Into the Borderlands: A Franchise Analysis and Retrospective
This is an in-depth examination of Gearbox's looter-shooters Borderlands, Borderlands 2, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and Tales from the Borderlands. We look at the literary elements, game play, and thematic bedrock of the entire series.
I know it has been a while since I have uploaded a video, my life is changing rapidly - I just graduated college and I am looking to start my career. Thank you for your patience.
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Time Stamps
0:00 Introduction
10:28 Borderlands 1 Story Analysis
41:55 Borderlands 1 Gameplay analysis
58:11 Borderlands 2 Story Analysis
1:35:17 Borderlands 2 Gameplay Analysis
1:48:04 Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Analysis
2:01:44 Tales from the Borderlands Analysis
2:04:00 Conclusion, Channel Update
Thank you so much for taking the time to watch such a long video. Your support means a lot. Say you watched it in the comments or on my twitter.
I mean, I’ve been suicidal multiple times in my life, and I was never bothered by the suicide jokes. In fact, I think “Kill Yourself” is one of the funniest side quests in the entire franchise.
Yeah don't know why he need to talk about that honestly don't think anyone cares
@@juanpalma4214 someone people who might I can see ware he’s coming from although I agree with glam I found the jokes funny but some people may not see it that way
i have been to i always joke about it
Dark humor ends up being the best
I've attempted and still deal with issues related to self unalivement and I fucking love this quest. It's more of a joke on capitalism by paying people to kill themselves so you don't have to. Very Putin
"I'd be surprised if you watched all of this." Mate, I've watched a 5 hour analysis of Oblivion and I'm halfway through an 8 hour review of Pokemon Omega Ruby.
I'm glad to know I'm not the only one stupid enough to watch an 8 hour analysis of Omega Ruby. And not regret it a bit either.
Thank god, that oblivion vid is so good
@@musictolistento1356 right!
I watched a 5 hour long video on why Persona 5 is a bad game
wait Im not the only one who watched that entire vid in one take?
I always thought that the fact that tales from the borderlands wasn't a looter shooter was kinda neat. What it did for me was it kinda implemented that the loot aspect of borderlands wasn't just part of a game mechanic but actually implemented into the lore. In the regular borderlands titles, the characters talking about loot always felt like a fourth wall break to me because it seemed awfully aware that it's a game, but tales sorta fixed that for me. Just my humble opinion
I always appreciated Handsome Jack as a deconstructive parody of the idea OF dark humor the franchise and many like it uses to help make the game's bleak atmosphere entertaining by highlighting one simple factor: It's only funny when it's not targeting you. The moment the victims are people you've known, you now feel exactly what the bandits, Hyperion goons and crimson lance members feel hearing the quips the hunters throw out. You and your anger are the joke now.
oh my god youre right
I feel like the cell shadedness allows me to easily go back to a game I love without being put off by the graphics not looking that great.
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah its No Γειά Γειά . Και Στις Και Το Και Και να Γειά Και Γειά σου Και Και Και Ok I
I have always felt the same way. Cartoons don't "age" the same way realistic art does.
cell shading done right really creates timeless masterpieces.. TLoZ: Wind Waker is a huge example
Stylish art styles can create games that don't graphically age the same way other games do.
@@costa9390 Classic comment
Lilith can teleport a whole city, yet in BL3 she forgets to teleport herself away from the two antagonists with just a vault key in her hands. Makes the whole game so difficult to replay.....do this again with BL4 and I will not watch it!
Yeah... Lilith was a major victim of terrible writing both in The Pre-Sequel but much worse in BL3. In The Pre-Sequel Lilith becomes an actual villain who finalizes John's transformation into Handsome Jack. In BL3, Lilith is spayed and repeatedly brow beaten into submission. Lilith's downfall from a great character to a loser was absolutely brutal.
@@adamgray1753 She's also an awful commander, you would think she'd read "The Art of War", but instead she's a soldier trying to lead.
