When we review a game without finishing it, we call it a Snap Judgment. Read why here.
Time played: 4 hours
I was in for a surprise as I set out for The Secret Armory of General Knoxx with a level 50 character, because as beefy as I thought my Siren was, she couldn't stand up to what was waiting for me at T-Bone Junction and beyond. Basically, I died. All of the time. I went from having around four million dollars in my bank account down to under a million before I even gained my first level in the DLC -- the hefty cost of respawning in the wilds of Pandora. And that's what made this whole thing so odd.
The expansion -- which is intended to give you some more mileage out of your maxed-out characters by raising the level cap to 61 -- continues from the end of the Borderlands story, so playing it before finishing the game proper is not advised. I finished my second playthrough with a level 50 character, so to start this add-on and run into such a wall, such constantly merciless opposition, was pretty perplexing.
Alongside today's release of The Secret Armory of General Knoxx DLC for Borderlands (on the Xbox 360, at least -- it's this Thursday for PC and PlayStation 3), Gearbox Software has unveiled a new trailer touting the many new features of its third content pack. As you can likely guess, a multitude of guns, creatures, dudes, and the destruction thereof, makes up the majority of what you see above -- there's also some pulse-pounding music to go right alongside that, if you're so inclined.
With a raised level cap and a lack of arena-based combat (at least as far as we know), General Knoxx could very well be the most enticing content add-on to date for Borderlands. And that's exactly why we're standing near a couch when reviewing it, hoping to be knoxx'd off our feet. (Sorry, there was no getting around that one.) We'll let you know in a few.
Ready to cross the border into new lands in your ... Borderlands? The doors will creak open to Borderlands' "Secret Armory of General Knoxx" add-on tomorrow. TeamXbox reports that the downloadable expansion, which adds new areas with new missions, the requisite piles of weapons, and even an increased level cap, will be released on Xbox 360 tomorrow, February 23, for 800 ($10), with PS3 and PC releases to follow on Thursday for the same price.
One more thing: When you go online to explore the new content, we recommend that you let Gearbox's own hiring policy govern your interactions with your fellow mercenaries.
Gearbox head Randy Pitchford delivered some claptrap at DICE today, saying that Borderlands has sold 3 million units globally. A good sign for 2009's fastest-selling original IP, which may not have generated the most revenue, but it's apparently starting off 2010 with good momentum. And with a third DLC pack on the way, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, it appears Borderlands may welcome even more travelers.
As DICE is a business conference, Pitchford was also quite open about what's important to Gearbox as a studio -- he also shared his Gamertag ("DuvalMagic"). He shared components of what he thinks are important to the company's employees, like aggressive profit sharing, milestone bonuses and discretionary merit based rewards. He also mentioned a crass, but wise, tenet of the studio's hiring process: "No drama, no dicks, no douchebags."
Gearbox head Randy Pitchford delivered some claptrap at DICE today, saying that Borderlands has sold 3 million units globally. A good sign for 2009's fastest-selling original IP, which may not have generated the most revenue, but it's apparently starting off 2010 with good momentum. And with a third DLC pack on the way, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, it appears Borderlands may welcome even more travelers.
As DICE is a business conference, Pitchford was also quite open about what's important to Gearbox as a studio -- he also shared his Gamertag ("DuvalMagic"). He shared components of what he thinks are important to the company's employees, like aggressive profit sharing, milestone bonuses and discretionary mert based rewards. He also mentioned a crass, but wise, tenet of the studio's hiring process: "No drama, no dicks, no douchebags"
go ahead, click on this guy to enlarge. he's perfectly harmless
The borderlands, they're a-gettin' bigger. More specifically, Borderlands is expanding yet again with its third DLC pack, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, which Gearbox says was created based on player feedback (i.e. development began after the game's release). Today we get a better look at what it'll offer up, including mechs, skagg riders and really gnarly enemies bristling with grafted-on weaponry. New vehicles are also in the works, including a four-seater tank that gives each co-op party member something to do. 2K and Gearbox still haven't announced a release date or pricing for the expansion, but we'll let you know those details as soon as we do.
