2019-06-01_PC_Gamer

ABOVE, LEFT: Yes.

He’s back, for better

and worse.

ABOVE, BOTTOM: I

award this image

nine Borderlands-es

out of ten.

see some characters from that game
making an appearance also.
Curiously, voice actor Troy Baker
expressed disappointment over not
being recast as Rhys, while Randy
Pitchford claims he turned the role
down. Something’s going on there.

GEARING UP
As for improvements, Gearbox wants
to make co-op (arguably the real
reason to play a Borderlands game)
more streamlined and accessible. If
you’re playing with a lower level
player, the game will be balanced in
such a way that they can make a
meaningful contribution to a firefight.
This means you won’t have a
low-level friend dealing one point of
damage to a more powerful enemy,
and dying every five seconds, which
is good news for everyone involved.
The way loot works is also being
rejigged. In previous Borderlands
games every player in a co-op team

Kotaku’slengthy report on
whatthereaction to Anthem
could mean for Dragon Age 4
has me making prayer circles
for the game, especially since scrapped
gameplay elements include heists and a
narrative system built aroundyour
decisions. Still on my wish list:healthy
working conditions for the devs. MH

BIOWOES

DRAGON AGE

ON THE MARCH

MOUNT&BLADE

A roadmap for Hitman 2 has

beenrevealed including,

excitingly, a level set in a

bank. Due for release this

summer, the level sounds like a perfect

stealth challenge. Another level is called

The Resort, and I’m hoping for

something similar to Sapienza.It’san

exciting time to be a Hitman fan. AK

CASH MONEY

HITMAN 2

THEPOPULARITYOF

THEGENREHAS

SURGEDSINCE

BORDERLANDS 2

In a recent developer blog,

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

developer TaleWorlds just

casually referenced an

“upcoming” closed beta test. And that’s

it. That’s the news. At some point

(hopefully) soon, TaleWorldswillfinally

let a handful of people playthemuch

anticipated sandbox sequel. PS

would choose from the same pool of

loot drops, but now you have the

option for loot to drop per-player,

which should avoid any heated

arguments about who gets which

gun. Gearbox is also promising

greater weapon variety, with the

damage, range, and ammo capacity

randomisation you’d expect, but also

special effects and perks too. With a

billion permeations, this should

hopefully make for a pretty exciting

loot system.

Gearbox has described

Borderlands 3 in its marketing

material as the “original loot

shooter”, which suggests the studio is

taking on the likes of Destiny and The

Division. The popularity of the genre

has surged massively since

Borderlands 2 was released back in

2012, and it seems likely Gearbox will

learn some lessons from the current

titans of the genre. But it’s nice to see

that, judging by the trailer at least,

this is Borderlands through and

through. Love it or hate it, this is a

series with a distinctive personality.

After the early demise of its

ill-fated hero shooter Battleborn,

Gearbox will surely go all-in with

Borderlands 3. Its launch on

September 13 will only be the

beginning: you can expect expansion

DLC well into 2020 and maybe even

beyond, depending on how well it

does. And judging by the hype

generated by this announcement and

trailer, it’s safe to say Borderlands 3

will fare better than Battleborn.

Andy Kelly

NEWS | OPINION | DEVELOPMENT