Review: Borderlands 2

The first Borderlands was a game that came out of nowhere to surprise me. I wasn't expecting much from it, but a friend recommended I pick it up, and I did. I had an absolute blast with it; it was fun, it was funny, it was stylistic, and it had guns coming out of the wazoo. Now the second coming is upon us, and in returning to Pandora, things have changed a bit. So is this game as good as the first, or is it more on par with their Duke Nukem Forever offering?

I will note I'm currently still on my first playthrough of the game, and have yet to finish it. I'm playing the Xbox 360 version, mainly in two player co-op.

First up, I'll cover some of what's changed. The first game was known for its guns, millions of guns. Well, the second continues this, but this time around, the designs have been revamped. Guns have differing looks depending on manufacturer and abilities, and these more distinct looks are a definite plus, with guns actually being interesting to look at, as well as use. Each manufacturer has more of an identity now too, from the old fashioned Jakob guns to the elemental damage dealing Malawan pieces.

The characters are slightly different from the first game, but the gameplay still feels familiar. This means it's easy for series veterans to jump into with ease, but you still get to play characters with a slightly different feel. As for the NPCs, there's a lot of familiar faces, and the characters are still as weird and funny as they were. If anything, this game takes it up a notch. The first had a slightly subdued feel at times, like they weren't quite sure how far they wanted to take the funny and satirical aspects. They drifted more towards the weird and wacky in the DLC for the first game, and in the second, it's very evident. There's a lot of funny dialogue and visuals, and the game has nearly as many pop culture references as tvtropes. Personally, I like this, and I think if you liked the (often black) humour of the first game, you will too.

The game also features a revamped challenge system; instead of experience, you earn badass rank and tokens, which you can exchange for various permanent stat boosts, which apply to all your characters. This has the effect of making the challenges more noticeable, and completing them somewhat addictive. I mean, who wouldn't want a higher badass rank?

Combat-wise, things have changed up too. Enemies are a lot smarter, they dodge, try to get better positions, attempt to flank you. Different enemies actually feel like they have different AI. It's a nice change from the first game, where most enemies would just stand still, or charge at you. I find the combat more enjoyable this time around, especially when playing co-op. Which raises a good point; do yourself a favour, and play this in co-op. It's a decent and fun game playing solo, but in co-op it's something entirely better. I'd recommend playing with friends though, not strangers, or else you run the risk of finding someone who just takes all the loot, or refuses to co-operate.

A weak point of the first game was the forgettable story, and the less than varied locations. Both of these have seen a much needed boost in the sequel, with a more varied range of environments, and a much better story, at least so far as I've played. The antagonist 'Handsome Jack' is very much a presence through the game, frequently contacting you to taunt you, which puts a face and a clear goal on the game, something the first lacked at times.

Cosmetically speaking, it has the same stylised look as the first game, and it works just as well here. Character and enemy designs are fun and well executed. Furthermore, there are now various skins available for the characters and vehicles, and it's always fun to find or unlock a new one, and see what you got.

So in conclusion, it takes the fun of the first game, improves upon almost every aspect to some degree, and makes up for the few disappointing flaws of it to boot. This is a definite must-buy for me, and could even be a Game of the Year contender. It gets a full 5 out of 5 stars from me. If you don't have it, get it. If you do have it, why are you reading this when you could be playing it?!

New 52 Year One Retrospective: Action Comics

Action Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artists: Rags Morales, Rick Bryant, Brad Anderson
Okay, time for me to make a confession; I’ve never been a fan of Superman. I find he’s overpowered, often comes across as arrogant, his extraterrestrial origins make him hard to relate to. In short, not exactly a fan. So going into Action Comics, I can’t say I was expecting much. A steel jawed, holier than thou, overpowered living tank. Instead, what I got was a Superman who is fighting against corruption, both as himself, and as Clark Kent, a journalist exposing corruption where he can. I got a Superman who starts off as he did right back at the beginning; able to “leap tall buildings in a single bound”. That’s right, he starts this book unable to fly! What’s more, by the end of the first issue we see him taken down, without resorting to something ridiculously overpowered, or to kryptonite.

