Brick on his quest to capture Athena.  The fighting doesn't look like it's going to turn out well as the new villain and her squad turn up.  Vallory was mentioned in episode two and seems to be some sort of criminal mastermind tied somehow to Felix.

The Gortys upgrade piece ends up being taken by Vallory and it comes down to Rhys and Sasha trying to chase down the bandits and get it back.  There's a really fun chase sequence toward the end of the game that involves riding on half of LoaderBot (he has difficulties in this episode) and trying to take down August in a vehicle.

There's probably a lot of things that I am missing--I only played it once and am already having a hard time remembering all the details.  I found this episode to be a lot of fun with tons of great action sequences but enough humor spread throughout to keep it light and goofy.  I am still very surprised at how much I am enjoying this game.

Waving Goodbye to the Steam Summer Sale

The last two weeks have been jam packed with monster clicking and wallet crunching as the Steam Summer sale forced us to make critical decisions about games.  I am rather proud of myself this year--I don't feel like I made too many impulsive decisions and I picked up some games that I had been sitting on my wishlist for quite awhile.  I always seem to pick at least one that isn't quite what I wanted it to be.

This pretty much sums up the Steam Summer Sale.

This year I felt like I saw a lot of the same deals I generally see at various times--the XCOM franchise is on sale a lot and could be scooped up during the sale for a song.  So what were the best deals?  My current obsession with everything Witcher related points to being able to buy the first two games for under $10.  They pale in comparison to the third, but they are great games nonetheless.  Many of the newer big titles only saw their prices dipped a small amount so hoping to grab a triple A for cheap didn't happen.

The two games I grabbed that I will be trying out once my Witcher mania fades are Pillars of Eternity and The Talos Principle.  I've been interested in them both but didn't want to pay full price.

Some exciting non-sale related news for fans of Tales From the Borderlands--episode three in the series comes out tomorrow.  I've learned not to stress the releases of Telltale Games, they come out when they come out.  Maybe I'll take a short break from monster slaying and return to the adventures of Rhys and Fiona.

Tales from the Borderlands and Musical Sequences

Besides completely lacking any willpower when it comes to not purchasing games, I'm also a sucker for great video game music.  Whether it's a kickin' soundtrack--Deus Ex:  Human Revolution, Transistor--or just fun music placed the right way or that captures the mood perfectly, there's a very good chance that I've purchased it and it now lives on my iPod (circa 2008--I have an oldie).  The Borderlands series did a great job of finding some cool songs like "Ain't no Rest for the Wicked" by Cage the Elephant or "Come With me Now" by the Kongos.  Tales from the Borderlands seems to be continuing this trend of great music and has improved it by placing it into action-packed sequences.  I had completely forgotten about this until I read about it on Kotaku!  (I've been having some anger issues about how long the delay between episodes has been and may have inadvertently forgotten about this).  Here's a musical sequence from episode 2:

Perfect!  I'm already Googling this song so I can download it on my ancient iPod.  How cool is this sequence?  Just watching it makes me feel cool--like someone who would normally listen to music like this.

I can't wait to see what they do in episode 3.  Hopefully I don't have to wait four months.  See!  Leftover rage.

On a total aside--GTA V should now be fully downloaded onto my computer and ready to rock tomorrow.  I've intentionally avoided learning anything about the storyline so I can truly enjoy it.  Mayhem awaits.  Yesssssssssss.

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.

Ridiculous Frustration

I am here to admit that I often make the same stupid mistakes over and over--this is completely applicable to real-life and gaming.  Maybe it's slight insanity, who knows.  My latest gaming related mistake has been rabidly following the release date of episode two of the TellTale series Tales From the Borderlands.  If you've been following it and have experience with the previous TellTale games then you're probably kicking yourself.

My brain told me not to buy Tales from the Borderlands until the entire series had been released but my heart jumped after I saw a trailer and it looked really funny.  Then my brain realized that the whole series was currently on sale!  I snapped it up like a hobo snaps up a slimy wine bottle from a dumpster.  I wish my monkey brain had waited.  TellTale has a less than stellar record of releasing things when they promise and that those things will actually function the way that they are supposed to.  If you are deluding yourself, much like I did, you should read this enlightening article about TellTale's non-impressive record through several very popular series ("A Chronicle of Buggy, Broken Telltale Games 2012-2015").

Why did I jump in only to spend way too much time searching for theoretical possible release dates?  How did I not learn?  I was really excited a couple of weeks ago because I had read one of those possible dates and was looking forward to spending a couple of hours guiding Rhys and Fiona through their next set of adventures.  Steam booted up and I expected to see an update happening...but lo and behold, no update.  Ruined!  A release date that was originally in January was pushed back to mid-February, then late February, and now sometime in March.  It makes me wonder if TellTale has their hands in one too many cookie jars.  You have the Game of Thrones series and Tales from the Borderlands both demanding their time.

