The Bi... The Witch Is Back. Bayonetta 2: Return To Thunderdome (Possible Spoilers Of Course)

Sorry it's been more than a week since my last post.  Busy life is busy.  Especially with games to play, comics to read, and apartments to clean.

 

Let's do this.

Bayonetta 2 is a video game for the horrendously underrated Nintendo Wii U home video game console about witches and their quest to capture all the rings from Sonic the Hedgehog and use really cool weapons and techniques and demon summons to crush their angelic and demonic foes in a quest to capture all Pokemon everywhere.  Alright, so the rings are simply inspired by Sonic and there are no Pokemon.  It's really about the titular (no pun intended) character Bayonetta trying to save the soul of her friend Jeanne (pretty much pronounced "John") who is trapped in Hell Inferno, because Jeanne sacrificed her life to save Bayonetta (whom Jeanne calls "Cereza") from Bayonetta's own demon summon which oddly went out of control.  Of course the story spins off from that into a bigger end of the world sort of story we are familiar with and definitely echos back to the first of the series, but that's hardly of concern.  The primary concern is the character, style, and gameplay of Bayonetta 2.  At least that's all the concern Team Little Angels had, because the story definitely feels like it was developed to the point they could market it as a game and immediately stopped after that.  Also both Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 are packaged in the same box at the price of one game.  It's great.

The first Bayonetta was somewhat controversial given the overt sexual overtones of the portrayal, dialogue, and pretty much every movement Bayonetta made.  The second one makes the first look somewhat conservative.  The overtones are sometimes replaced with just outright sexual commentary and the scenes of crotch and butt shots are somewhat a little more obvious.  It's not that this is a bad thing for the most part, but sometimes it felt like the game just goes a bit out of its way to remind us Bayonetta leverages her sexuality.  Gone are her platinum award "I should've been a pole dancer!" comments (or at least I think so, I haven't been able to WIN a platinum award yet) and in it's place gives us Bayonetta putting squirrels in her cleavage, or Loki commenting about how Luka stares at Bayonetta's tits all day long, or Bayonetta straight up ditching innuendo and blatantly saying, "Though if it's sex we're talking about..." (Summary, not an actual quote).  It's odd, because while these things aren't bad they just feel out of place or shoehorned in.  I get, accept, and revel in how Bayonetta is meant to be a sexy, flirty vixen who strips down and engages in suggestive combat styles while saying things like, "You want to touch me?" but that's part of her charm.  Before in the first game she simply implies it in subtle and smart ways and moves on.  The second game sometimes just ditches it in case the viewer didn't get the joke.  Like if Stephen Colbert made a joke about why nobody is comfortable with a celebrating Germany then waited a few minutes to say, "You get it?  Because the last time the world saw a very celebratory Germany was when it was run by the Nazi regime and they were storming Europe while reveling in their status!"  It sort of just ruins the mood a bit.  Granted she isn't always mega subtle with her lip-licking, hip-thrusting, ass-shaking dances, but that's all body language and she works best when talking with her body.  Granted this is just the second game, so maybe I am thinking her personality is already fairly well established when it might not be.  Either way, moving on.

If you can't tell by my last paragraph, let me Bayonetta 2 this for you:  The game isn't for children.  Kids can play it and have fun and potentially pick up the word "Fuck," but you as a parent might not appreciate the sexual tones, language, and if you're extremely religious you don't want them wondering aloud why angels look like animals and are portrayed as bad guys.  Granted if you qualify in the last one, you probably don't want them playing games about witches, dressing up as witches for Halloween, celebrating Halloween, or even reading Harry Potter books because it has witches in it.  This game has no reverence for religion at all and uses it as nothing more than a tool to play a game.  The angels are of the older design before they were given real human like appearances, they're strict, they follow extremist orders, and really shows the demons are no worse or better, just a different part of the spectrum.  Well, when it does tell story at least.  If you are a Nintendo owner with children, don't assume you can just plop this down after a game of Mario Kart 8 with your kids, because the transition would be as jarring as smacking a concrete wall with your car at 40 miles per hour. 