In BL2 she was in an eridium abuse cycle, it took a lot of power and Eridium from her. In BL3 she basically has a new power, a pure fire power that isn't stained by Eridium, Tyreen can use it with more power and amount because she uses power drained from others. Not to say that BL3 is written god awfully, but I can buy Lilith being weaker with her not using Eridium anymore.
@@knavenformed9436 We don't know if Lilith is still using or not, they just keep leaving out important details like that.
@@ZatoichiBattousai I'm pretty sure she isn't. In BL2 she had basically a narcotic relationship with Eridium, any problem? Eridium. In BL3 Maya does talk about her not being able to use eridium like Lilith, yet Lilith doesn't use it anymore. Troy does with Lilith's power, meanin Lilith could've still used it. Also siren powers seem to become very purpke when powered by Eridium (Lilith in BL2 and Troy's Anointed) yet in BL3 Lilith has pure orange fire powers. The teleporting is a retcon sure, but her being less powerful is logical to me.
I think one thing you could've added to the analysis of Lilith is her short sightedness. In BL2 before going to the wildlife preserve Angel says that Lilith cannot enter her chamber, not why but just that she can't. We know after that it's because Jack is there with a collar. Lilith ignores the possibility of risk I'm favor of short sighted pursuit of her emotions.
Nice catch!
In regards to Moxxi's accent/mechanic side to her character and her hiding it, I believe it stems from her time with the Hodunks and she no longer wants to be associated with them in any way Edit: I watched the whole thing Also I think the accent/car deal is another link to Ellie and Scooter
I loved that detail. Keeps her from being taken *too* seriously and it's a nice quirk. Side note: cannot believe Moxxi and Mineta share a voice actor
I'm pretty sure the "Mechanic Moxxi" thing was always there. In BL2, I'm pretty sure Scotter mentions that he learned his mechanic know-how from Moxxi. Although I might be misremembering.
TL;DR: 2K Australia did not change, add, enhance or alter Moxxi as you're thinking. They just pointed it directly out to the player, as all of this was passively established already. Read below. PS: I watched the entire video. Since you asked. I want to point out, the hillbilly accent and behavior of Moxxi is actually seen in BL2. While you're tipping her one of her comments has her "slip" and she uses her "real" accent then tells you never to tell anyone. Just thought I'd point that out because of what you said about it being illustrated in BL TPS. Also want to add her commentaries in Togue's Badass Crater of Badassitude she also talks about her behavior as an act during the boss fight with "Motor Momma". Hardcore players and heavy farmers are going to have known this already simply because you'd have to seriously play this a lot to catch all of it. In other words, I am not disparaging you for not knowing this. It's not common information that moderate players of the game would have come across, and remembered having come across it if they had.
Yeah, so I appreciate this a lot because I had originally put that part in about Moxxi BECAUSE I wasn't sure I was *correct* or factually backed up with my opinion. I had a feeling there was more to it, and so I tried to preface it by saying "Look, this is just my gut reaction to Moxxi's character development here, help me out, i'm probably wrong." So this is exactly the kind of comment I was looking for, thanks.
You're welcome. In a loot and shoot game like this, picking up hidden bits isn't the most common thing lol
Sometimes you gotta go seriously hunting for these hidden bits, @@Wtfahhhfak... or simply get lost for what seems like hours and find these hidden bits while you are lost.
Maybe you should’ve actually played Tales from the Borderlands. Then you would’ve realized that it’s one of the funniest Borderlands games, and one of the funniest games ever made.
I might give that a try actually but I don't like Borderlands especially the comedy but it's a Telltale game right?
@@MysteryHandle76 probably the best tell tale game, I’ve heard many people that don’t like borderlands LOVING tales
@@MysteryHandle76 its been 3 months but if you havent tried it yet i highly recommend it as well.
@@MysteryHandle76 I dont like borderlands but I love tales from the borderlands its so funny
@@MysteryHandle76 I like telltale games as I played Batman, walking dead, wolf among us and also really enjoyed the borderlands series and yeah tales from the borderlands was an incredible blend. And yeah it’s a funny game, it’s also canon and fills in huge gaps between borderlands 2 and 3
Borderlands is by far my favorite game, franchise, and story out of everything. Watching your video opened up so much more for me. It’s made me think about different aspects of the games and how each one differs from the other. Thank you. I Thoroughly enjoyed your video, your voice didn’t get annoying at all, and I think you are probably one of the coolest highschool teachers around lol. I really want to know your opinion on Borderlands 3. And I would be super down to chit chat about it. I have a feeling I know a couple points you will touch on, good and bad. Let me know if that’s possible. Thanks again, keep up the good work my dude.
