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'Borderlands 3' is a frenetic love letter to mayhem
Borderlands 3 will squeeze every last drop of endorphin from your pituitary gland. And that's before you reach the boss fight. I went hands-on with the latest iteration of Gearbox Software's frenetic first-person shooter RPG at E3 on Wednesday and walked away with an epiphany: Shut down the polls, this is 2019's game of the year.
'Borderlands 3' will arrive September 13th on PC, PS4 and Xbox One
Gearbox and publisher Take Two will release Borderlands 3 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One September 13th, confirming the date mentioned in a deleted tweet earlier this week. On PC, the RPG/shooter hybrid will be a digital exclusive through the Epic Games Store until April 2020, when it will arrive on other digital storefronts.
Deleted 'Borderlands 3' tweet suggests a September 13th release date
Gearbox seems to have given away the release date for Borderlands 3 a little earlier than expected. A now-deleted tweet from the Borderlands Twitter account read "Mayhem is Coming September 13th." It appears the date leaked a couple of days before the official announcement -- when Gearbox officially announced the sequel last week, it said it would reveal more details on April 3rd.
Gearbox teases 'Borderlands 3' reveal on March 28th
Yes, an honest-to-goodness Borderlands sequel (not a pre-sequel) appears to be on the horizon. Gearbox has posted a teaser for what's likely to be the Borderlands 3 reveal at PAX East on March 28th. It doesn't say much about the game, but there's not much mystery here -- not when it features Borderlands' signature cell-shaded art and a "3" at the top.
Did a single typo screw up the AI in 'Aliens: Colonial Marines'?
In case you need help selecting an old game to spend the weekend with, it might be a good time to revisit 2013's Aliens: Colonial Marines. In a one-star review written when it was released, Xav de Matos called out the game's AI as a problem and said: "Enemy encounters feature stunningly moronic xenomorphs that show none of the tactical sense seen in the films. There's no tension or challenge to the engagements. The highly intelligent alien race simply leaps or rushes toward the player, exploding in a mist of acidic blood after absorbing enough shots. If any of them fail to combust, they simply fade away." Why would I recommend a game that only received a one-star review when it was released? Because there's a chance a much better version of the game was hiding within, only to be stymied by, of all things, a single typo.
We Happy Few's dystopia is held together by drugs and denial
We Happy Few has come to fruition in a unique way. Compulsion Games first captured attentions in 2015 with its creepy, atmospheric trailers, also launching a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund continued development of its dystopian title. The following year, the game launched on early access programs for both the PC and Xbox One. It was a procedurally generated, roguelike survival game, intended to be relatively short and replayable. Only, the world Compulsion had built was too alluring. The people wanted more, being particularly fond of the game's quirky characters and the player's interactions with them. And so We Happy Few has evolved over time to become a substantial story-driven adventure. At launch on August 10th, the game will follow three very different playable characters that, for one reason or another, don't fit in with their ever-jolly neighbors.
'Project 1v1' is a F2P arena shooter from the 'Borderlands' team
Gearbox Software brought a new game to E3 this year, but it definitely wasn't Borderlands 3 or a new Brothers in Arms. Instead, it's Project 1v1, which, as its working title suggests, is an online first-person shooter that pits you against one other player in combat. Each round lasts just five minutes, and arenas are deliberately small. Through a handful of matches, the map size meant that I was constantly playing cat and mouse with my opponent. But, since I'm not very good with a mouse and keyboard, more often than not I was the one being hunted.
'Battleborn' is winding down months after going free-to-play
Battleborn's move to a free-to-play model doesn't appear to have helped its chances. Gearbox has revealed that it's winding down work on the hero-based team shooter as the studio shifts its focus to a "highly anticipated" (but unnamed) project. There isn't any more planned content after the upcoming Fall Update, creative director Randy Varnell says, including skins and balance patches. The servers will stick around "for the foreseeable future," so you can still play -- it'll just remain relatively static.