We wouldn't blame you if you're hesitant to trust your cold, unfeeling game console with your credit card information -- when that thing inevitably goes sentient, you just know its just going to go on an overpriced accessory-shopping spree. Fortunately, there's other ways to obtain content on the Xbox Live Marketplace; for instance, a recently added GameStop listing has revealed that Borderlands' two DLC packs, The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned and Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot, will soon be bundled together in a retail package for the 360 and PC.
The bundle, which is set to drop February 23, will be priced at $19.99, which is how much the DLC would cost if purchased separately on the Marketplace. Only, now you're also paying sales tax, meaning you're buying an expansion pack and paying for a few pages of a public elementary school textbook. How nice of you!
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
click to enlarge
Gearbox Software and 2K Games have revealed the name -- and first solid details -- for the third DLC expansion for Borderlands. Called The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, the new content is pitched as having "never-before-seen enemies in a huge new environment complete with tons of brand new missions."
New weapons and items are also promised, along with a previously confirmed raising of the character level cap from 50 to ... an undisclosed number. Still, Gearbox states there will be "new challenges and opportunities for growth for characters from around level 34 to level 50." No release timetable has been announced, but we've contacted 2K for addition info. First screens in the gallery below!
Gallery: Borderlands: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx
If you haven't been paying attention to the end-of-year NPD reports, it may surprise you to learn that Gearbox's multiplayer shooter slash RPG, Borderlands, performed quite well in the gruesome 2009 gaming sales arena. How did it manage this feat? Well, we'd attribute it to the game's massive stockpile of collectible weaponry, which we found to be black tar heroin-esque in its addictiveness. However, Gearbox president Randy Pitchford chalks it up to choosing hardcore gamers as the title's target audience.
"Perhaps Borderlands can be a lesson for all of us -- that when making a videogame, we should not be afraid to identify gamers as the audience," Pitchford said in a recent interview with IGN. "I wonder if too frequently publishers and developers are so caught up with going after new, untapped audiences that they can forget to care for the largest, most loyal and reliable audience there is -- the current gamer," he added. Well, there go our hopes for a Facebook-based Borderlands gem-swapping casual puzzler.
The biggest issue facing most Borderlands players has to be the level cap. When you reach level 50, what do you do next? Sure, you could start up a new character and do it all again, but what if you have each class maxed out? Well, then we think the technical term is: you're boned.
That won't be the case for much longer, as Gearbox's Jason Reiss recently popped on the company's forums to guarantee the most-requested feature for the game was indeed in the works. Not only will there be new DLC, but Reiss also confirms there's another update coming that "solves a bunch of issues." That's like two for the price of one, right? Wait, our math may be a bit off -- moving on!
There's no timetable for either the update or DLC at this point, but Reiss says we can expect a full announcement "soon." And you can expect a post about it on our website when there's more info because that's how this relationship works.
If more Borderlands DLC is just what the doctor ordered - not Doctor Ned, of course, star of the shooter slash RPG's first DLC outing - then look no further than this week's "Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot."
Developer Gearbox is giving Joystiq readers an exclusive look at the above gameplay trailer, showing off some of the pack's offerings: three new Riot Mode arenas, the "bank" where you can " 'stache your loot" and a litany of modifiers, like "Hot Potato," "Loaded" and "Dodgeball." It's a slow week, folks - "Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot" spices things up on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network tomorrow.
Gearbox's Randy Pitchford made a pretty bold claim when he said that the new Borderlands DLC, "Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot," would comprise more than just new levels, but an entirely new mode as well. After an hour or so spent battling it out in Moxxi's tournament, we're happy to report that, though it doesn't feel like a brand new game, it provides a welcome shake-up of the main story's quest-based structure.
Read on to see if Mad Moxxi's going to be worth your ten bucks when it arrives on Dec. 28 on Xbox 360 and Jan. 7 on PS3.