Thank you for the kind words. I don't know if you saw, but I do have a video posted about Borderlands 3 with a lot of thoughts on it. Let me know what you think of it and thanks again for the positivity.
I dont think that getting rid of the main gamplay experience of the main borderlands games will leave you with a self referential, some what witty, usually cringy writing. I think what your left with is a unique world with charectors that might not be unique but are speacial because of the world they inhabit, that you can't find in netflix unless we get a borderlands show. Borderlands has one of the most unique world/lore/ mythos or whatever that (with a good story) could be any thing it wants, even a platform(but only of it was a spin-off like tales cause i might lose my mind to find out that borderlands 3 might be a platform or whatever) thats why i think that tales from the borderlands is one the most fun I've had in the borderlands world. Also you seem to not like telltale games (i would assume) because you think of them as games. There not. There tv shows where sometimes you press a button or choose your relationships to the charectors cause the plot stayes the same witch I'm fine with cause of the amazing writing. If next time you decide to "play" a telltale game maybe this have some popcorn with you, it might just make the experience better once you realize what the game is. Any way great video It's well thought out and showed me a side to borderlands I've never seen before and gives me a new perspective. So thanks and good luck on whatever is going on in your life.
Tales from the Borderlands is a game. A game of "What choice is going to make this scene funnier"
Bizarrely I just finished a video from another KZheadr that dislike the main game due to its lack of writing and empathize to the looting mechanic but praise Tales from the Borderlands as one of the best Tell Tale games. It's pretty weird how Borderlands attracted two groups of people that have conflicting opinions over looter shooters and Tell Tale. I know there's a lot of people that love both including me, but it might explains why Tale had poor sales.
He wouldnt call Monkey Island or Myst a game either lol
your point about having all the characters thinking theyre being the good guy is really interesting because Ive actually been thinking about that point exactly myself not just in the realm of fiction but even in real life. No one sets out to do bad in the world not intentionally at least people seem to get very dedicated to accomplishing a task and go completely blind to any damage or suffering they accomplish on the way there. I dont think I have a strong point here to make I just thought it was something interesting to think about and maybe others will as well
The Wilhelm related audio log isn't unused. It's in the game.
Do you know where?
@@_ITALUKE_ Sadly I don't remember. It's been quite a while. The times I've gotten it I had no idea people thought it wasn't used. I'm sure I'll play the game again and if I happen upon it I'll share the location and other relavent details.
How in the world can I be subbed to like 25 gaming channels (most that specialize on essay/retrospective work) and KZhead never suggested this amazing creator? I'm super glad I searched for a Borderlands retrospective since I was feeling nostalgic for the game with no way to play it currently. Instant sub from me.
Absolutely incredible video. Cannot believe it only has 1,800 views. You're among the ranks of Joesph Anderson and Matthewmatosis! I could only deduce issues with the recording, which occasionally sounds unnatural. Otherwise, youre doing quite good. Keep going!
Thank you - those two are clearly inspirations to my videos, however I hope I can offer something unique. Voice recording and audio should only get better with each video.
🤣
You sir deserve more subscribers
Absolutely I've been listening to him while play and most of the time I wanna just toss my phone because of how annoying the person is
@@HWT3 what???
Beautiful analysis of one of my favorite series, I love how human you are and that it is completely and genuinely you.
I had the same issues you did. Borderlands got me through some pretty tough times. Thanks for your honesty. Good health to you.
I'm glad he talked about that. Not understanding what my depression was back then, BL2 helped me out a ton and still does.