Troubled game reseller forces users to identify themselves
Online game key marketplace G2A is taking another stab at making its site more secure for developers by implementing changes that will impact both resellers and customers. The company announced on Thursday that key sellers on its site will be required to reveal their name and address, having previously been allowed to operate anonymously.
'Aliens: Colonial Marines' mod may actually make the game fun
When it released in early 2013, Aliens: Colonial Marines was an absolute garbage fire of a video game. There was a lawsuit regarding the wide gulf in quality between what developer Gearbox Software (of Borderlands and upcoming Battleborn fame) and publisher Sega showed prior to release and what customers actually got, and Gearbox's CEO Randy Pitchford remains ambivalent about Colonial Marines' quality and development process. Gearbox was eventually dropped from the suit, but it was a whole thing. The modding community sounds like it might've fixed some of the most egregious sins on the PC version, though.
'Battleborn' beta launches April 8th on PlayStation 4
If you haven't noticed, episodic gaming is all the rage these days. The developers at Gearbox have taken notice and are structuring Battleborn's story mode in such a fashion. A press release says that the game's prologue and eight episodes work as a season that tell a collectively bigger narrative, while each episode will focus on a self-contained story about the game's 25 characters.
'Borderlands' is the latest backwards compatible game on Xbox One
Even if you spent $399 on the ultra-crazy edition of Borderlands: The Handsome Collection there was a pretty gaping hole in it. No, I'm not talking about what that purchase did to your bank account, I mean the anthology's distinct lack of the series' first game. Well, for Xbox One owners that's changing because the Vault Hunters' first trip to Pandora was recently added to the list of Xbox 360 games playable on Microsoft's newest console -- something that was teased back at E3 this year. Folks in the Dashboard Preview Program can start playing right now, of course, but everyone else who got stuck on Dr. Ned's zombie island (Microsoft says all save files, add-on content and achievements will transfer over) have to wait until the feature launches to the public this November. You still had a few lunar side-quests left to finish for Handsome Jack in the meantime anyhow, right?
'Battleborn' has the trappings of a modern shooter and more
The folks at Gearbox Software want you to know a few things about Battleborn, the incredibly colorful "hero shooter" ahead of its grand showing at E3 in a few weeks. Why? Probably so it can expand upon the following details and/or show off even more stuff in Los Angeles. Let's get down to business. First up, the game has a story mode that you can play solo or co-op -- either split-screen or online, with replayability encouraged so you can go back for better loot when the mood strikes. There's also some 25 playable characters, all with different abilities, armaments and personalities according to a press release. Of course, there's multiplayer as well, which is where the MOBA-inspirations perhaps show through strongest.
Inside Gearbox's plan to resurrect 'Homeworld' with 12-year-old tools
Homeworld Remastered is arriving as a Steam download on February 25th, 16 years after it originally launched. The game and its 2003 sequel spent the last 12 years languishing in THQ's vaults before being rescued by Gearbox Software. Doesn't ring a bell? Gearbox is the studio behind the highly lauded Borderlands series, the universally derided Duke Nukem Forever and the largely panned Aliens: Colonial Marines. Rather than just push the titles out for a quick nostalgia hit, however, the company spent the last two years giving Homeworld a high-definition remaster so that it looks as good as we remember. In the run up to the launch, I spoke with Gearbox's Brian Martel and Chris Faylor to talk about reviving the game.
Gearbox's beautiful 'Homeworld' remake reaches PCs February 25th
If you're a long-time PC gamer, you probably have a soft spot for the Homeworld series. Relic's epic saga was both eye-catching and proof that real-time strategy could work in the void of space. However, time hasn't been kind to the games -- the first came out when 3D graphics cards were relatively new, and THQ's acquisition of Relic (plus its eventual bankruptcy) made follow-ups difficult. At last, though, you'll have a way to relive the Mothership's journey while doing justice to your modern gaming rig. Gearbox, which bought the rights to the series, has revealed that its previously teased Homeworld Remastered Collection will reach Windows PCs on February 25th. The remake spruces up just about every aspect of the two Homeworld games, ranging from much better-looking ship models and effects to reworked cutscenes. You also get a beta multiplayer experience that merges the online modes of both titles.
