Borderlands 2 Vault Hunters Edition Review 2013

 
Very Addicting! 10 / 10 ...



9 / 10

Let's have a look at these awesome goodies that 2K have included in our worthy investment XD
First of all let's take a look at the packaging, the illustrious style definatley sparks the return of a largely anticipated game. Textures and colour palette are strong and compliment every area of the edition perfectly. However; my only complaint is the gradiant for the background is quite dark but I understand that this was to enhance the character's profiles and domimance. But this complaint only applies to the main side of the box. Up next came the 5 inch + Marcus bobblehead. A brilliant paint job with excellent comic detail and a suprisingly substantial weight to the figurine. Along side this was the 157 page hardback artbook with concept art ranging from character development to 3D animations and weapon design (for all you gun nuts out there! XD) This makes the edition worth the price tag, lets face it, it's not common for most collectors edition's to have artbooks of this thickness and standard. Other bits and bobs include: the digital contents code, Premiere club voucher, stickers and the free comic book download. Personally I would prefer the postcards (from the loot chest edition) rather than the stickers as the graphic design is way better than the simplicity of these stickers. Another issue was the missing code for the free comic book download. It turns out, I'm not the only one. According to 2K they said that they removed the codes right at the last minute so that everyone can have it for free online. So far, I have tried to download the comic book but to no avail, therefore I shall continue to find a way past this issue. Links to these edition are included at the end of the review.



Apart from these minor complaints, this is a worthy edition to invest in. My attempts in purchasing the loot chest edition were numerous. Eventually; I found out that the loot chest editions sold out within 2 days of pre-order. wow... If your interested in the loot chest edition; check Ebay as you might get the edition for less than £220.00 (Amazon's price.) If you like the sound of the comic books, have a look on Amazon as they usually sell them at a discounted price.

 

 

A terrific sequal to it's creator... In Borderlands 2, 2K introduce four more vault hunters to Pandora: Maya the Siren (The only returning class so far...) who can use her Phaselocking ability to trap enemies and deal a serious amount of damage nearby enemies. Axton, a former DAHL soldier who can call upon his turret for assistance in battle. Salvador (the Gunzerker) who can dual-wield any weapon of his choosing and for a short period of time, deal double the damage. And lastly... a mysterious assassin by the name of Zero who can create decoys to manipulate his enemies. Despite the first Borderlands game being hugely successful, this was by far a huge step up. The inventory system, (equiping and assigning points to your characters skills etc) is alot easier to use. The vast variety of weapons are alot more intricate in terms of design, animations and sound effects e.g. Maliwan. The variety of colourful environments makes a welcoming change from the constant desert surroundings in the previous game. Character animations, voice acting and call-outs are believeable and are specially appointed to a certain type of character. E.g. Maya is quite a verocious young siren who is very proud of her god-given heritage, thus she shows off her markings more than her siren "sister,"  Lilith. As a result, her callouts often reflect her personality, "Silence!" or "I'm back bitches!"

So as you can tell, Sirens on the whole fascinate me an a games artist. Mainly, because their history is still mysterious today, that and their gifts are complicated and unique in their own right. Customisation has become a abit of a hit this time offering skins like "Admiral Kickass." or Maliwan. These skin are achieved through either progression or completed challenges. A very interesting way of making a character feeling like your own. And certainly worth the effort in collecting. Briefly I would like to add that the story was cleverly thought of in terms of the inter-linking importance that every played. Basically, you start off as being on then train along-side your allies. Soon enough you find out that Handsome Jack tricked you and filled the train full of explosives. Found unconcious by Claptrap, he takes you to sanctuary: a city where the people openly reject Jack's rule... If you havn't started the game, I will not continue. But trust me, you will face many missions and enemies... make sure you bring friends... more fun that way XD

Which brings me to this glorious section, to those who are great fans of the game so far, you would be pleased to know that Lilith (a.k.a the Firehawk) returns alongside with ex-boyfriend, Roland (Leader of the Crimson Raiders), Mordecai and Bloodwing (alcoholic and Spy) and lastly Brick (Leader of the slabs.) Old faces will also return e.g. Scooter, Moxxie etc. These guys act as your mentors as well as protectors thorough-out your time on Pandora. Indeed alot has happened in 5 years (game wise) from random appearences of Angel to filling Handsome Jack's head with bullets. However; lets not forget just how far our past charactors have evolved as people. Not only have they become leaders in their own right but their personalities have matured furthered as well as their abilities. This is reflected in their clothing. Take for example, Lilith: ever since the discovery of the vault and it's contents, Lilith's powers has surged through her body enabling her to "liquify enemies" and teleporting. Her clothing has suffered, her hair is alot longer and care free. Moving on, the enemies seem to have been given a make-over aswell. Voice wise, they are alot more talkative and there are some variety of bandits. They are in essence alot more fun to fight with!

 

One of the most enjoyable times while playing BL2, was meeting and completing quests for Tiny Tina. Her voice... was so distinct and it suited her character beautifully. Tina is a 13 year old girl who lives near Mordecai and so happens to be a explosives expert. A very unique take on a character who shows some degree of insanity while living in an area full of irratating insects and . For example, she sends you on a mission to recover her "Badonkadonks" and hosting a tea party while electrifying the bandit who was responsible for killing her parents. I cannot tell you the pleasure of watching her. A great character who deserves to be in the game! I just wish we could have seen more of her.