I never noticed the "YOU DIE" on the wall every time I rescue roland in any of my playthroughs. Plus I've been getting legendaries at low levels. Recently I started a playthrough with Salvador, and I got corrosive Dahl Pistol from Knuckledragger so Boom Bewm are screwed, and in the pre sequel I got a legendary shotgun with 74% crit from Redbelly.
I didn't think about the "you die" thing until just now. I'm SHOOK
Watched the whole thing, great video. I really love long form analysis videos like this, especially with games I've played and loved.
Now I want to see your take on Borderlands 3 and what it has to say considering how the community feels about the story. Ava The twins (and a male siren) Character intros only to be thrown away after they're done with their section of the story Etc etc.
I would argue that in a looter shooter the story is irrelevant, gameplay is obviously the most important aspect of this genre
@Banuner story is irrelevant In looter shooters, bl3 is king because it has the best gameplay, loot diversity, skill trees and action skills
@Banuner I hate farming, I just use what I pick up
@Banuner I could really care less about the story, the franchise is about loot and the gameplay loop, it's the fps version of diablo
Ty for this! I love your back story, this game also helped me through some really dark times ❤️
Damn, you've sold me on playing Borderlands 2. I didn't think there would be any substantial narrative to it, but now I gotta sees it for myself.
Zac Frazier and what did you think of borderlands 2 ?
Dude I just found this video now, and yes I listened to the whole thing while going through my kids Lego's!! I love BL2(Nooo Bloodwing!!) I just spent 2hrs with you bud..Congratulations on graduating college. I hope you found your path in life. This video was perfect imperfection... It made me want to run around as Sal all over again. Blessings
I adore this analysis. Really shows how passionate this fandom really is. P.S: I personally think that the Claptastic Voyage DLC deserves a closer look. It adds so much in a narrative way, it's quite impressive. It's my favorite expansion for Borderlands, right after Tiny Tina's DLC.
Roland is not boring, he is basically the only character that emphasizes team play with the support benefits of his turret. Not only that, but strategic placement of the turret is CRUCIAL to getting maximum efficiency out of the turret. Granted he may not be the best character and is a little clunky(like most characters in borderlands 1), but his action skill is 10x more interesting than mordecai's "hide behind wall and throw bloodwing at enemy".
Just ran across this video while doing some of my own content creation for work and I gotta say this was the most honest and heartfelt analysis of one of my favorite game franchises. Your students are fortunate to have you as a teacher and I hope you are well. Thank you for this content. Also, I totally get the being sick of one's own voice after a round of editing. Be well!
I came from your post on the Borderlands subreddit, and wow, all I can say is thanks for making that post. I stayed up pretty late watching this video as I found it too interesting to put down. I hadn't even noticed 2 hours went by! Borderlands is my favorite game series of all time, for similar reasons to yours for BL2. BL2 was my best friend when I had no others, it was a game I would always make time to come back to, it was always 'that' game for me as well. And recently, I've committed part of my summer to try and max every character on both games in the Handsome Collection because I'm a madman. :P Video game analysis videos and channels are some of my favorites on all of KZhead, and I'm really happy to have found yours. +1 sub!
That game for me is destiny, as well as minecraft, i got destiny like a week or so after launch and still come back to it every couple years. For minecraft i have had the game on pc since version 1.6 (summer 2013) but had it on pe since like 2012 and have known about it since like early 2011 and i still play it to this day, mostly modded but still. With destiny i have probably 3000+ hours across all versions, but mostly the dickbox 360 version.
Damn, those first 10 minutes are inspiring. I might just start my own channel. The whole human aspect of videogames is truly not covered enough, the only other youtuber doing that is Noah Gervais. You just got yourself a subscriber. Keep it up!
Thank you Cheesy. The more the merrier! Hope to see you in the comments of other videos.
You need to be exposed to more great KZheadrs apparently. This channel and Noah are not the only ones that speak on the human element of gaming. Far from it.
Didnt do it all in one sitting but got to the end and I'm so glad I found your channal. Hearing someone go in depth on a game like this especially one i hold so dear. It's just a great thing to listen to well I work.
What a fun video. I hope you keep doing long form narratives. Thanks for sharing!
