Forum:Dtoid trashes DLC4, giving it a 3/10... thoughts?

Forums: Index > Watercooler > Dtoid trashes DLC4, giving it a 3/10... thoughts?

http://www.destructoid.com/review-borderlands-claptrap-s-new-robot-revolution-184830.phtml

Now I know most of us haven't played the DLC yet, but I certainly wasn't expecting a review like this. Given that most of us are ardent fans of the game I doubt it will carry much water here, but thoughts?? SQLc 19:07, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

That remark about how the fight against the INAC(and MINAC I assume) pales in comparison to the Craw fights is kind of, well, derp.

Craw is supposed to be tough, that's why it's an optional mission instead of a boss fight. If Craw were a requirement to finish the game people would have ragequit long ago.

I haven't been on a Craw run yet, but from what I've gleaned from here and the GB forums, soloing Craw is quite a challenge unless you glitch a bit 19:12, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

Wow, that was a rough review. Since I haven't played DLC 4 yet I don't know how much I agree. But if after we all play it we agree that it was a lame attempt at making money, maybe it will be time to make BL2. For those who have played it, how much do you all agree? Insomniac9783 19:17, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

Maybe its possible that the Gearbox team was diverting their resources to Duke Nuken instead? - Zeph, 03:19, Sept 29, 2010 (GMT+8)

• It's interesting that the review mentions that Gearbox outsourced the development of this DLC to some other company. That's the first I'd heard of that. If true then that might explain some of what the author was trying to say with respect to the characters acting somewhat unlike themselves. At the end of the day though, Gearbox has to put their stamp of approval on it before it's released. SQLc 19:23, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

I'll wait for the REAL review over at IGN. Also, comparing anything to crawmerax is a moot point. Less than 1% of BLers have actually beaten crawmerax according to RP himself, so why would they make him a MANDATORY boss? Also, it's 10 bucks. 10 bucks to me is well worth a good boss fight and some good orange gear. NOhara24

Although the review seemed to be 'rant-ish', He still provided some solid reasons for the score. I hate collection quests tho...puts a bullet right through your games potential to be fun. Eulogenic 19:49, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

Honestly, it's not worth it :(

Envy 360 19:50, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

Also, after doing some digging, all that guy ever writes about is how much he hates something. Gameinformer came out with another review, they gave it an 8.

Just like anything else, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Truthfully I didn't even mind the Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaains mission, and it sounds like the dtoid reviewer thought it was worse than the plague. The GI review comes across as more down to earth and less emotional. SQLc 20:23, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

Hmm. This is alarming. The negative review was, indeed, brutally honest, and really nailed where DLC1 went wrong. I notice he doesn't even mention the execrable DLC2 - now THAT was a lazy cash grab - and I worry greatly he's correct on DLC4. To buy or not buy... I guess I've some time before the PS3 version comes out to decide! Dotonehundred 22:44, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

Look at the Gameinformer review I posted. It's nice to hear both sides of the story. People on the forums really like it, the guy who wrote it was just trashing the game for being what it is. (Which...if you don't write the game, why do the review?) NOhara24 22:51, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

Well i got the DLC today and read the review after i completed the main story quests. The review does have some solid points such as the collect missions but id rate it at a 6/7 for the fact it was fun to play. Dont base your judgement on getting the DLC over that review it is worth getting if you enjoyed the other DLCs

See, this is a perfect example of the phenomenon known as "love it or hate it". Some people don't like collection quests. Some people do. Some people don't care if new monsters are simply old monsters with new skins, sounds, and moves. Some people do. Some people get paid to write about games whether or not they like them. Some people don't. Myself, I think he has some valid points, but only like-minded people will appreciate them. For those of us who don't really mind collection quests and old dogs with new tricks, the article may as well not even exist. Laserrobotics (talk) 23:18, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

from the interviews randal has made i never got the impression that dlc4/CNRR was outsourced. too bad but it explains the delay.   Dr. F            00:28, September 29, 2010 (UTC) d/l now PC

I personally was a bit disappointed with the DLC. Took about half an hour to download and another half hour to beat. I was expecting more from it, but a Hellfire and a stinger with my siren can apparently kill almost every non boss enemy on two seconds... It'll be interesting to see if the level cap patch will make it more of a challenge.   Uberorb  