It's actually sort of weird how this ended up on a console well known for its more family-friendly variety and doubly weird when people try to pitch it to one another, much less to a company fir the first game.  Really it's just a weird game in general that I couldn't have imagined was easy to pitch.  Could you?  Imagine if I went up to you and said, "Hey guy, I have a game proposition for you.  It's a game we're calling Bayonetta, and in it you're a witch named Bayonetta who has to go around and kill angels, but the angels are bad guys.  But that's not the insane part.  The best part is how you're like this really sexy witch who uses hair as her entire costume and has to strip to become more powerful after dancing around like a stripper!  You shout sexy things, sway your hips, and when you finish it there's just a big ol' dance celebrating your sexiness!"  And at that point you call security because you don't remember Sega relaxing their security to let loons like this in.  It probably only really saw the light of day due to Hideki Kamiya of Devil May Cry fame being a writer.  Sort of like how if Brian Bendis decided to write a story about how Reed Richards spent the early part of his marriage cheating on Susan and Marvel only said yes because it was Bendis who wrote it.  It is a really weird and sometimes uncomfortable game.  I played both the first and second one with my girlfriend in the same room this weekend and I will tell you there were a few times we were both uncomfortable and she was most likely questioning why I was playing this in front of her and what I must think about behind closed doors when nobody is watching.  She might also think it's better she doesn't know.  She might also think this is what I find sexy in a woman, but I hope she doesn't because that would be unfair and Bayonetta would be horrifying in the real world.

But now I'm rambling on too much.  Bayonetta is fun.  Pure fun.  If you like games that are just fun and don't really try to do the whole "We're really the next big thing," and just want to sit back and wail on people by wearing flaming chainsaws on your feet and not being forced to QTE for funerals, this game is for you. 

I'll be ditching the Good/Okay/Bad system from here on out because I felt it was a bit too general.  The idea was not to give the idea there was real science to how I felt, but it also really didn't satisfy me with how I evaluated things since it implied that things I really enjoyed and things I mostly enjoyed were the same rank when it simply wasn't true.  I'll be using your standard numerical system and evaluating it at the end.

Graphics: 9.5

I really want to give this a 10. For some reason I can't bring myself to it.  Framerate is 60 fps, environments are beyond gorgeous, detail is tremendous, light, texture, flashy stuff, everything is just top notch.  However, when I write "10" I feel like I'm putting it too high.  9.5 will have to do. Maybe because sometimes the camera angles were off and caused clipping with certain punishments.  Though that really isn't so much a graphics problem maybe?  I dunno.

Sound: 9.5

Voices, attacks, music, all of it great. My only real problems were sometimes the soundtrack drowned out the dialogue or the dialogue drowned out the background noise or the background noise drowned out everything.  I tried to adjust all the metrics, but it seems the soundtrack just has a few problems like that.  Voices were superb as the always pleasant to listen to Bayonetta purred out her lines and delighted with her witty charm.  Rodin gave off the cooler weapon guy with his voice.  Enzo was annoying as ever.  Loki was something of a let down, and really all the other voices are either grunts or some sort of Latinish language or something.  Music was fantastic as the developer did the same thing here as he did in the last game by releasing an official song and having it completely overshadowed by a J-Pop remake of a classic song which in this case was the unbelievably infectious, "Moon River."  Unlike "Fly Me To The Moon" before it, "Moon River" isn't in every single scene and really is only up to highlight the more lighthearted and fun parts of the game, like the introduction in the beginning of the game where Bayonetta starts off in a dress, strips, spotlights, hairs up, and kicks ass immediately afterward.  Sound effects were very top notch.  All weapons sound very different and satisfying.  Chainsaws grind, scythes ding, shooty guns go bang bang, the insect bow was fun, all the sounds were great.  Like I said, the uneven nature of how the sounds balance was sort of off and the only reason this didn't nail a 10.

Playstyle/Gameplay: 10

Solid 10 here.  When I first started there was just this button mashy way I played, but as I developed and learned how to time things better and understood how combos work the game became this unbelievably enjoyable experience where I performed better and overall was just far more satisfying.  Once again, nothing is as awesome as seeing a bit scythe slash followed up by a chainsaw laden leg sweep followed by Madama Butterfly's gigantic heel stomping someone.