OMG you deserve more subs and watch times, im from cuba and i always looking for good content, internet here is wayyy expensive but i found your channel and now i just go directly to your videos. You r the best!!! and borderlands is my best friend! thnk u so much for making this video. Please dont stop and im waiting for the BL3 analysis
This comment made me very happy, thank you! I will try to get the BL3 analysis out semi-close to when the game comes out, but I want to love and take my time with every second of that game!
I remember watching you on twitch like 5 years ago. I randomly thought of you and looked you up. Glad you still do what you love.
Wicked video dude I’m surprised bigger channels haven’t gone this in depth
I recently found your channel after your Zombies video and loved your style of analyzing these games. Borderlands 2 being one of my absolute favorite games of all time I was very excited to jump into this video, and was not disappointed. Amazing video, one thing about Jack not shooting at the city that you made me realize, is I believe it costs a lot of money and time to rotate the cannon they were shooting from, at least I recall the problem being actually rotating it to the new angle towards Sanctuary. It explains why they could rain all hell down on Sanctuary at first, because they assumed that would be the only angle they would have to shoot from and why rotating it to Sanctuary's new position would be an absolute waste if Lilith just teleported it each time.
Great video mate. Fascinating from start to finish and well worth the time.
I have made it till the end of the video because well I’m a fan of long form videos about pieces of media and fictions that I like. It’s not just that that retained my attention for this long it’s also the fact that your video is really well made and it shows you’ve played the games and thusly know what you’re talking about. I could play a game for hundreds, or thousands of hours even and I’d still want to see what others would say about it; it’s nice to have a refreshing and new perspective on something you like, even if it’s a negative one. Good job man.
"Wilhelm is easy, like stupid easy" _cries in axton main_
*laughs in corrosive fastball with grenadier build*
Laughs in Avenger spam
your voice is narrative and likeable! big like, thanks for the commentary. Keep it up!
It took you 8 mins and 30 seconds to get my subscription and attention :) looking forward to the rest of the analysis :D😊
the secret armoury gave me more playtime & content then the base game. Back in 09, this DLC was like playing a full on sequel
Imma make it all the way. Really dig this analysis! I've been playing Borderlands series for Years now, and i really agree with almost every single thing you've said. Well done
The guy who wrote Borderlands 1 and basically created most of this universe is Mikey Neumann. He's got a KZhead channel called FilmJoy where he breaks down movies and stuff. He's super talented and quite funny, definitely worth a look.
you really deserve more subs man within 15 min i subbed and im at the hour mark this is great and clearly you love the game and thats nice to hear
Just finished the video and hot damn was that a good one. Congratulations sir as you showed me depths to these games that I never knew were there and I too have played this series for thousands of hours. Great points throughout and thoroughly enjoyable to be sure. I did indeed watch the whole video and I just wanted to say that despite me commenting quite a bit later past the release of the video, I hope everything is going fine in your life. You certainly made mine better by making this video and showing thousands of people that this comedic series actually has some depth to it. From the bottom of my heart, thank you sir.
Thanks Sam. That’s really really kind. I’m glad the video resonated with you!!! Check out the other vids and maybe come by the discord or twitch stream sometime. Thanks again. :)
Thanks for taking the time to do this. Even if it was long, your insights and observations are excellent and your flow made it a pleasure to watch. I have been deep into BL2 on PS3 due to being cooped up during the Covid-19 situation and totally agree that it is an excellent way to escape into a new world during challenging times. I am still only on TVM level 56 Axton but I love the farming *2 days farming the darn Warrior so I could get a Conference Call!!! AHHH, the aesthetic style, ability to switch my skill tree around to try different things and the infinite amount of little changes I can make to make farming a boss faster. (Axton with a Shariff Badge, Bee and a corrosive Infinity make the Bunk3r crumble in seconds without wasting one Bullet!) I picked up the Game of the Year version for about 12 bucks and it has been some of the best entertainment value I have ever had for such a small amount of money. Sure I am 7 years late but I think that has made it more enjoyable. There are such great guides out there that I don't feel like I have spent hours of my life playing only to find out that I missed my one chance to get something or do a mission. The game may have little flaws but they are small and do not take away from one of the best gaming experiences I have ever had. I almost never comment here but you took the time to do this so I felt it was only fair to take a bit of time to show my appreciation. Again, thanks for making this video I really enjoyed it.
