Game #1074: Borderlands - The Handsome Collection

 Handsome is a loaded term. 

 I've covered Borderlands 2 so many times before that Basically, this game includes Borderlands 2 and the awful Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, why Borderlands 1 isn't here is beyond me, probably just laziness. You could argue that Handsome Jack plays no part in Borderlands 1, but I'd argue that Borderlands 2 script retcons it into BL1 being all part of Jack's plan.

 Well, firstly, the good news, unlike the PS3 releases, Borderlands 2 and all of its copious amounts of DLC are a single install. Praise the gods. That said, it doesn't include the Lilith DLC that was released alongside Borderlands 3, plus, the game is missing some of the Pre-Sequel's DLC, but both can be gotten by downloading the free patches... provided anyone cares about the Pre-Sequel.

 I hoped that this release would look as good as BL 2 on PC could look, with all the fancy physic and liquid effects... but that is not the case. This is just a sharper looking version of the PS3 releases, and they run on 60FPs which is very nice, but nothing game changing. Did I like the smooth framerate? Yeah. And the loading times are very brief, but... I expected something more. 

 Every time I played Borderlands 2 I did so as Axton, as he is the guy that best matches my style. I wanted something different, and since I always liked melee... I went with Zer0. It was a mistake. Look, I had fun, it is Borderlands 2, I love the game, but... I got frustrated so many times. His unique skill makes him invisible for five seconds. That's it. He was super squishy, and one of his skill trees focuses on Sniper rifles, which I hate, so it was basically a non-option for me. Oh so many times I had wished I was playing as Axton instead. Even with all the melee buffs I got, even though I got a ton of damage enhancements, such as by switching damage source or hitting enemies with a melee attack I still felt super weak and felt like my unique skill amounted to nothing.... If I had played BL2 as Zer0 my first time around I doubt this game would've made it into my favorites of all time... so, y'know, think carefully before you pick a character.

 Overall? It's a good rerelease, it's very convenient too since both games are a single install, but I would've liked to see more graphical improvements. Also, I'm never playing as Zer0 again.

 9.0