'Borderlands' on PS4 and Xbox One comes in a $399 edition with a robot
No, the trend of recycling games for modern consoles isn't over yet -- if anything, it's gathering steam. Gearbox and 2K have unveiled Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, a bundle that spruces up both Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (along with their downloadable content) for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. If you buy the garden variety $60 edition when it arrives on March 24th, you'll get the obligatory improved graphics, cross-platform saved games and four-way split-screen cooperative action. They're nice touches, although it's hard to see a die-hard fan buying this role-playing influenced shooter a second time just for those perks. This is more for first-timers who missed what all the fuss was about.
Bizarrely, the next Borderlands game is for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
The hugely popular first-person shooter series Borderlands is getting a new entry in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, a game set between the story of previous two games. Not exactly shocking, but neat nonetheless. What's shocking is where we'll play Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel when it arrives this fall: Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Despite the Xbox One and PlayStation 4... ya know, existing, the next major Borderlands game apparently isn't headed their way. That said, there's one other platform that fans can snag it on: PC. And given the PC-like architecture of the new consoles, you'll forgive us if we don't feign surprise when the game eventually arrives on newer platforms. The game's development is being handled by both the series creators at Gearbox Software and 2K's Australian arm. Thus far, the only footage available is pre-Alpha (read: early), but, well, it looks an awful lot like the Borderlands games you already know and love. Perhaps you don't already know and love the series? We've got a trailer below the break that'll help get you up to speed.
Borderlands 2 mobile app turns QR codes into absurd in-game armaments (update: how it works!)
Borderlands 2 is attempting the Herculean task of exciting people about QR codes. With its new LootTheWorld mobile app, Gearbox Software (Borderlands, Brothers in Arms and, er, Aliens: Colonial Marine) is turning any barcode or QR square into in-game gear like acid-burst armor or a flame-spewing sniper rifle with a 12x zoom scope. Whether you bought the game last year or just downloaded it for free from the PlayStation Store, this app could be one of the more useful mobile companions on your phone. Perhaps best of all, it's free and available right now from iTunes and Google Play. We've reached out to Gearbox for info on how the loot is determined and will update this post if we hear back. You should hurry along though; Mercenary Day is almost upon us. Update: Gearbox got back to us about how the app determines what gear comes from the scans. The loot is totally random (just like it is in the game proper), but there's a twist: Once you scan a product UPC or a QR code, the generated item is forever tied to that item. For instance, if you get a rocket launcher that does ice damage from a box of Honey Nut Cheerios, everyone who scans the cereal will get it. Gearbox's Adam Fletcher tells us this was designed so you could tell your friends where to find wacky kit in the real world. When we asked how the loot distribution worked, Fletcher assured us it was totally random and not tied to a real-world product's price. "A small box of paper clips could mean a legendary and your 50-inch Samsung [TV] may not," he said.
Duke Nukem Forever goes gold, will meet promised June deadline (really!)
Back in January, Gearbox Software released a Duke Nukem Forever trailer, and our inner 13 year-old -- only a lascivious gleam in his father's eye when the game was first announced! -- thrilled to its potty humor, gratuitous violence, and mosaic-obscured lady parts. We were skeptical about the promised May release date, since DNF has long been gaming's answer to Chinese Democracy, and sure enough that got bumped to June 10 (international) and 14 (North America). But now the game has gone gold, meaning real-life physical copies, rather than just one of gaming's longest running vaporware jokes. No confirmation that the game will ship via unicorn, but for more details devour the press release after the break.
Evidence of Duke Nukem Forever's existence continues to mount with new trailer, release date
Gearbox Software promised last fall that they'd finally, really finish and release Duke Nukem Forever, and it's starting to look like they're actually going to come through. The studio has just released a full trailer for the game, and it's announced something that many though they'd never see: a release date. Assuming nothing goes horribly awry in the next few months, you can expect the game to hit the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on May 3rd in North America, and May 6th worldwide. Still need a bit more convincing? Head on past the break for the trailer. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