Variety: 8.5

The variety in this game isn't...well, huge.  There are different enemies and they all require different strategies, but when you really get down into the gameplay they're not really all that different.  Sure I can't get better than a stone badge for that stupid flying snake boss level, but that's the exception.  Most of the time you'll be smacking away at enemies (generally ineffectively until you get your Umbran Climax) and waiting to dodge to engage Witch Time, which helps you fill your meter for Umbran Climax.  It basically becomes a game of waiting for visual cues and then unleashing combo hell on people and then repeating.  Really the best part is that the enemies all look different, but a good half of them just sort of look the same or ARE the same from previous games.  Also the demon army guys look like reskins of the angelic ones.  It feels unfair to say the variety isn't that big when it sort of is in some ways, but for the most part you will be wailing on the same enemies in every level after they're introduced.  The only real benefit is every level DOES introduce a new type of enemy whom you will fight 25 more times before the level is complete.  They do sort of mix the enemies together, but I wish they mixed them up more and integrated a few more enemy types.

Character Designs: 10

 Always a strong point for a series that is all about style and flash, Bayonetta 2 does not even come close to disappointing with character designs.  I passed this section in Borderlands the Pre-Sequel, so this is new.  Bayonetta herself looks fresh and wonderful, filled with personality, and completely realized as change for change sake as it relates to her character.  Her short haircut, shoulder bits, bare arms, and flowing hair...cape parts(?) (I'm a comic and game critic, not a fashion critic) are all beautiful and look like a natural evolution to her character that is both distinct and not at all the lesser of her older beehive style.  It looks like Bayonetta.  Jeanne looks slicker.  The angels are beyond well designed as are their demonic counterparts.  Rodin and Enzo look the same, but they look good.  10.  TEN!!!

Story:  7

 I was debating whether this was a 6.5 to 7.5 rating, but I think 7 is really the best for it.  Let's face it, the story is only as developed as it needs to be for gameplay to commence.  There is effort to tell a story, but it feels lost in most of the levels (aside from the War level).  There is a kid who has a mysterious amnesia and destiny who is being conspired against by authority forces he doesn't understand who sends angels to stop or retrieve him.  If this sounds familiar, it's because it is the basic plot of the first Bayonetta.  The only real difference is Bayonetta is just not the focus of that plot, and has her own subplot which is tossed aside after it has been achieved around the second half of the game and then Bayonetta goes to complete the first plot who has a bad guy which more or less is recycling the entire end goal of the first game in how he wants the Eyes of the World to elevate himself to God status and remake the universe in his image.  The only difference is instead of integrating Bayonetta into a statue, the enemy just wants the power for himself.  There's also this underlying story with the Masked Lumen which is obvious and unsatisfying.  The only reason this isn't lower is because of how interesting Bayonetta's world is.  You definitely WANT to know more about it.  How do demon pacts work?  Why are demons rebelling?  Is it because of this god guy?  How does he influence it?  Why don't we get more about Inferno and all of its awesome design?  More Rosa please?  There's enough there you want to know more but the game doesn't necessarily pay off.

Stability: 10

Aside from a graphical clipping and one failed start of a level, the game works flawlessly.  The clipping is probably a necessary evil due to the camera angle, and I think with the failed start the level had a timer and since I skipped the cinematic it was just following script.  This game very much felt like a finished product as an old school game was.  Something you open and worked perfectly.  Face glitches, balancing, all of that stuff didn't exist like problems do with some more modern releases which are racing out the door.  The game is just very polished and works flawlessly.  No lagging, no sagging, no graphical snagging.  Just pure gameplay and perfect rendering.

Replay Value: 9

This one is truly the most variable because Bayonetta's reasoning for replays is very dependent on what you're replaying for.  If it's just to smash more angels it has an okay replay value, though Tag Climax will be more your thing.  Really the replays will be mostly for those trying to improve their trophy values, collect rings for costumes and weapons, and those who want more challenge who also want to unlock certain weapons and costumes.  It has tremendous replay value in that regard because you can easily fight differently with different weapons and configurations and accessories, which turns each fight into something brand new in regards to how you actually combo and punish things.  If you're only interested in hammering through to say you've completed the game, then your replay value will be 0.