Hey guys. Appreciate the comments regarding the review. I'll offer a few clarifications, if you don't mind. I LOVE Borderlands, which is part of the reason why DLC4 was so painful for me to play and to write about (but I do write about how much I love things quite often; dig deeper?). The Braaaaaaaaaains quest didn't bother me in Dr. Ned but it really didn't need to be repeated. Funny once, annoying twice. The comment about MINAC "paling in comparison" to Crawmerax is out of context. I was merely pointing out that while MINAC can be a challenging fight, players should not expect the need for some sort of grand strategy. The biggest disappointment of the whole affair is the utter waste of the potential the scenario held. D-Fault could have been made so much more than just "here's this guy, go kill him." The micro-story between the spa and the hotel could have been pushed further than two short, lame missions. Why wasn't there a single multi-part quest (wherein you reach your goal, but the goal has shifted in some way)? Instead, I'm supplying Marcus with supplies for fried chicken and cologne. That makes no sense to me whatsoever when there was so much that could have been worked with just within the concept of a Claptrap revolution. Anyway, sorry for the length of the comment. Thanks for reading the review and, frankly, for being so reasonable about it. Conrad.zimmerman 20:06, September 30, 2010 (UTC)

It's funny, because on the GBX forums, even though many shared your point of view, they wrote the review off as unreliable due to the language, which is ridiculous. I would give it a 6/10, but I can see someone giving it a 3 after all the hype (by players and GBX themselves).GT: ConceitedJarrad XBOX360 20:25, September 30, 2010 (UTC)

• Honestly, I can't blame them for that. It certainly was unconventional by review standards, as it literally was an e-mail exchange between myself and another editor on staff. Sometimes those conversations get a little salty with the language and, while I could have toned it down, I wanted to use the more casual nature afforded that framework to demonstrate how I really felt. But it's certainly not what I would consider "highly professional" work on my part, and it's certainly not the review that I would put in a portfolio. Then again, I would make the same suggestion to anyone at Gearbox or DarkSide in regards to the DLC itself. Conrad.zimmerman 20:35, September 30, 2010 (UTC)

I think you appropriately captured the anger that a lot of people were feeling. Obviously, it wasn't exactly an AP piece, but there's a bold new generation out there. I don't mind someone letting there emphatic side slip through, especially in op/eds.GT: ConceitedJarrad XBOX360 21:34, September 30, 2010 (UTC)

Gearbox is selling themselves up a creek. Reach just released. I'm not even going to bother with DLC4 for BL. Maybe I'll wait until the goty bundled with all the dlc is on sale for $15. Probably not though. They could have done something amazing here. It's a shame they passed up the opportunity. Even just throwing in a few new guns probably would have given it something. Ah well. BL2 might pan out. You never know. WhackyGordon 21:07, September 30, 2010 (UTC)

What people need to realize is that these are not full games theyre expansions. General Knoxx was incredibly large for what it is. the size was almost the same as that of the original game (playtime wise). So saying DLC4 didnt live up to knoxx is just unfair. And this review seemeda little harsh. Yes it was mostly true but the game also had some value. But after playing through the game i found it was somewhat disapointing. The amount of collection quests/acheivements seems lazy. and whats the reason for such large maps if your not gonna do anything with them. and yes alot of the enemies were just old enemies with different skins, i found some enjoyable tho (kamikazy traps). overall it definatly seemed lacking but i wasnt too upset about spending 10 bucks on it. Btw wtf is up with tanis Interplanatary ninja assasin 21:42, September 30, 2010 (UTC)

ty CZ for joining us. it is my belief the disappointment has two sources. firstly the hype pounded into the public about how gawdawful hugemongous this dlc was supposed to be. secondly was the anticipation of level 69. both are expectations. i expected neither and i enjoyed the dlc, i also like to look in corners of the map for loot and was pleased to see that was included in this content. i was pleased to see the facial animations and i also had the benefit of mr zimmerman's review to reasonabliz/se my expectations. the wait between dlcs was much greater this time leading to heightened expectations, little did we suspect that the studio was working on Duke Nukem Forever. if you watch the videos with the benefit of hindsight notice what _is_ and _isnt_ said. interesting.   Dr. F            00:37, October 1, 2010 (UTC) oh and patti had a "relationship" with her echo recorder, cut her some slack shes just behind on her meds

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I'll admit right off the bat I've only spent a grand total of about an hour on DLC4. That's actually what drove me to come here and see if anyone's been talking about it - I was thinking, "it IS gonna get better, right? Tell me it's gonna get better." Would that I had waited even a single day to read this review BEFORE plunking down my 10-spot.

Everything about that hour was terrible for me. The intro cinematic had me rolling my eyes like someone had just made bad pun ("the KID again? I'm on the BORDER of disliking this Borderlands DLC, nyuk nyuk nyuk"). 30 seconds in I'm greeted by an "intro" of Tannis - who really doesn't need an introduction at all, by the way - and I have to say, Conrad was spot on here. It reminded me of Keira Knightley's character in Pirates of the Carribean 2, which basically struck me as being re-written from the ground-up so as to create pointless love-triangle-drama without taking into account anything she ever said or did in the first film. That's more or less how it felt to watch Tannis babble like a mad scientist with ADD. Like they just re-wrote her character for the sake of a contrived plot device. And then she had me go out and collect zombie bra- excuse me, claptrap parts. Joy of joys.