Oh boy here it is! Going to wait to listen to this till Tuesday to get me through the work day. But congrats on finally getting this out!
Woo! Thanks slidedrum. :D
Was watching but more listening to this really deep take,while playing borderlands 3. Great job!
This was an outstanding video. I look forward to seeing more content.
Nice to hear an intelligent take on the borderlands. thank you for taking the time to make this video.
I have played all the borderlands (at least once) and i love them all. So thanks for this video..really enjoyed it.
LOOK OUT THE LAVAS RISING!
That’s the stuff. Give it here?
*Such an amazing video/analysis, deserves way wore subs*
Watched the whole thing in one sitting at work today and it really helped pass the time. Outstanding video on a great franchise
Thank you, Jacob that is really kind. :D
53:47 watching that physically hurt me
Thank you for the video, very intriguing and entertaining. You got a new fan
Thank you, Glenn! Glad to have you along.
Love the video man great content
I actually am so glad i stumbled upon this. I loveeee long, in depth analysis of games. Hell, i went through a 7 or 8 hour video of Metal Gear Solid 4 so this was easy to take in. I really enjoyed this, shame i didn't see it until now.
I'm intrigued by this MG:S video if you remember the channel name? Cheers
@@tylerh2548 sounds like that might have been mutahar from someordinarygamers
Ill never forget my dad getting me borderlands back in 09 sparking my love for the series its self (minus the presequal)
i can`t believe i just watched a 2 hour video about borderlands, that`s how much i love the game, awesome vid man, cheers.
Thank you for this wonderful audiobook about a game I adore! I need to make a commentary video like this
I just realized the “YOU DIE” recently when playing through for my like 30th+ time
Loved this, watched in one go
My man back with beautiful content
Wonderful my friend. It stands a head above from the typical mindless drull or caffeine fueled noise making and fit throwing. I like how, from the gate, its pretty obvious that you did your homework and I one hundred percent appreciate the stats, the breakdowns, the examples and general walkthrough of the parts and peices. Thank you for the informative video. Please keep it up.
This guy is a good teacher
Finished watching in one sitting and it's 1:40pm now. Thanks for your effort in making this.
watched it in one go while playing borderlands 3, really nice video man, enjoyed it a lot
When you speak of what the game has done with you - i live the same exact situation right now! One year free of toxic parents, lost sight in an eye, depression, loss of self worth, the whole gig - you get me - we been through that. Borderlands 3 came around and i am now building back my self worth - being able to go through the game, beat bosses, and maliwan, learn new tactics, i'm building a new self and this game is saving me from my depression and loss of self worth.
Hey Zemimsky, this was a super cool comment. I'm glad to hear that you're building yourself back up. Keep pushing forward, you got this. Seriously!
i binged watched a lot of your videos you earned a sub great work
You've earned a sub. Keep up the solid writing
Thank you for this thesis. With all my heart. I love 'Borderlands' games. Particularly 'B2'. The characters, dark humor and world. It was unclear to me, why I like it so much - although many good games have appeared so far. Now I know. Have a good one dude...
