Borderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt
Score: 80% Publisher: 2K Games Developer: Gearbox Software Media: Download/1 Players: 1 - 4 Genre: First Person Shooter/RPG/Online
Introduction: Hey, Vault Hunters! Feeling that itch? You know what itch I'm talking about: that itch. The one that can only be satisfied by shooting Pandoran people and creatures and stealing all of their stuff while laughing at the misfortunes of everyone around you! Yes, Borderlands 2's DLC cycle is well underway with this third expansion: Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt. So far, Gearbox's sophomore smash has yet to host a disappointment on the level of Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot, and thankfully, they don't seem too eager to give us a repeat of that. Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt, like everything else that preceded it, is more Borderlands. More quests, more enemies, more loot, and more laughs. That should be all the incentive you need to pick this up. But really, you should have a Season Pass by now.
Fire in the Hole, Eh Wot?: As the title implies, Borderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt reunites your Vault Hunter(s) with the first human friend he/she initially made on Pandora, the half-prosthesis-half-British-gentleman-badass Sir Hammerlock. He invites you out to his cabin in the mountainous swamplands of Aegrus for a weekend of hunting. Of course, this is Borderlands 2, so naturally, things take a turn for the weird. Of course, you fight new Pandoran monsters like explosive spores and what appear to be giant tripedal insectoids, but there are new human enemies in the savages. These freaks, like the Goliaths in the core game, level up as they fight, which makes them prime targets for experience and loot.
Your New Worst Enemy: A ways into the expansion, you are introduced to a mad drama queen of a scientist, Professor Nakayama. This man is so obsessed with Handsome Jack that he wants to build and animate a clone of him. Since Handsome Jack was essentially evil incarnate, that's not a good thing. Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt ends with an anticlimax that is utterly incredible in its audacity. It is so boldly awful that it actually doubles back on itself and ends up being not only totally characteristic of the franchise itself, but one of the funniest moments in the series.
The Catch: So everything I've said about Borderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt has been positive. Why is the score for this one lower than that of the other Borderlands 2 expansions? Borderlands normally pads out its slower, grindier elements with voices in your ear. It softens the rough stuff with humor. While the humor in Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt is classic Borderlands, it's sandwiched between a comparatively dull (from a gameplay perspective) quest line. Perhaps the formula is wearing thin for me again, but this expansion gives me a different feeling. Well, it looks like we have one more downloadable expansion to look forward to before the wait begins for the all-but-inevitable Borderlands 3. Since Gearbox has been pumping out quality content for their flagship franchise, that wait won't be very easy.
-FenixDown, GameVortex Communications AKA Jon Carlos
Related Links: Official Website of Borderlands 2 Game Vortex's Coverage of Borderlands
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