The Case

In 2009, Gearbox software would release a game called Borderlands. Combining the ever popular genre of first person shooting with the character progression and loot acquisition of action RPGs, Borderlands would go on to become a massively popular franchise spawning two sequels, mobile games, merchandise, etc. Now Gearbox (along with Borderlands' publisher 2K Games), have teamed up with Telltale Games to bring us the next Borderlands installment, Tales From The Borderlands; an adventure game with nearly none of the shooting or the looting that made the Borderlands franchise famous? Court is now in session.

The Trial

Ladies and gentleman of the jury, previously on the last episode of Tales From The Borderlands... just kidding. If you want to know what I thought about Episode 1 and 2 look at the related links box-out above.

So, on to Episode 3. Let me just get some basic stuff out of the way. If you’ve been enjoying the series through episodes 1 and 2 then you might as well go and play through Episode 3. If you didn’t like the first two episodes, Episode 3 is not going to change your mind. It’s more of the same, for better or for worse depending on how you’ve viewed the series so far.

Presentation. Since all of my points from the previous episodes are essentially unchanged, I’m going to repeat myself here a bit. The visuals are basic but effective in that Borderlands style while the audio and voice acting really bring the story to life. At certain points the frame rate tanked from 60fps to 40fps. Given how lightweight this game is on system resources and the strength of the rig I’m playing on, this really should never happen but here in Episode 3 it’s still happening.

Gameplay. Nothing new at all, it’s still a point and click. All of the mechanics from the previous episode, or you could say from Telltale’s point and click games, are in effect here. Nothing amazing here. They work to progress the story and in no way, shape or form get in the way.

The story. Considering how the last episode left off, it’s no surprise that this episode starts off with a bang as bullets and missiles are flying about, and bodies are hitting the floor. Rhys, Fiona and company have their hands on the Gortys project and are trying to escape from Vasquez and August... then comes Vallory. There are a number of ways this can go, but in the end the crew escapes with a small childlike robot called Gortys that explains that it needs to collect the rest of its upgrades before it’s fully functional. What follows is a trip to an Atlas facility where the gang retrieves the necessary part, meets an occupant of the facility who isn’t what he seems to be, before having another showdown with Vallory and some familiar faces from the previous Borderlands games. It’s a wild, fun ride, with a few potentially emotional bits as well depending on your choices.

That’s really all I need to say. Well...that and that Loader Bot is STILL awesome.

The Verdict

This is another Telltale game, and inarguably more of the same as episodes 1 and 2. It does nothing new, but depending on who you are it may not have to. If you enjoyed episodes 1 and 2, then this is a must play. If you didn’t enjoy them, then this is an avoid. If you want to start off with Episode 3, DON’T. Nothing will make sense to you as very little recap or exposition takes place.

Case Review