I know this is sheerly psychological and stupid.  People fill message boards with rants like "OMG RELEASE EP2!!!RAAAGE" and it's silly.  One poster on the game's Steam forum brought up a great point to all the whiners (me included)--if you're unhappy you should just wise up and buy the whole series after all the episodes have been released.  That way you don't have to wait for release dates that seem to be vague estimates of general game readiness and most of the horrible, game breaking bugs that seem to pollute many TellTale games have been fixed.

If I was even remotely smart and stopped behaving like a five year-old on Christmas morning, I wouldn't be staring forlornly at my computer and silently cursing TellTale.  Now excuse me while I go look for a release date.

What will 2015 bring to the world of PC gaming?

It's a new year and a time to look forward to new games.  I recently read through this nicely compiled list of games slated to come out sometime in the future.  Some of them I've heard about and am looking forward to their release and others I have not heard about at all.  Will turn-based (and non turn-based) CRPG's continue their triumphant return?  Are ridiculous games going to continue to get coverage?  How many Assassin's Creed games can there really be (answer:  apparently infinite)?

Finally!

There are several major releases that I am looking forward to this year.  The first to be released is the PC port of Grand Theft Auto V (according to something I read it's going to be released on PC on January 27th).  I've had to endure two years (or maybe more) of listening to console gamers gloat about playing GTA:  V and now I finally will get to play it.  I'm excitedly awaiting my reign of criminal mischief.

Another major release coming out in 2015 is The Witcher 3:  Wild Hunt.  I'm a big fan of The Witcher series and everything I've seen pertaining to it looks absolutely amazing.  I can't wait to continue Geralt's journey to unlock his past and solve the mysteries related to the wild hunt.  As a fan of the short stories I am also looking forward to finally seeing some of the major characters from the books make their way into the game.  Yennefer of Vengerberg and Ciri will both be interesting additions to the game.

Rhys and Fiona.

After buying Tales from the Borderlands on a whim I am excited to see what the next episodes hold.  The first episode was a humorous and action packed romp in the world of Pandora and the others promise to continue the tale of the erstwhile Rhys and Fiona.  I am enjoying the complete departure from the heavy, depressing world from The Walking Dead.

I'm also anxiously hoping to hear more about my ultimate favorite series Mass Effect.  There hasn't been much news on the development of the next game.  BioWare is done with Dragon Age:  Inquisition so hopefully fans like me will start hearing more.

What are you excited about?  More CRPG's?  Call of Duty 27?

Tales from the Borderlands

Yesterday I made my one major purchase of the Steam winter sale in the form of Telltale's Tales from the Borderlands.  I think it is the only thing I bought that cost over $10--gotta love the Steam sale.  Telltale has been branching out thanks to the success of it's hit adaptation of The Walking Dead.   The narrative driven point-and-click games might not be for everyone, but I enjoy them.  If you're a fan of the Borderlands series and any of the Telltale story games (The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, Game of Thrones) then you will want to check out Tales from the Borderlands.

Firstly, let me re-establish my fandom of Borderlands.  I am a fan mostly due to the quirky style and sense of humor that is infused throughout the games.  I wouldn't really place them on my top ten list, but I appreciate them.  So last night I decided to see how Telltale had taken the humor and style of Borderlands and made it into a new point-and-click adventure.  I have to say that I am impressed and was not disappointed at all.  In fact I am now anticipating the release of the second part of this episodic series.

Tales of the Borderlands is a complete departure from the heavy, emotional story depicted in The Walking Dead.  The story takes place after the demise of Handsome Jack in Borderlands 2 and follows two different characters.  One of the characters is an ambitious Hyperion suit named Rhys who is looking to climb to the top of the corporate ladder.  Unfortunately for Rhys his trip to the top is derailed by an even more ambitious corporate douchebag named Vasquez.  Rhys winds up being demoted and seeking revenge on his new enemy Vasquez.  He over hears Vasquez making a deal to purchase a vault key and as an act of revenge decides he is going to land on Pandora and buy the key himself...using money stolen from Hyperion by his friend Vaughn, a nerdy accountant type.  Of course once they get to Pandora they learn that they are in no way prepared to navigate the violent landscape.

Something I am enjoying about this series is how they decided to split the narrative between two characters.  You also follow the story of Fiona, a Pandoran native who crosses paths with Rhys.  For the sake of not spoiling anything let's just say she's adapted well to life on Pandora and has the street smarts to survive.

Part one of this episodic series was action packed and had many humorous moments.  As a fan of the Borderlands series I was excited to see several characters make appearances--Zer0, the haiku spewing assassin and Shade, the weirdo from Oasis who turns dead bodies into his own strange puppet show.  I noticed that many of the voice actors from Borderlands are providing voices for characters like Marcus and Moxxi.  I didn't pay enough attention to the credits but I think Fiona is voiced by the same actress as Lillith.

The Steam sale is winding down but you still have a chance to grab this series for a discounted price.