As 2009 drawn to a close, it seems that Borderlands is going to be one of the few real original IP success stories of the year. Gearbox's co-optimized first-person shooter has emerged from a pack of licensed games and sequels to sell 2 million units worldwide, according to Take-Two's most recent financial release.
Take-Two added that the game "has established itself as a key franchise for Take-Two, for which the Company has long-term publishing rights," so it seems as though 2 million or so of you have a return trip or two to look forward to in the coming years.
Gearbox's Randy Pitchford made a pretty bold claim when he said that the new Borderlands DLC, "Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot" would comprise more than just new levels, but an entirely new mode as well. After an hour or so spent battling it out in Moxxi's tournament, we're happy to report that, though it doesn't feel like a brand new game, it provides a welcome shake-up of the main story's quest-based structure.
Read on to see if Mad Moxxi's going to be worth your ten bucks when it arrives on Dec. 28 on Xbox 360 and Jan. 7 on PS3.
A new Borderlands title update is available on Xbox 360 (with a PS3 version coming soon). The patch fixes a number of issues, the most serious problems affecting skill points, Achievements and Trophies. Some players have encountered glitches that made them lose skill points, while others have had trouble unlocking Gamerscore/XP -- even after successfully completing an Achievement. Thankfully, the patch should apply retroactively, awarding players their rightfully earned skill points and gamer cred.
To see the full list of fixes in the patch, click past the break.
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The latest item of DLC coming to Borderlands adds new, combat-focused content to the game ... while simultaneously removing any artifice with which Gearbox was obscuring the universe's cinematic inspiration. Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot (get it?) adds three new Riot Mode arenas for single-player or co-op, along with a new bank feature for storing weapons.
That's right, a bank. For weapons. That pretty much guarantees you'll pony up the 800 Microsoft Points when this comes out December 29 on Xbox, or the 10 bucks for the PS3 version on January 7. No date or price has been announced for PC. Full press release after the break.
As noted by PS3Trophies.org, it appears that more Borderlands DLC is imminent. The five recently added Trophies point to three coliseums, called The Angelic Ruins, The Gully and Hell-Burbia, all of which appear to have "lesser" and "larger" challenges.
Eurogamer mentions that Borderlands Creative Director Mikey Neuman was all set to reveal something on Twitter, but it appears the marketing powers changed the announcement to a "later occasion." Publisher Take-Two seems happy with the success of Borderlands and critical reception to the game's first DLC pack, The Zombie Island of Doctor Ned. Reaching out to 2K Games about the DLC, we were informed, "No official announcements have been made regarding future Borderlands
DLC at this time."
[Via Eurogamer]
After being recognized as the year's fastest-selling new IP and its developer calling a sequel a "no-brainer," Borderlands is "showing every sign of becoming an important, long-term franchise" for publisher Take-Two Interactive. That comment was made today by company chairman Strauss Zelnick, during the same earnings call in which a considerable delay for another important franchise title, Max Payne 3, was disclosed.
But really, who cares about Max "I don't need an intervention" Payne when faced with the prospect of Borderlands: The Clap Trap Chronicles?
German Borderlands players who just had to import the gory, uncensored version of the title from another region are getting their comeuppance. According to a lengthy thread on the Gearbox forums, players who purchase the Zombie Island of Doctor Ned expansion from the German Xbox Live Marketplace can't access the new content from their imported copies of the game. We've contacted Gearbox to find out if anything is being done to refund the DLC's 800 cost to these depraved, violence-crazed importers. They certainly don't seem like the type of crowd you'd want to upset.
Are you enjoying the zombie-massacring action presented in Left 4 Dead 2, but wish the game had more ... panache? The upcoming DLC pack for Borderlands, titled The Zombie Island of Doctor Ned, might just offer the stylish undead action you crave. Check out the trailer after the break to see what we mean. Spoiler alert: In the video, zombie faces get punched into gooey paste, Were-Skags get euthanized, and birds get flipped. It's probably not suitable for the faint of heart. The walking corpse-infested landmass is downloadable right now on 360 and PS3 for 800/$9.99.