Total Score:

9.2

Final Thoughts: GET THE GAME

The total for me is a 9.2, and what really hurt it was the story.  Honestly this game is an essential for fun.  Even with the story shortfall and the variety "shortfall" the game was beyond fun and some of the most fun I've had video game wise all year.  Maybe even the past two years.  If you are one of the people who can get past their pride and own a Wii U,  you owe it to yourself to own this game.  It's worth the full price tag, and is ten dollars cheaper on the virtual store as opposed to the physical copy.  It comes with the first game which automatically unlocks the Nintendo costumes which are beyond fun (having Madama Butterfly's fists and feet replaced with Bowser's is endless fun), as well as the sounds that go along with it (coin and rupee sounds) is just a blast.  The game is pure fun.  GO BUY IT NOW.  If you don't own a Wii U, I'm sorry.  Out of the three "current gen" consoles, I honestly would say it's currently the best of them.

Let's dance, boys!

Nintendo Is Relying On Their Past... And I'm Loving It.

I'm sure I'll get tired-ish of making so many posts in a single day in between things I'm supposed to be doing, but today is not that day!

Either way.  Without further ado...

Allow me to introduce you to the majesty which is The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

Released originally in 2000 two days after my birthday for the Nintendo 64 console, Majora's Mask is a markedly darker tale for the hero Link and a direct sequel to the enormously popular Ocarina of Time.

Okay, full confession.  I may normally hate rehashing of old titles, or relying on old success to breed new success.  I even criticize when comic companies won't support new characters due to fear, and simply push their older characters to ensure money flows at the highest margin.  I understand it, but I dislike it.  However Nintendo gets a pass with Zelda and Pokemon for me.  With Pokemon it's because new features are added, everything is updated with current Pokemon, problems are fixed, and I can play with friends who are not connected by a cord in high school.  Zelda gets a pass because... well... I don't know why, but probably because Zelda is my favorite gaming franchise of all time.  ALL.  TIME.  I like Zelda so much I ensure vacation days are set aside so I can play the latest Zelda game.  I eat this stuff up like if I hadn't seen food in days and someone took me to a Golden Corral.  There's something about Zelda games which allow me to look past things and just enjoy myself in a way I don't normally get to anymore.  In more modern times I just see a game as a technical device filled with moving parts and find the flaws and enjoyable bits and weigh them and notice them.  Not with Zelda.  Zelda sort of washes over me and brings me back to a time of adventure and exploration where even as a tiny insignificant person, a little wit, plenty of courage, and just the right tools can send me across a vast land and free an entire people from the fear they've been forced to endure.  Such is Link's burden, and Majora's Mask really drives home this fear.

Quick rundown: Link is looking for his friend he lost at the end of Ocarina of Time and falls into a whole new world (dimension) which is being threatened by the moon crashing into it in three days.  That's it.  Doesn't sound big?  You see that moon in the picture above?  It stares at you, getting closer and closer each passing moment, mocking and daring you to stop it.  How do you stop it?  Defeat four dungeons in classic Zelda style in the three days allotted at which you must turn back time and constantly lose your stuff while trying to progress through the game.  It creates an air of urgency and fear other Zelda games don't.  It deals with death and mourning and our blind ignorance to our own problems.  Seriously.  Everybody in Termina town pretty much have to know the moon is gunning them down, but they don't care.  They have a festival to plan.  Very much a cakes and circuses comment I'm sure, even if unintentional.

Having this title re-released for the Nintendo 3DS is just good, though.  Most people gave this title a pass originally due to late release on the console's lifecycle, the need for what was an expansion pack (not the kind you buy online, the kind you bought in a store to boost the power of the N64), and what admittedly was a fairly hard (by Zelda standards) and imposing game.  The management and pressure was on, masks were central, creepiness was everywhere, a potentially sympathetic villain at a time it wasn't common, and the awesomeness of the Fierce Deity Mask (which actually implied maybe YOU were the bad guy) made up a different sort of monster which only gained appreciation after the fact.  It isn't a case where we look on the past with nostalgia (though a bit of that is definitely there) as much as we see the game for what it was, and not have to compare it with the at the time fresh and massively popular Ocarina of Time of which nothing could compare to (though I said A Link to the Past was better and still stand by that).

I may be a bitter, jerkish, small man, but seeing news of a great game getting a second lease on life for a generation who've only heard about it warms my small, small heart.