And when I went out to collect these claptrap parts, what was the first enemy I saw? A bandit. And not even a hard bandit either, like a Brute or Ravager. A normal bandit. Like, he was probably the twin brother of the dude I wasted while traveling to Fyrestone at level 1. No AI tweaks to make him harder, no extra health, not even the "claptrap-ization" palette swap; just your average, everyday bandit. I actually alt-tabbed right then and there to check my e-mail receipt and ensure I really did install a DLC called "ROBOT revolution," I kid you not. I was dumbfounded, not by the re-cycling of an enemy in particular, but that absolutely nothing that I had seen thus far was even given a pretense at uniqueness. I was in a nondescript junkyard being shot at by a nondescript bandit and 3 of his friends, in order to fetch nondescript "claptrap parts" for a character who's personality felt retconned into a cliche. And this is what I paid $10 for.

I grit my teeth and played on, thinking "well, the egg is hatched - let's see what color the chick is." All the while - and it took a decent while, longer than usual since I was actively searching for innovative material as I went - I was wondering, "why am I shooting bandits in a claptrap revolution? Why aren't the CLAPTRAPS killing the bandits? Where ARE the Claptraps?" Then I found them - all 10 of them - surrounding the Crimson Lance Hyperion outpost, and thought "finally, the game is starting." Then the Crimson Lance Hyperion soldiers shot all the claptraps. And then they started shooting me. Wonderful.

When I turned in "part 1" only to get "part 2" of the claptrap fetch quests, I died a little inside.

When I was contacted by a "mysterious liaison," I allowed myself one faint glimmer of hope. "Sure it's contrived, but so is all of Borderlands. At least it's not a fetch quest."

Then I was given an "intro" scene to Marcus, and that hope was quickly dashed.

Once I stepped outside what I assume to be the city limits, and saw bandit palette swaps, I sighed, shook my head, and turned off the game.

That was just before I came on here to research this DLC.

Now like I said, I've only played an hour or so. And who knows? It might get better! But after reading that review, and deciding I most likely share Conrad's views with regards this game, I wouldn't count on it. Again, it's not even so much the recycling that bothers me as it is that said recycling is BLATANT, especially when it wasn't sold as such. At least with Moxxi, I knew exactly what I was gonna get ("Horde Mode" for Borderlands). And I enjoyed Moxxi! Because there was no pretense of it being anything other than what it was.

This, though... This was billed as something that it (apparently) is not. This was hyped as not only new, but story-driven new, content. It is anything but. If Borderlands were a cereal, DLC4's box would read "Same Taste, Less Filling - Now With 50% Less Story!"

I'm glad the review was written though. It saved me from spending any more time on the DLC I unfortunately already bought, and it'll hopefully help others when making their purchasing decision. If this one's gonna go down as "love it or hate it," file me squarely in the hate it crowd.

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I was waiting for weeks to buy the DLC and I just got finished playing it last night. It was short, and the main story wasn't quite as great as I was hoping, but it was fun to fight the claptraps and I enjoyed the last boss. I did find the game to not have the same great feel as the original game or the general knoxx DLC. It seemed hollow and like it was missing a lot.. almost like the developers were just going through the motions to get the DLC out. I also really thought the bosses were lazy and astonishingly repetitive, except for the final one. That one was good fun.

I have to say that 3/10 is a little generous. This is definitely a "brand spoiler" DLC. I recenly watched the God of War II making of clips on the ps3 GOW collection disk, the game director talked about how if he failed, he would be the guy that "fucked up GoW"... well, this DLC and the people responsible are those that "Fucked up Borderlands"... It really was a rehash of hunting Zombie brains, some elements from Knoxx, and claptraps instead of midgets. The environments were largely unmemorable, or terrible in the case of the maze that is sanders gorge. This DLC was like counting down the days until christmas, only to wake up on christmas morning to find that your parents had killed themselves and left a note saying it was your fault and they never loved you. To use the expression "jump the shark" would be far too charitable for this mess of a DLC. The "Credits" should be a black list of names that should never be hired in the gaming industry. Also, did they even use the same voice actor for marcus? There were times when it seemed like a guy doing an immitation of marcus, and sort of giving up half way through sentences... totally weak. This DLC reminds me of the days of 8 bit games, where the game artwork was far more awesome than the actual game... well, the DLC promotional artwork was far more awesome than the steaming pile we all shelled out 10$ for. MarvinRunyon 17:29, October 1, 2010 (UTC)

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was confused by the map design of Sanders Gorge. It's without a doubt the first BL environment I've come across where the map is utterly useless. I suppose it's apropos that question mark was put on the map. Whoever designed that one needs to be drug out into the street and shot. SQLc 19:33, October 1, 2010 (UTC)

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