Recent reviews by HuntedStar

Tales of the Borderlands had been tempting to buy since release - whilst I never really enjoyed the Borderlands games and gave up on them quickly, I had thoroughly enjoyed other Telltale games (Wolf Among Us, Game of Thrones) and so finally bit the bullet when the game was on sale. Of the many games I've bought in Steam sales (many of which remain unplayed), this is almost certainly the one I'd recommend the most.

Positive points:

-Plot: The plot of the game follows the story of an ambitious employee of the hated Hyperion corporation and a young con-woman looking to make big money. Throughout the story, constant plot-twists kept me on edge, trying to determine who I could trust and who I could betray. It always felt like things were so close to going right, but victory was just out of reach, and this made the game almost impossible to put down.

-Characters: I couldn't name a single character I disliked. Whilst some characters felt a little stereotyped, everyone was interesting and had their own motivations. In particular, mention goes out to Vasquez, Scooter and a certain holographic madman, all of whom were very memorable characters. Of course, not everyone makes it to the end of the story, but every death felt sad and it was easy to build attachments to many of the characters, even feeling sympathy with many of the villains.

-Soundtrack: I rarely pay much attention to the soundtrack of games, but this one really stuck out to me. The songs used really seemed to fit the world they were in, adding to the impression of the huge world, an epic adventure, and the overall setting. The Episode 4 Intro Credits were one of my highlights of the game, simply because the music seemed to fit the scene so well.

-Humour: If there was one thing I adored about this game, it was the humour. Despite feeling like an adventure of epic proportions, there was almost always (except for a few seriously emotional moments) a light-hearted feeling to it. The number of references to popular culture I could pick out (and assuredly the many I missed), as well as the characters' querks, their relationships and their dialogue. I found myself constantly laughing throughout the game, which is something I can't recall any other game inspiring, yet the humour didn't take away from the game at all.

Negative points:

-Choices: Playing through the game for the first time, it feels like a lot of the choices you make are huge, game-changing decisions. However, having looked online at the consequences of alternative choices, it seems like much of the game plays out the same way regardless of what you pick - very few characters fates appear to have been determinant and many of the choices you make are primarily cosmetic. The game's money system (which is only present on one of the characters) felt like an odd inclusion which didn't really fit like it particularly fit the game (though looking back I did enjoy the ability to customise character and vehicle appearances). Whilst the importance of choices may be similar in other Telltale games, I noticed it particularly in this game, though admittedly not so much during actual gameplay.

Overall:

Quite unexpectedly, I fell in love with a game I had thought would be simply a way to waste a few hours. It will almost certainly encourage me to return to the Borderlands world (though no promises on staying there long). Regardless, Telltale have created a game which far outscores their others (at least for me), and given me many gaming memories I doubt I shall be forgetting any time soon. The game isn't all that long (took me 14 hours with a few restarts on chapters where I found myself unhappy with my choices), but every minute is a laugh-filled emotional rollercoaster which keeps you hooked from the catchy start to the fulfilling ending. A must-buy, particularly in the sales.