I'm Tired Of All These Mother-Trucking Glitches In This Mother-Trucking Game!!! Borderlands The Pre-Sequel Review

Give me a second to collect my thoughts as I take a few breaths in an effort to calm down.

I love the Borderlands series.  I'm one of those brainless "give me things by the semi-truck load" sort of guy.  Shooting enemies and seeing more items fall out of them than blood.  I love the differences between the "classes" and I love the humor of the series.  Sure, it's filled with memes, but that's okay.  But you know what Borderlands the Pre-Sequel is filled with?  If you say "glitches," then you guessed it because you're clever and can read titles.  GLITCHES.

This guy oddly and fun..nly(?) runs on glitches as an entire skill tree and action skill.

Let me say that no Borderlands title has ever been free of glitches.  I can't think of any game that's completely free of glitches. But the multitude and level of glitches in this game are infuriating.  I cannot tell you how many times missions wouldn't progress because the game didn't pick up my character running over the arbitrary point on the ground which triggers progression.  Several times I went back and forth through the RedBelly level where the gate opens in the Crimson Scar, killed all of the guys and couldn't go anywhere until I ran around like crazy to trigger the dialogue and a gate all the way at the beginning of the stage.  ARGH!  How many times enemies just sort of slipped through the floor and I couldn't progress even with a storm of butt slams and grenades to that spot in an effort to kill that one guy needed to finish something.  ERMAHGERD!!

Two seconds, need to take another calming breath.

It's not to say this game is bad.  It's far from it.  When not glitchy, the game runs great.  Running and gunning is fun, the air boosting makes for all sorts of fun, the weapons are fun, the humor is fun, it's just a fun game.  Several problems with Borderlands 2 have been addressed in this game such as good weapons never dropping, because good weapons drop sometimes.  And the inclusion of the Mr. Grind weapon grinder is a touch of genius.  Take three of the beyond plentiful trash weapons, shove them in the grinder, and there's a decent chance of pulling back a better gun.  Rinse and repeat till you're sitting on better gear all around.  It makes trash loot seem more important and you're always excited you'll get a Luneshine weapon that doles out more XP or gives you O2 (Or Oz as the locals call it) as you hurt enemies, or the other plethora of weirdness which pervades this game's potential weapons.  While you do find more junk than gold, at least it isn't always bad.  Also money means something again.  Orange Legendaries show up in vending machines again.  Remember how in BL 2 you just didn't come across legendaries unless you either hacked them or won the non-money lottery?  Gone are those days.  Legendaries are a bit more common, but not so much you see them all over.  Except for the Excalibastard which is literally out in the open for taking if thou art Badass enough to pull it with a score of at least 2500 Badass Rank.  You only get to pull it once, so make sure it counts.  Going back to the legendaries, you do find them in vending machines for heart crushing amounts you normally don't have nearly enough cash for.  But at least they're there, and money has actual value again because of it and the fact you'll probably buy ammo occasionally if you suck like me.

A quick rundown of the characters: Athena the Gladiator is an ex-Crimson Assassin who wields the Aspis shield which absorbs kinetic energy and can be thrown for explosive damage who has three trees which either focus on expanding the power of her shield, expanding her melee with things like bleeding, exploding, and health regen, and a tree which gives her odd electrical powers.  Wilhelm the Enforcer is...an enforcer who wields two drones named Saint who heals and Wolf who hunts, and his three trees focus on boosting Wolf, enhancing his body and laser weaponry (love that dash and shoot and robo punch), and enhancing Saint.  Nisha the Lawbringer is a bandit hunting bandit who looks for fun and her action skill is Showdown which increases every aspect of gun using and has an autoaim feature which confused me at first as I'm a scope shooter.  Nisha has three trees which enhance her melee, her pistol using (notably with Magnificent Six and One for Each of Ya which clones her pistol and allows dual wielding), and a tree which emphasizes larger magazines and non-elemental weapons which means Jakobs is king with her.  Claptrap the Fragtrap is a complicated and extremely varied character with his Vaulthunter.exe skill which randomizes through battlefield variables which skill he may access like a rubber ducky defense which bounces out of control, Funzerking which clones a gun and forces the whole team to shoot like crazy (though they don't clone), Meat Unicycle which makes him like Krieg the Psycho of BL2 and enhances melee for the team, among others which are unlocked through his trees.  His trees are really weird in that one enhances solo play and explosions in general with a skill that hurts his shields but recharges his health as he kills things and gives him two explosive based transformations.  A teamwork tree which gives team wide buffs, a big bomb which kills him if it kills nobody else, a healing nova which unlocks his gun wizard skill, and a high five skills which gives out buffs to the team or solo if nobody gives him a highfive. And finally the Fragmented Fragtrap tree which is a horror of subroutines which do things like increase damage with one gun/elemental type which reducing damage in all others with a rotation every couple minutes as frag stacks run out, but does give two more transformations as a hunter with a one hit kill (likely patterned off of Sir Hammerlock) and the laser inferno which is a disco ball which shoots lasers.  Needless to say Claptrap is the weirdest to play with, but I will say he potentially is the most fun.  He also is the one I find least reliant on action skills for, and not because he's good at dealing and taking damage (because he's definitely not great at it), but because since you really can't predict what you'll get unless you study and craft the battlefield correctly, you might get something which hinders more than helps.

