Borderlands 2: Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty DLC
The Defence
The Prosecution
AMD equivalent
AMD Radeon HD 5850
The Case
Captain Scarlett and Her Pirates Booty is the first DLC for Borderlands 2. It gives you new areas to explore, new weapons, enemies, allies, and vehicles. Captain Scarlett is looking for treasure (naturally), and she needs you to help her find it! So does the first piece of DLC measure up to the rest of the game?
The Trial
Borderlands 2 is one of the best games of 2012, and it will have at least four DLC packs. Well the first one was released not that long after the actual game came out, and it kinda feels like a small add-on rather than an expansion. If you have the season pass you have it no matter what, but it may not be worth your money if you do not. Most of Captain Scarlett feels like any other part of the game, and does not add anything special to the formula.
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Welcome to Oasis.
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Without any fanfare you will travel to Oasis, and guess what? Bandits have taken it over, so freaking murder them! Here you will meet your first new ally/task commander that goes by the name of Shade. He is clearly inspired by Hunter S. Thompson, and the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He is strange, very strange. Immediately you start quests and it just feels underwhelming. I used a level 50 character with the best gear I could have found, and did not need much more progression. So as a result Captain Scarletts DLC starts off a little slow, and does not really shine. In Oasis you will get your new vehicle, the sand skiff which is only kind of mediocre, and has really bad vehicle only side quests.
Once you are done in Oasis, you will meet Scarlet on her ship and start looking for the ancient treasure. The story is almost nonexistent, and you could not care less about it. It feels more like a side mission to the main game rather than some expanding story arch. There are some gems here and there with the dialogue and characters but nothing outstanding. Everything is very pirate focused and it feels out of place. The setting is also bland overall consisting mostly only of deserts. I was surprised that there are some absolutely beautiful places that contrast the dry wastelands, but there weren’t enough of them.
Many of the new characters are fun additions to Borderlands 2. Scarlett is surprisingly the least favorite of the new characters, but she is still a good addition to the world. There are new enemies that are also really cool. Most of the them are new additions, and all of them are great to fight against. They will throw you off your guard because they use tactics not seen by other opponents on Pandora. My most and least favorite at the same time were the cursed pirates. They will run you down and start hitting you and when they hit you they suck the life out of you! There are new bosses that are cool looking, but if you are a level 50 character it will feel like someone turned God mode on. They will be easy to kill, actually easier than some normal enemies.
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Just like on a real boat.
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Since Borderlands 2 is all about the loot it should be mentioned that there are some new guns to acquire. Through the first part of the story it felt like there was absolutely nothing new on the loot front, but later there are some interesting guns to be found. I actually got one of the best guns I have ever seen in Borderlands 2, which made playing through the whole thing worthwhile.
The Verdict
Captain Scarlett and Her Pirates Booty is a nice addition to Borderlands 2, but is not a great one. It feels like it could have been included in the game, and would probably be better if played with a newer character. It is not all bad, and I would recommend playing through it if you want to see some new stuff. Just don't expect much of a challenge if you are level 50, or to find truck loads of new gear.
Case Review
- Oh shiny: Some cool new guns to find.
- Good lord you crazy!: Some fun new character that add to the insanity.
- Holy hell what are you?: New enemies that require some different approaches.
- Oh look more sand: Too much sand in my video game, but there are some lovely areas to see in the mix of the brown.
- No more please: The side quests are really boring, and some are just downright bad.
- What am I doing again?: Story is boring, and you might as well be day dreaming while it is happening.
- I am unstoppable!: If you are level 50 there is really no challenge at all.
Gallery
Posted 29-12-2012, 20:02
Yeah I agree, it just would have been better in the game instead of DLC later. Still not terrible, but nothing remarkable.
Posted 28-12-2012, 02:10
I wouldn't call them more boring. It's just that they're "More of the same". But "More of the same" in a self-contained DLC is more disappointing than if the DLC wasn't separate, but just integrated missions into the already existing world, making it possible to use this new vehicle in the regular game too, for example.
Posted 27-12-2012, 05:09
Its not that they are more or less boring, its that they are boring because I was level 50 already. It would not be that much better even if I wasn't. Most people were already at level 50 by the time this came out. Its not bad, just not spectacular.
Posted 23-12-2012, 20:58
As a person who has never played Borderlands 2, I have no right to chime in, thus the law of the Internet requires me to say something: so the quest are more boring than the usual kind of Boredomlands quests?
Posted 23-12-2012, 14:53
Ups, fixed. Thanks Jenssen :P
Posted 23-12-2012, 14:26
Pretty sure her name is Scarlett. Just nitpicking. :)