Well I have finally jumped into playing a game from the Borderlands franchise and I kicked it all off by playing through the Tales From The Borderlands game which has been sat in my backlog for far too long now. I do have all the other Borderland games in my backlog but for now this was a nice way to ease myself into the franchise and get a feel for the style of games.
The thing that I immediately fell in love with was the graphic style in this game as it is different to what I would usually play. The graphics are more like what you see when you read a graphic novel or are watching an anime/cartoon which is great. I definitely enjoyed this art style within the game and it made a nice change from the other games I have played recently which are mainly sports games.
One frustrating part of this game was the load times as I just seemed to be waiting for them for a very long time, I aren't sure if it is down to me playing on a Day One Xbox One or just the game in general but at points it did make me want to just switch the console off and walk away from the game as I could have easily knocked an hour of my overall playing time if it sped up a little bit. It didn't help that the loading screen would often pop up at random points throughout the game so just as you thought you was making good progress and getting right into the game you was back to waiting for the game to load.
There were a few points throughout the game that had me laughing or a little confused due to how random some of the moments and things the characters say actually are, but Liam assured me this is just one thing the Borderlands franchise does well so I think I will definitely be jumping into those games in the future as I think it is an element of the game that is really well done.
Another thing I liked about this game is how easy going it was, the controls are nice and simple and you actually aren't doing too much in the game so it is definitely a game to try if you want something a bit slower paced. All you have to really do is move to dodge, press a button to select a choice and lock in on a target every now and then so it is nothing too strenuous. I did have a few issues where reactions didn't happen even when I did them perfectly on time but I think this is down to the game lagging every now and then. The controls did feel a little clunky throughout my play-through but it wasn't enough to stop me going through and completing the game. This game seems to have taught me that I really do enjoy games with the choices element as I enjoyed seeing how my decisions would impact future episodes and moments. There is a fair bit of sitting around in the game as you wait for things to happen and wait for those dreaded load screens to disappear but honestly I didn't mind at all as I actually followed the story more than I usually would as I took it all in due to it being my main focus.
The game is made up of 5 episodes with 6 chapters to play-through in each chapter so the game is actually broken down nicely and doesn't take too long to complete. You can play them chronologically or you can just do specific chapters however, if you do skip chapters then the choices for the previous will be randomised where as if you play in order all the actions are from choices you made which was great to watch unfold. The chapters are nice and short but tell the story of the game well I think if they were any longer I would have got bored of them but with them being the perfect length it didn't feel like the story had unnecessary parts or was dragging on. Chapter 2 to 5 all begin with an episode recap which is fantastic as if you have had a while away from the game you have the chance to recap on what has gone on and where you are up to in the game. The game definitely started a little slow in my opinion but by episode 3 there was plenty more action for you to be thrown into so you was sat around doing nothing a lot less.
If you are into your achievement hunting and want to complete every game you play this is a nice easy one for you as you can gain 100% by completing all the episodes in each chapter so you wont be having to replay the game a few times to achieve everything. This is actually the first game I have achieved 100% on. I did have to uninstall the game and reinstall it though as for some reason it was telling me I had to buy episode 5, yet I knew it came on the disk. Luckily once it was reinstall the episode was available so I could go on to complete it, my save file was still there too so I didn't have to worry about losing all my previous progress and I could just pick back up where I left off.
Not only was this my first Borderlands game but it was also my first game by Tell Tale Games so I honestly didn't know what to expect going into the game, I think that this helped me enjoy the game a bit more as I had played nothing like it and it took me by surprise. Playing through this game has certainly made me want to play the Game of Thrones Telltale game I own as I love Game of Thrones and would love to compare how they both play out. Tales from the Borderlands cost me a grand total of £4.99 and it was definitely worth every penny. If you own this game but haven't played it yet what are you waiting for?
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