Characters this time around are fairly interactive, though I do have a problem with how dialogue is triggered in multiplayer.  Sometimes your character will give their witty response and sometimes it will be a partner, and it all depends on who reaches the arbitrary spot in the sand first, turns in a quest, or starts a quest.  While it's fun to have that difference in interaction I would rather have my character be the only one who responds on my screen, my friend's character on theirs, etc.  It is nice to get a taste of other characters, but man oh man sometimes I really hate the idea I'll have to go through an entire game solo just to get a few words.  I mean I will play it again, but I'll most likely do it with a friend and so I'll probably get some of the same missed dialogue.  And the dialogue is good and funny enough that this is an actual complaint for me, with Claptrap obviously having the most fun of them all.  And all of the characters have really different personalities which show through this as Nisha the Lawbringer will respond to things which may hurt with excitement, Wilhelm is extremely blunt and drone sounding as he gets upgraded with cybernetic parts, Athena is all business all the time, and Claptrap is...well... Claptrap.  What is fun is how the characters also react to one another while playing multiplayer, such as Nisha telling Claptrap how she'll murder his robot family if he screws up or how she hates him more than kittens, and how Athena and Wilhelm with appreciate one another as they use action skills as well.  However the characters don't feel as...Borderlandsy as the BL2 characters, and I mean this in extension to the side NPC's as well.  Sure Moxxie is there, and her role is expanded, but it just feels like there could have been more.  Janey Springs the hot for Athena rummage dealer and Mr. Grind owner feels a bit flat, though Nurse Nina is plenty of fun.  I wouldn't say the characters are bad, but much like the rest of the game sort of feel like expansion characters, which leads me to another problem.

The game feels like overglorified DLC.  Sorry, but it's true.  I couldn't help but think that the game felt small and more like an expansion with how the lands all sort of feel the same (aside from a few), and how the story just doesn't have the same bravado.  Yes, it has new movement mechanics, yes it does tell a very different story, yes the characters are very different than the ones who came before, but it still sort of feels like DLC in some ways.  I mean if it were a DLC it would be a massive DLC, but it just doesn't feel like a 60 dollar game.  Maybe a 40 dollar game?  And this feeling is compounded with the glitches present.  I've already detailed a few of them, but the worst of them happened to me and a friend in where we literally lost all of our Badass Ranks, aesthetics, and even a few items.  Gone.  FOREVER.  Including ones you can only get through quests and badass upgrades.  Which means that to get them again I'd need a whole new character of the same exact class starting from the bottom to get them all back.  Gearbox was understanding (read: well aware of this complaint) and gifted me ten Golden Keys for my trouble.  While nice, they wouldn't return some stuff to me because they couldn't ensure I actually had the gear before, despite some of it being quest and game end specific.  This infuriated the hell out of me and pretty much had me contemplating returning it for Bayonetta 2 (which is still tempting), but I decided to just let it go and keep having fun.

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Before I forget: I was told saving your characters to your hardrive instead of the cloud for the 360 was the best way to ensure this doesn't happen.