So yeah, the first issue really piqued my interest. This was a version of Superman I could get behind! Now believe me, he’s still very powerful, and he still has that swagger, that sort of cocksure attitude. But he doesn’t come across as so sanctimonious this time, and it’s refreshing. We also meet Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, her father General Lane, and Lex Luthor in the first book, so a big chunk of the cast is established here. At the end of the third issue, we see the signs of a bigger threat, and that our old friend Lex is in league with something bigger.

These are spoiler light reviews, so I won’t go into too much detail of the plot after that, but it manages to keep moving, and to keep up my interest. Issue #9 was interesting, being set on Earth 23, and featuring a black version of Superman, who is also the President of the United States. It was definitely an interesting version of the character, and I’d not mind seeing more of him at some point. The rest of the book is good too, though I’m a little wary, since in the last issue we see Superman exhibiting exactly the kind of over the top abilities that made me dislike him in the first place. Hopefully this won’t be a continuing trend, or I may lose interest.

Artwise, this was a solid title. There wasn’t anything in particular that made me go slack jawed in wonder, but I certainly can’t pick out any flaws. It’s a good job on the art, and gives the book a suitable look for the story.

Overall, I’d place Action Comics at a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars, it would be a four, but there is some stuff in the middle of the run I found a little less compelling than the rest. Either way, I’d recommend you pick it up, even if you’ve not cared much for Superman in the past.

New 52 Year One Retrospective: Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad
Writer: Adam Glass
Artist: Federico Dallocchio

Suicide Squad follows a group of highly dangerous villains, let loose as a black ops task force. They’ve got bombs implanted in them in case they decide to disobey orders, and they’re given the toughest, dirtiest missions.

This is one of those series where the premise sounds better than the actual outcome...at least that’s what the first issue or two made me feel. After it gets into the swing of things, I found myself enjoying it more, especially the banter between the characters. One thing needs to be clear though; this is not a book for the weak of constitution. There’s torture, bloody violence, and the characters are not what you would consider the most moral of people. If you can stomach that, you might find something to enjoy in this book. Try not to get too attached to the characters though, the turnover rate for the squad is pretty high!

The art in the series is pretty good, the colours especially. There’s never any problem differentiating characters, and it’s pretty consistent. I wouldn’t say it was the best art around, but it’s definitely not bad.

Issue #12 leaves us on quite a cliffhanger, and I’m looking forward to picking up #13 after the zero-issue of this month. Overall, I’d give the book 4/5 stars, though caution that it’s not for everyone.

New 52 Year One Retrospective: World's Finest

World’s Finest
Writer: Paul Levit
Artists: George Perez, Kevin Maguire

This is one of the second wave of titles released to replace the cancelled ones, and is only four issues in at the moment. It features Huntress and Power Girl, both from the Earth-2 continuity, but stuck on Earth-1. Huntress is the daughter of Earth-2 Batman, and Power Girl is essentially the Earth-2 counterpart of Supergirl. The title has them not only performing heroics, but searching for a way home. The main thing to love about this title is the interplay between the two. I really like these characters, and their friendship. This title might be about dimensionally displaced heroines, but at its heart, its more about their friendship, made strong by the shared experience. That's not to say the heroics aren't fun, because they are. This is a fun book from cover to cover so far, with snappy dialogue, lovely art, and a well paced plot. The first issue does a good job of setting up the characters, and giving us some insight into their pasts, and this trend continues through the title.

The art on this title is gorgeous, the characters are well drawn, it’s very clean looking. But it’s the backgrounds that really drew my attention. Every last inch of space is used, and it makes for a very vibrant looking title, without looking crowded. There’s definitely some fanservice in these pages, but the women never feel objectified, probably due to the high amount of ass they’re kicking. Besides, with art this nice, I’m not complaining. The art for flashback sequences is handled by a different team, but it keeps much the same look and quality, the difference being a lighter and softer tone. It’s subtle, but effective, and really works well.

