022
The Big 10
STORIES EVERYONE’S TALKINGABOUT
10
IAN DEAN
EDITORJESS KINGHORN
STAFF WRITEROSCAR TAYLOR-KENT
GAMES EDITORMILFORD COPPOCK
ART EDITORWhat do and don’t we want
from the new Borderlands?
THE SERIES SHOULD
EMBRACE ITS LOOT
SHOOTER HERITAGE
AND GO GALACTIC.Destiny 2 was muddled,
Anthem’s a mess, and
The Division 2 is ironically
divisive, so we need a
hands-down, perfect
loot shooter on PS4.
Borderlands 3 could be
that game. The core
ingredients are already
there; we were scooping
loot on Pandora when
‘games as a service’ was
a twinkle in Bungie’s
marketing eye. But
imagine a PS4 sequel that
left the confines of the
series’ homeworld and
opened up a galaxy of loot
on other planets. It would
mean rewards wouldn’t
be restricted to guns but
could include spaceships,
mods, and even planetary
bases of operations.
Borderlands 3, I believe,
should be borderless. QWILL THE NEW
BORDERLANDS
CHANGE LOOT
SHOOTERS?It’s fair to say the art
direction in Borderlands 1
and 2 is wonderful. The
Pre-Sequel let that
distinct visual style
seep further into the
environments, too.
Needless to say, I’m
looking forward to seeing
the next full stylish step...
or should that be moon
jump? But beyond that
much-lauded sense of
style, I’m curious to see
how the granddaddy of
loot shooters makes its
reappearance in a genre
now dominated by live
games. The hope is that
Borderlands 3 won’t
have a fistful of
microtransactions but,
with the widespread
focus on live-service
models, perhaps it is
unwise to hold out hope. QBORDERLANDS
SHOULDN’T FEEL THE
NEED TO CHANGE.In its day Borderlands
was a slick, self-assured
loot shooter that simply
felt fun to play. But back
then there were also a lot
of games doing similar
things – as well as
Borderlands may have
done it. Since then it
seems like feelgood
loot shooters have
transformed mostly into
being live-service games,
where being showered
with interesting gear and
weapons has become
a question of how to
string players along as
part of an economy.
Forget all that. We need
Borderlands’ confidence
in giving you lots of crazy
all the time now more
than ever. The freshest
approach it can take is,
ironically, by feeling
similar to old games. QGIVE ME A VIRTUAL
CAMERA AND AN
OPEN WORLD OF
COLOURFUL CHAOS.Any game you chose to
mention can be improved
by a photo mode. Yes,
even Life Of Black Tiger
can be redeemed. Maybe.
But for Borderlands, a
series that bucked the
trend to make its
post-apocalyptic world
one dripping in colour and
chaos, a photo mode is a
must. Imagine being able
to take a snap of your
loot, or pose over the
body of a enemy – my
photographic trophy,
because what good is a
photo mode if you can’t
pose for the camera?
The commitment to
Borderlands’ visual style
should ensure some
creative filters too, a
perfect way to frame and
capture Pandora on PS4.
I can’t wait. Qjust one more question...
the team debate this month’s burning issue
BORDERLANDS IS BACK
Gearbox finally confirmed the new
Borderlands earlier this month but
was sketchy on details. The series
broke ground for mixing shooting
and RPG genres, and coined the
term ‘loot shooter’.