Borderlands 2: Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty Review

    
     So in the last week I have designated as much free time humanly possible to dive into the first of four expansions of Borderlands 2 for the Xbox 360. I should start by saying that I did truly enjoy both Borderlands and Borderlands 2. I should also divulge that this review will be based solely on my feelings about Captain Scarlett and her Pirate's Booty and not the original content.

     First off since I am a very budget conscious gamer so let’s looks at the financials, Borderlands 2 still retails at the big box stores for $59.99 and each of the four expansions will cost you 800 Microsoft points ($10) individually. For those of you keeping score that means full price you will be spending $100 on this game unless you opt for their "Season pass" for $30. With the season pass you will have to put all the money up front and as a reward for your patronage you get essentially get one of the expansions for free. Since I am unsure how committed I am to BL2 I decided to go the individual route and if the expansions continue to hold my attention, or some other game doesn't steal my business, and all of my gamer buddies stay interested I will buy them as they release.

     Overall if I'm being honest "Scarlett's Booty" as we refer to it on the streets, is extremely hit and miss for me. It's clear that the developers are making strides to increase longevity in the game and make things a little more difficult to farm all of the over powered weapons, which I like. I am okay in admitting that I have a sick addiction in Borderlands to try and find the most unfair and broken weapon combos in order to gain bragging rights to all my friends. I have spent way too many hours farming bosses to get The Bee shield and the Conference Call Shotgun and the Baby Maker SMG. And with this combo my friends and I have killed the first Raid Boss Terramorphus the Invincible AT LEAST 1,000 times. In the first expansion they have added 2 new raid bosses Hyperius the Invincible and Master Gee the Invincible, but this time you may only kill them once per day. Even if you beat him once in your game and join a friend’s game, they will not be able to fight him because someone in their party has already reached their limit. Some will see this as a major turn off, but I think over all its a smart move. It adds real life value to the new Seraph Crystal currency that was added to the game. Raid Bosses drop 0-10 Seraph Crystals that are to be collected and traded to a new vendor much like Eridium. Collect Seraph Crystals and purchase Seraph weapons and items. Okay enough Rambling it’s time to break this thing down.

THE GOODS

     Thankfully Borderlands 2 knows where to price its DLC unlike others such as *cough*callofduty*cough* 800MS points is a fair price depending on content and how much you like the game. Fortunately I really enjoy BL2 and for what they are giving you 800 points is very fair. The two new raid bosses and new Seraph currency system will definitely challenge you and your friends in new ways and might even teach you financial responsibility in the process! In short it’s more of the same, so if you liked the original game but were starving for more missions you will love the DLC, if you were burnt out on the original you may find yourself bored.

THE BADS

     I feel like they did very little to make the expansion tie in cohesively to the original content. None of the fan favorite characters from BL2 have any impact on the new story, and the new vehicle from the expansion is unusable in the zones from the original content. As per usual the storyline is nothing spectacular, but that has never been the franchises strong suit. I should also point out that a lot of the comedy bits are also pretty weak. Many of the punch lines were desperate and not as clever as before.

CONCLUSION

6/10 Bonerfarts

     To wrap this thing up I am not disappointed I bought this DLC. It met the minimum requirements of a solid expansion to a game. It brings more of the non-stop action, more of the wub wub, more of the insane raid bosses, but also brings more of the sketchy storylines, more of the hit and miss comedy. To simplify things even more.. If you really enjoyed Borderlands 2, buy the expansion.. If you didn't really like Borderlands 2 the expansion is not going to sway your opinion and your 800 MS points are best spent on that Avatar light saber you've always wanted.