I’ll definitely keep reading this title for the foreseeable future, my only worry is that the search for a way home will become a tired macguffin, since presumably them finding it would mark the end of the series. Either way, it gets my vote for now, coming in at 4/5 stars.

New 52 Year One Retrospective: OMAC and Hawk and Dove

I'm looking at two series this time around, both of the first wave of cancellations, meaning they only got eight issues apiece. Were they deserving of this fate? Let us see...

OMAC
Writer: Dan DiDio
Artist: Keith Giffen

Another character I wasn’t particularly familiar with, you have to credit DC, they did allow some lesser known characters the spotlight in the New 52. This is O.M.A.C. also known as the One Machine Attack Construct!

The first thing that’s obvious is the art. It’s well done, but is very clearly taking its cue from the original Jack Kirby OMAC run. So we have a very retro art style, but it’s fairly good looking, as long as that sort of thing is to your taste.

The majority of the first issue is one long action scene, and doesn’t really explain much. OMAC is Kevin Kho, and has been infected with a virus that can transform him into OMAC. As OMAC, he is under the command of a satellite called Brother Eye, which refers to itself in the third person; using ‘Eye’ instead of ‘I’. It’s cute the first time, but by the third time, it’s already obnoxious. So this title didn’t get off to a strong start for me, but a couple more issues in, and something clicked. This is a comic that not only looks old school, but reads like it too. It’s an old fashioned action filled comic, with all the slightly cheesy sensibilities of comics from that era. mIt takes on something of a monster of the week type format, though with an overarching plot running through it. We also get a crossover with Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE in issue #5 (Occasionally Monsters Accidentally Crossover), and an appearance from Superman in issue #7 (Overnight, Mysterious Animals Converse). The run ends at issue #8, with Brother Eye being destroyed, and giving Kevin control over OMAC, but no way to turn back.

This series is okay, but not great. The relationship between Brother Eye and Kevin is interesting, and the art is good. But there’s too much action and too little plot. I can see why this book was cancelled, but it’s certainly not the worst title of the bunch. I’d give it 3/5 stars.

Hawk and Dove
Writer: Sterling Gates
Artist: (sigh) Rob Liefeld




I’ll admit, I suspected I wouldn’t like this going in. I’m not a fan of Rob Liefeld’s art. So that killed half the book for me already. But what about the writing? Maybe that would save it?

First things first: I was right about the art. Characters look permanently constipated, the facial expressions are weird, characters hairstyles change from panel to panel, it;s the typical Liefeld stuff, and if you’ve seen it before, you probably know if you like it or not.

Storywise, it’s forgettable. It hits predictable story beats one after the other. The dialogue varies from average to hackneyed to cringeworthy. We get a crossover with Batman later, much like with OMAC, I feel as if the crossovers are a desperate try to pull in more readers to a failing book. The rest of the series finishes off in a similarly dull way. The last issue feels particularly rushed, with them having to end the series there.

Overall, I say avoid this one, unless you’re a huge Liefeld fan. It gets 1.5/5 stars from me.

New 52 Year One Retrospective: Aquaman

Continuing my look at the New 52 titles over the last year, we move on to a title that has received a lot of acclaim from fans and critics alike this year; he may be nothing to you, but he is a king beneath the sea; it's Aquaman!

Aquaman
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Ivan Reis, Rod Reis, Joe Prado

Aqua Man has, for a long time, been something of a joke to comic book fans. Characterised as having silly super-powers, and not taken seriously at all. That’s pretty much how I viewed him too. Then this series came along. In the first issue, we have Aquaman stopping a crime, only to be laughed at by the police. In another great scene, he goes into a fish restaurant to order fish and chips, only to face the amazed reactions of the other diners. The first issue was a really strong opener, with the ending showing some hideous sea creatures attacking a fishing boat. The storyline also deals with his past, and with the truth behind the event that sank Atlantis. We also get some information on a team called The Others that Aquaman was part of six years prior to the series. I don’t know enough about Aquaman to say whether these are new characters or not, but they seem interesting, as does finding out more about Aquaman’s past, which seems a little less than happy. There are a few problems here and there, a couple of issues are a little action heavy, and light on the character development, and the forced exposition of Vostok’s backstory made me cringe. But overall, the plot is compelling, the characters are very easy to become interested in, and I can’t wait to continue reading this series.

