Game:

Borderlands 3 (2019)

Duration: 10:19

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It's just the Intro and a few minutes of game play. I picked the Beastmaster.

First impressions - the jokes and psycho quotes aren't as good, the story not as compelling, and the game as a rounded whole doesn't feel as welcoming as Borderlands 2 to start with. I even miss the stylish save sound from Borderlands 2. But I've only played about an hour so far. The gun play, class abilities, skills are all fine, so if you don't care about character and story style and are just here for the action, you won't be disappointed.

Only a half hour in, I'm highly compelled to compare how Borderlands 2's story starts. The initial voiceover talks about Handsome Jack already causing problems for the world. In the opening cinematic, the antics of the marauders really set the tone of the game. Then we move to the vault hunters in the train, who realize a trap has been set for them by Handsome Jack. They face off against the robots sent to kill them, and they gather themselves with each other and break into the engine cabin, where a dummy of Handsome Jack with his recording welcomes them to Pandora among a pile of explosives that goes off, sending the train off the rails down the mountain into the snow. The cutscene ends with you left for dead in the cold wastes. The Game starts, and Claptrap finds you. While he leads you to a settlement, a creature attacks and you need to help Claptrap get his eye back. At the settlement, you find ECHO recordings that show how much of a jerk Handsome Jack is while Sir Hammerlock guides you to equip yourself for the trek to Sanctuary with Claptrap. Meanwhile a rogue AI accesses your visor and offers help unbeknownst to anyone else. While you are finding your way back to civilization, you're learning more and more about what's going on in the world, with small tidbits of offerings and challenges along the way.

What I really liked about that intro was there are SO MANY hooks to pull you in with no slogs or long periods of wondering how much you're supposed to do. You're a hero. The world's a mess. There are settlements, and marauder camps, and a city where the Resistance lives, and Handsome Jack - those are the divisions of all the people. And with so many small story elements - your story and stories of others - there are so many natural opportunities and reasons to choose to be a hero. THAT is respect for a player's time.

In Borderlands 3, you've signed up to become part of the Crimson Raiders. You're dropped off from a bus, and Claptrap meets you. That's it.

See the difference? Story quality! Personal hooks! I seriously wonder what Borderlands 2's writer would have done with Borderlands 3's opener.

So I'll keep playing Borderlands 3 and see how my impressions change, but first impressions are VERY important, and playing Borderlands 2 was for the most part a joy. Borderlands 3 is, eh. Although I found a really cool machine gun pistol that is actually started by pulling on a rope like a lawn mower, and it shakes in your hand.

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