 

 

 Combat overall was astounding! The amount of exploration and side missions is definatley worth your interest and money. And more importantly they aid you in strengthening your character and provide you with more skill points. Claptrap has become somewhat of a legend in BL2. Trust me and look into what he says on youtube. His performance on the whole has changed for the better, giving him more of a humerous yet sarcastic nature. Afterall, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise XD




Overall NPC's are excellent in terms of performance, combat and voice interaction. Borderlands 2 has more touching relationships than it's first. Take for example the father-daughter relationship between Roland and Tiny Tina and contrast that with Angel and her father, Handsome Jake. Having spent a considerable amount of time by herself in her "prison" and her power being openly feared and abused by her parents, it's no suprise that Angel detests her father. While we can see Handsome Jack as being this terrible overlord, his interests were protecting his only daughter but at the time, using her for his own interests and manipulates those around him. His traits do not rub off on his daughter, instead she cares and provides your character (plus allies) with useful information etc. The most touching part of their relationship was when the vault hunters faced the daunting task of killing Angel. Screaming from the monitors of Angels chambers, "Your killing an innoccent girl! Angel please! The sacrifces I have made, the people I have killed and manipulated was to protect you!" Again this is very touching, but Angel coldly dismisses this explaination as she see's this as him manipulating her further. When Angel passes away, we instantly see a change in Handsome Jack. No longer is he "merciful," as a man who has nothing left, nothing can stop someone in this mindset from creating more devastation. This indicates that Jack did love his daughter but his greed and treatment of her and innoccent people hastened her death.

 

So to conclude this review.... this is a must buy for an avid gamer who adores this illustration style and voilence. All aspects have been improved and made gameplay alot more enjoyable as well as to watch. The vault hunters edition and the loot chest edition are definatley worth your money. The best place to buy this edition is either Amazon or Ebay. Make sure the the editions are being sold by a trusted retailer with nearly 99.9% customer feedback.

Here are some useful links!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_fb_0_15?url=search-alias%3Dvideogames&field-keywords=borderlands+2+vault+hunters+edition&sprefix=borderlands+2+v%2Cstripbooks%2C320

 http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=loot+chest+edition&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Overal I rank this game as: GREAT

 

Tomb Raider: Reboot Survival Edition 2013 March Review

 

Perfect! 10 / 10 ...

 

"In order to make someone a hero, you have to break them..."

 

 

For over 2 years, there was heavy debate as to: Would we see and play another Tomb Raider game again? ... Many thought the worse. Either that or a continuation of Lara Croft VS Amanda Evert storyline. Under our very noses, Crystal Dynamics worked away on a new beginning for the Tomb Raider franchise. Situated around a horror genre with early concept images of enemies of a deformed nature... this was all we knew. Indeed Lara Croft has been cherished by the gaming industry and the gamers themselves. So to just end the story there would have been very heartbreaking to say the least. The review I complete here isn't just like any other... this celebrates what I hope to be the rebirth of future Tomb Raider games.

 

 

 

So let's begin with the edition!

 

First of all, the standard is extroadinary. Contrasts of dark purples, whites and flesh tones occur through-out on the cover which defines the survival and vunerable theme of the game beautifully. When we open the lid, the first thing you will notice is the survival pouch with the cord underneath. An interesting twist to a collectors edition if you ask me. Upon examination, the top looks sturdy enough but if you intend on using this pouch, I would advice that you only use this for a map. Next came the double sided map, very nice indeed. The posture and colour palette overall is maintained very well. The only thing that would be nice if the developers could sign it. Purchasing this edition means you will get a redemption code for the soundtrack. The game ofcourse and lastly the artbook. Looking through what little pages they were displaying, brought a smile to my face as an artist. 3D was heavily involved here along side with some character and environmental concept art. The quality of work here is ... truely breaktaking. I adore the abstractism and the use of colour, textures, balance and depth shown here. This edition was well worth the £55.00 (With the £5.00 deposit.) 

 

 

This section will be about the game. Within 10 seconds of playing, my jaw dropped (literally) :D Everything I was seeing was so crisp, fresh and rewarding at the same time. You should have seen my face when I completed the game. All elements of the game complimented beautifully with each other. The music was very resfreshing; rustic, raw and tribal (being the main focus.) The voice acting along with character animations was hugely realistic and a pleasure to watch and observe. From mountain villages, rich forests, blood filled caverns, stormy coastlines, to decaying temples: the environments were stunning! So I couldn't resist exploring the surroundings even further. Infact, there have been numerous occasions where I made Lara stand still so I could gaze at the textures and depths around her. Absolutley beautiful. Combat was also a nice welcoming edition, sometimes appearing in a cinematical sense. Lara's primary weapon is the bow. A very useful and deadly tool indeed as well aquiring a shotgun, rifle, ice axe and pistol. It was interesting to look for salvage and the upgrading options were numerous, simple and nice to see. Multiplayer is here aswell... just as good as single player in terms of combat and environments. But lacking teamwork slightly.

 

 

 

The only negativity I have heard was the sexual assualt scene and the times where Lara was seriously injured. Yes I can understand what effects this would happen on a young 21 year old woman. But I must remind you all: gamers yearn for a realistic experience. And it's very difficult to capture that in most games these days. The scene was just right in my opinion, we didn't see her harmed but neither was she undereacting. If you were in her situation... what would you do? As for the next issue, in a survival situation, things like this can happen. But the message for me is clear: Keep fighting... Survive. You must place all your prejudges and beliefs behind. This message is shown clearly in the game adding realism and experience.

 

 

To some up 4 days of pleasure: I assure you; you will not be disapointed. Every inch of the game is astounding. The amount of detail in all aspects from story, environments, combat, gameplay, multiplayer, exploration, history behind the storyline, experience, cinematics etc is perfect! I would like to thank Crystal Dynamics for such hard, dedication, care and standard shown towards Tomb Raider 2013. It is my greatest hope that we see more Tomb Raider Games in the future, especially if they are to this standard!

Thank you for reading this review. I hope you guys enjoyed it and feel inspired by it. If you guys have any questions, or I missed anything don't be afraid to ask and let me know! :D