love these games and watched this in one sitting, great video
1000 hours in bl2 alone, participating in online communities around the game for years as well as playing it when it was new... The humor didn't age well but being around ten years ago and still remembering how different we all acted and simply were, it reminds me of that time in a good way. A double rainbow reference isn't even about the original referenced material at this point to me. While it could easily date the game and does, the game itself is too large and important on its own for me culturally for me to automatically associate aspects of it with memes of the time. It's been deconstructed, memed and thought of in my mind from every direction as I replayed three times per character and as I watch KZhead videos and streams of the game years and years later. The humor and how people feel about it has been interesting to passively monitor as time passes and preferences change. I'm very mechanically focused and once you know enough rpg-type information like where legendaries spawn and that they can be farmed, then everything around the gunplay, builds and loot systems is just bonus. I think it succeeds for me by creating its own style even if it will always be a product of that era of the internet and culture that disagrees blatantly with current (and 2018) standards. My personal sense of humor already aligns with my interpretation of BL2. I've had time to adapt, grow up, think and change, try new things; borderlands 2 doesn't have that luxury and as someone that's had to adapt to life's changes I think I can forgive that. I find it endearing and uncompromising how exaggerative it is while maintaining a level of innocence and intrinsic optimism we don't have anymore. It's like it's testing the limits of ridiculousness in a way that is just cute as internet culture and general discourse moves forward in time, leaving it far behind. If it's a relic which it definitely will be at some point, it's my favorite one. This game came out as I was switching to pc and this also represented leaving friends behind for another group, moving to high school from grade school and so many things changing. I played call of duty 2 to mw3 on my 360 and even that I sold in 2013-2014. Instead of playing Minecraft on the 360 or call of duty with friends I've had for so many years I was hosting a LAN where my relatively recently acquainted friends, girlfriend and I were to play and have fun not knowing much about how it works. My biggest hobby of building PCs I did for every person that went to the LANs. The feeling of doing what the group thought should be done versus people who heard of my pc knowledge coming to me and them happening to get along with and respect me was a big difference maker. It's funny that call of duty had such a vile taste to me for that period of time. I would return to zombies in particular years after bo3's release to enjoy maps I remembered while I worked my first "real" job doing IT. even then I was switching essentially between bl2 and bo3 and grinding things out to pass the time at work and later at home. It says so much that I didn't get tired of either game by associating it with a work environment for months on end. I think that says more about my mindset at the time, and given the job was pretty chill and on campus. This past year a friend and his relative as well as other friends, only one of which belonging to my high school group, kind of realized that we enjoyed playing black ops 3 zombies. Our experience levels varied with my one friend I met first year of college really having nostalgia for bo2 while I stopped at mw3 and had nostalgia for every zombies game beforehand. Another friend already knew a guy that distributed hacks to get rid of having to worry about gobblegums. And later we became more interested in modded maps which, despite my efforts, I can't even keep up with years after the game stopped being updated. It felt like a dream to me that people I already knew except one person had an existing common interest when it can feel tough to get people to agree on what to do these days beyond something like Mario kart. I had been playing bo3 off and on for years and had several years of zombies experience and knowledge but without any intense desire to know everything and look everything up. Black ops 3 zombies waited for my friends and I to discover it as a multiplayer experience, a learning experience, and a sharing one. I remember having simply too many things to say to explain zombies to my friend as I loaded in with them. More recently over a year later another guy I helped get back into zombies who had only played waw as a kid and didn't even know what perks were. This sharing of joy when people have all kinds of different perspectives and respecting, nay, REVELING in the fact that they don't know everything the mode has to offer and that there is so much more to do and master - it's second to none.
Well made video! Your analysis was very fair.
Just came across this video, and I really enjoy your viewpoint on the Borderlands series
Watched through the whole thing while playing borderlands lol, sad to see that you dont appreciate tales so much but I understand your opinion, great video keep it up
Beautiful video I saw similar one on blood borne and it literally makes me play the game with a different attitude and I seem to absorb the story so much more.. keep it up my man
Thank you, that is really kind!
Excellent work, you give off big Joseph Anderson energy and I really dig that, I'm definitely going to subscribe to see more
I'm half way through at the moment. But I just wanted to say so far. Well done. I'm very late to the party but happy I made it eventually. Wish I couldve had a teacher like you in HS Seeing essays like this from my teacher would have helped to inspire me so much more. Subbing and I hope you're still making videos
Thank you, Ryan. Any of the students I had that knew about this just thought I was a big nerd. They aren’t wrong, tbh. Thanks for the kind words, lots of new videos to check out on my channel for you. Lemme know what you think
The original was such a breath of fresh air for me personally. Definitely a game I look back on with appreciation.
I am of the mindset that Roland, Lilith, and Moxxi deserve Jack's wraith because of the betrayal on Hyperion station. So much so, I hope Lilith and Moxxi face their deaths in a future title.