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I could not believe how pissed off I was with it, because I ended up with really crappy looks and colors (yes, ALL costumes were gone) and some of my weapons that I worked hard for were just poofed.  It would take a bigger man to make a stand and put away the game, but it really is so much fun I was able to work past it.  So let me give a quick point review in the Good/Okay/Bad spectrum.

Graphics: GOOD

Nothing mindblowing.  Same system and graphics used in BL2.  Some of the character designs are pretty good, like Moxxie's mechanic outfit.  Some of the faces were weird in the cinematics though.  The graphics still emphasize the fun while allowing expression and touching moments. 

Sound: GOOD

Aside from having to turn back the music volume so I could hear the damned game, everything was spot on.  Guns sounded satisfying, explosions were joyful, the voices were beyond hilarious (go do the Billabong quest in Crisis Scar for my favorite moment of voice acting in the entire game)

Playstyle: OKAY

Same as BL2, and while that's not bad, I wouldn't say it's great.  I found I couldn't use sniper rifles as much due to the new mechanics, and while that's definitely a positive the game still didn't feel any tighter as other shooters.  

Variety: GOOD

Guns and aesthetics are plentiful and while they're all just recolors they are still a lot of fun.  Well, heads are clearly the most different.  And double clearly Claptrap gets the most fun out of this, from looking like a train to looking like a trashcan.

Story: OKAY

It's nothing to write home about.  It's not as grandiose as BL2 despite having similar scope in what it's trying to tell, and since you don't have Handsome Jack being the magnificent jerkoff who calls you up to let you know he's naming his diamond encrusted horse "Butt Stallion" in your honor it loses a little of the fun and depth that BL2's second half had.  Following Jack around and watching him become a villain could've been handled better for me in terms of understanding because without spoiling too much, it just feels like he wants to be a villain rather than is forced into too many choices of becoming one.  The idea behind the game is how desperation changes a man, but aside from a few points, Jack didn't seem all that desperate in most of his decisions.  The story is one of the weakest points of the game.

Stability: BAD

Glitchstorm city all up in this game.

Replay Value: GOOD

Let's not mince words, BLTPS is fun for more than one playthrough given how every character plays differently and True Vault Hunter Mode adds to the game in fun and challenging ways.  And playing with friends is always great.

So overall I'd say this is a good game.  Duels can be tons of fun unless you're robo punch Wilhelm who loses his robo punch simply accepting a duel, and Claptrap blew up into a million pieces with one shotgun blast from my Nisha in the most humorous of victories.  The game is a lot of fun with friends or solo, and there is a lot there to offer.  If you disliked previous Borderlands this isn't for you, if you're looking for an escalation of the series past BL2 you will probably be a little disappointed despite the new features, and if you think looting like a loon and don't like being easily entertained with bright colors then you definitely will dislike this game.

There is one last thing I'd like to add which I felt deserved it's own little tidbit: The Boganella.  There is a quest chain where you basically have to rescue someone's sister and the reward is a shotgun named The Boganella.  Truly this is the gem of a game which wears the crown of vulgarity.  If you're from America you're familiar with the term "Redneck," and a "Bogan" is basically the Australian version of it, meaning the Boganella is a female Australian redneck.  And boy does it show.  The gun is mouthy as heck with how it spouts out vulgarity and profanity with everything you do.  "F****** stick it in me!" it'll cry when you reload it, "F*** in the c**t and the ****and the f*****n's s*** p****!" it sometimes shouts when you just shoot the shotgun "See ya around, you f****** f***," when you switch away, and "Suck my lady d**k, you ganger!" when you kill things regardless of if the shotgun did it or not so long as you hold it.  And the Boganella says them loud.  I heard it clear across the virtual room when playing with a friend and it is ALWAYS entertaining.  I actually waited for a few upgrades before it became undeniable the Boganella was no longer useful before I finally replaced her, and it was a sad time.  I really wish that was a legendary or something which you can get at a higher level, though it would've reduced how much time I actually got to enjoy the Boganella.  So if Davis Pickle sends you on a quest to go save his sister, screw the moon or whoever it is who needs your help and go save the lady!  You will NOT regret it.  I would say this is the crown jewel of the entire Pre-Sequel.

And in case the Boganella didn't make the point, everybody on Elpis is from Australia.