The art on this title is fantastic, the water effects, the sea-monsters, the characters themselves. It’s consistent, the colouring is great. Of the New 52 titles, this is definitely my favourite title art-wise, almost every page took my breath away, and when that continued even past the first issue, I was amazed that they were able to turn out this quality of work each month. There are some fantastic splash pages in there too, ones that made me stop just to stare at them. I’m usually more interested in the writing than the art when it comes to comics, but the art on this book is too good to not spend some time just soaking it in.

Overall, I’d probably say this is my favourite series of the entire New 52. If you haven’t read this, you need to, and it gets 5/5 stars from me. I really hope the quality of this title can be maintained once the current team leaves it after issue #16, it has managed to turn Aquaman from a joke into a nuanced hero to be taken seriously, in my eyes at least.

New 52 Year One Retrospective: Animal Man

Just over a year ago, DC launched the New 52. Relaunching their universe with a whole new set of #1 issues, and resetting or altering much of the tangled continuity. It was touted as being a great place for new readers to jump on. As someone who never read much DC, I decided that I would take advantage of that opportunity. I decided to read all of the New 52 titles for the year, then decide how I felt.

 So, a year later, how has it fared? What titles are must reads, and what didn't I care for? As a whole has it been successful?

In a series of posts, I'm going to cover all of the New 52 titles, looking over the past year, and trying to come to a conclusion on all of them. Some will be longer, whereas shorter reviews will be grouped together. Once I cover them all, I'll give the rundown on what I think about the overall effectiveness and success of the idea.

The first title I'm going to cover is Animal Man, a surprise contender for my favourite of the lot.

Animal Man
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Travel Foreman, Steve Pugh

Animal Man wasn’t a character I was familiar with prior to the New 52. As such, I didn’t really have any expectations for this book, and from the name, it sounded somewhat lame. So I was pleasantly surprised when this turned out to be one of my favourite books of the New 52.

Animal Man is very well written, with creative use of his powers, and a story that is much more personal than just your average superhero derring-do. It revolves more around Animal Man (Buddy Baker’s) family than anything, with his daughter beginning to manifest powers greater than his. He discovers that she is an avatar of the force which gives him his power, called ‘The Red’. Unfortunately, agents of the corrupt power called ‘The Rot’ are after her. It’s nice to see a book where the hero’s family are involved, rather than being relegated to side characters sitting at home, and they behave in a pretty believable way too. I don't want to spoil the plot, but suffice to say the family plays a big part, and it's very much a personal struggle for Buddy.

The series ties in with the Swamp Thing series, with Swamp Thing being an agent of ‘The Green’, the third in the triptych of natural powers featured in the series known as 'The Balance'. There's also an appearance put in by the Justice League: Dark characters.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the art style in this book to start with, but by the time I was a couple of issues in, it had grown on me. I’m still not a fan of the appearance of the human characters, especially their facial expressions though, they’re expressive enough, but fairly ugly, and while they work on some characters, on others, especially the younger characters, they make the character look too old, or simply look out of place. The art really works well in some places though, particularly some of the more creepy imagery that’s prevalent in the book, of which there’s a lot, with some fairly graphic body-horror stuff, and Foreman manages to make it look very good. The animals are also drawn very well, which is something of a necessity what with how heavily they’re featured. There’s some variation in the artist in later issues, with Steve Pugh taking over the interior art from Travel Foreman. Personally, though I think Foreman did an excellent job on the body horror of the early issues, I find Pugh’s style to be cleaner, and more consistent in terms of the characters’ appearance. The animals are still well drawn, and the more graphic segments are less prevalent in the later issues anyway, though Pugh still does a good job when it’s called for.

Overall, this is definitely worth picking up, and I'll be continuing to read this title. It gets 4/5 stars for me, and with the Pugh art, probably upgrades to a 4.5/5.

Join me next time, for another look at DC's New 52, one year on.