HUNK Perhaps, though I do believe that a case can be made for Moxxi being justified based on the merits of her intentions and the restraint she showed in the execution of her actions in addition to the lack of followup after she likely found out that Jack had survived her assassination attempt on Helios Station. However, the same cannot be said for Lilith. Lilith's behavior in BL2 and the Pre-Sequel show someone whose inner motivations are just as if not even more sociopathic than Jack's. The difference between them was circumstance. Where Jack had the circumstances earlier to pursue his goals, good and bad, Lilith acquired them later and both follow ever darkening paths to the point of self-justifying outright murder on increasing scales for returns of debatable, varying levels of worth. But what makes me suggest that Lilith is worse is her responsibility for the events of BL2. She participated in Moxxi's plan, gloating toward Jack as the betrayal occurred and - later - actively pushes Jack over the edge with an unnecessary assault. At the end of the Pre-Sequel, she shows no signs of the minimal, but demonstrably present self-awareness we saw in Jack up until the betrayal on Helios. Come BL2, she behaves without any sign of restraint and uses her behavior surrounding the quest to stop Jack to set up a false narrative of being solely a victim of Jack's actions. As the "present day" events of the Pre-Sequel roll around, she has Athena tied to a post in front of a firing squad for... what? Trying to live in peace? Athena's explanation show that her motivations were pure in working for Jack and her choice to leave Jack's employ demonstrate her moral and ethical character. In the face of these actions, Lilith dismisses her testimony and the corroborating testimonies of others to declare her guilty and deserving of execution over the objections of her friends and lieutenants. Lilith's choice, made in spite of reason and with weak attempts at justification, was purely a choice made out of fear (perhaps both of the truth and what that might do to how others saw her) and a need to reestablish her "clean" image on the eyes of her associates and only the timely appearance of deus ex machina saved Athena's life. Moxxi has a leg to stand on, but Lilith... not so much.
That was a pretty awesome video. Ty!
phenomenal critique my guy
This video was incredible, I listened to it all while playing through bl2 for my hundredth or so time
Love the vid dude! ❤
Bró I hope your doing good. I hope u know this video meant a lot like ALOT to me. This was such an Important and Enjoyable thing to watch and listen to. I'm going to watch your BL3 now.
Thank you I meant to also say thank you.
Just saying, Tina is absolutely amazing and my favorite character in the second game.
Sus
"Level 50 anarchy" 1:39:21 I would argue that weapons lasting after 13 levels is not a good thing, it would make players not want to find other weapons or gear in there playthrough, I actually found it quite boring to be using the same weapons for the majority of Borderlands 1. Even so the unkempt Harold can last quite a few levels and still outclasse most weapons that are 5 levels above it. Slag 1:41:40 Salvador isn't the only character than effectively slag, Maya has 2 abilities that allow her to slag enemies and both are very reliable, Axton's turret can apply slag with the right skill, Zer0's kunai can also apply slag, and he can swap betwen slag weapons and dps weapons fast with this great weapon swap speed, I think even Gaige's death trap can apply slag, and with Krieg he can potentially swap weapons faster than any other build with his hellborn build allowing him to slag enemies fast, you also have grenades that can slag, and shields to. I really don't see slag effecting the gameplay in a bad way when the game gives you so many options for using it effectively you just have to make the right build.
I don't think it had to do with Tina as a person of color, I think the issue was just the ebonics and people accused this of making fun of black people.
I made it all the way through. It's a very insightful analysis, especially to a fan of the franchise.
Watched the full video and loved it
I made it that far so your work was awesome. Thank you
Great video, one of my new fav critics of games. You're not on a high horse like some, and you're informative enough without sounding condescending. I've recently fallen in love with this series, specifically BL2, and I was listening to this while grinding Jimmy Jenkins, which I succeeded at, though only before the reloading of my save caused data corruption. Time to do it all over again, but that's the point right...? Ha, haha, ha...
An excellent rundown of the Borderlands universe. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Would love to see it completed with BL3.
this was simply brilliant
Great analysis.