tales from the borderlands
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'New Tales from the Borderlands' arrives on October 21st
A trailer highlights three new characters and the offbeat humor we've come to expect from the Borderlands series.
A new 'Tales from the Borderlands' game is coming this year
It will feature all new characters and adventures.
Best of the Rest: Susan's picks of 2014
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Framed Framed is so elegant and simple that it needs not a single word to teach you how to play. If you understand the basic function of the panels in a comic book and are able to poke things with your finger, you will swiftly understand the basics of how to make things happen in this brilliant mobile game. Arrange the panels one way, and your spy makes a daring escape from the police; position them another way, and he emerges from the wrong door right into the hands of the law. From the very first level, which uses just two panels to illustrate how switching the order of the comic can change the outcome of its events, Framed builds on its simplicity, adding more panels, directionality and timing to create more complex puzzles in its stylish spy-vs-spy thriller. Each page of the comic is a puzzle complete unto itself, making Framed perfectly designed for short bursts of inspiration, or restricted play time. It's one of those games that's so damn clever, you wish you'd thought it up yourself.
Best of the Rest: Richard's picks of 2014
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter The best thing about The Vanishing of Ethan Carter might be that it tells its story in a way that only a video game can. Other games aspire to emulate other forms of media, to be more like movies or books. Ethan Carter, on the other hand, embraces the interactivity of the medium in a wonderful way, with an awareness of a video game's ability to let you live through a moment, rather than just witnessing it. At first, Ethan Carter feels like a typical paranormal mystery, and its investigation mechanics are cleverly implemented, asking you to put the events of the past in the correct order to reveal the truth behind a series of murders. The mystery elements turn out to be just a small part of The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, though, and you soon find yourself pulled into some of the greatest moments of pure fantasy that I've ever seen in a video game. I won't say another word, for fear of spoiling anything. If you appreciate a good mystery, and you believe in the transportational power of games, do yourself a favor and pick it up.
Telltale Games Collection hits Xbox One, 5 seasons for $55
Here's an early Christmas present: The Walking Dead Seasons 1 and 2, The Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands and Game of Thrones, all bundled together for just $55 or £35. That's the cut-down, half-price offer available to Gold members on Xbox One, courtesy of the new Telltale Games Collection. If you've yet to wrack your nerves over the agonizing, split-second choices of Telltale's recent adventure games, that's a decent price for 5 seasons and 26 episodes of content spanning 4 very different adaptations. In terms of what you can download and play today, the bundle includes all the episodes from the first season of The Wolf Among Us, the complete first and second seasons of The Walking Dead, and the debut episodes of Tales from the Borderlands and Game of Thrones. Like the rest of us you'll have to wait for the remaining episodes of those last two series, but they are covered by the season passes that come with the bundle.
iPhone, iPad tell Tales from the Borderlands, out now
Telltale's games can take their time to reach iOS, but the smartphones and tablets haven't had too long to wait this winter. Game of Thrones hit the App Store in the game's launch week, and now the first episode of Tales from the Borderlands is available for iPhone and iPad, priced at $5. As for Android, last we heard both games are due later this month. The adventure adaptation of Gearbox's series takes place after the events of Borderlands 2, with players starring as Hyperion hopeful Rhys and Pandoran pretender Fiona. The first episode, "Zer0 Sum," is one of five comprising the series. If it tickles your fancy on iOS you can pre-purchase the remaining four parts at 25 percent off ($15) via the Episodes menu.
Joystiq Weekly: Free stuff for AC: Unity, Telltale's Borderlands review, a Zelda story and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Oh wow, look at that scenic view from every retail store in the United States! Hopefully everyone survived Black Friday, an annual, nationwide recreation of that Lion King stampede scene where customers are unwavering bringers of death and retail employees are terrified reincarnations of Simba. We understand the thought process though – cheap video games and consoles are awesome! While you're mending your wounds, whether they were sustained physically or through your wallet, you can catch up on the past week's worth of prominent news with the Joystiq Weekly. News of free vouchers for Vita owners, free games for Assassin's Creed: Unity season pass owners, reviews of Assassin's Creed Rogue and Tales from the Borderlands, a spoken tale of a staff member's first journey to obtain The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and more is all waiting for you after the break!
Tales from the Borderlands Episode One review: Busy earnin'
PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, Mac, iOS, Android You should probably know who Handsome Jack is. That's really the only advice I'd give to anyone looking to dip into Telltale's latest episodic series, Tales from the Borderlands. Granted, Borderlands doesn't have the most sophisticated lore, subsisting largely on dick jokes, pop culture references and lots of screaming jerks, but suffice it to say that you don't have to be intimately familiar with Gearbox's first-person shooters to appreciate Tales. If you know that Handsome Jack is a villain, perhaps heard his smarmy voice in a trailer or two, you should be fine. In other words, regardless of your level of Borderlands experience, Tales from the Borderlands is a witty, well-written adventure with broad appeal. And yeah, there's a dick joke or two.
Tales from the Borderlands rollin', rollin', rollin' out today
The first episode of Telltale's Tales from the Borderlands hits Steam across the globe later today, as well as PS4 and PS3 in North America. Next up are the Xbox One and Xbox 360, with worldwide releases due tomorrow, November 26, and December 3 respectively. Last but not least, PS owners in Europe also join the episodic party on December 3. As for prices, on PlayStations and Xboxen each individual episode is $5. On PSN there's the option to purchase all five episodes in a $20 season pass, while on Xbox Live you can get Episodes 2-5 in a $15 season pass upgrade. On Steam the asking price for the season is $25, which you can bring down to $22.49 with a pre-purchase. Finally, Telltale's previously said the first episode should hit iOS and Android before the end of the year. To see the launch trailer in action, move 'em on and head 'em out past the break. Also, that title is not referencing Limp Bizkit - you guys are just the Durst.
Telltale tells the tale of two tales in Tales from the Borderlands
Telltale's The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us have much in common. They're both based on comic books, they both feature some fairly bleak situations, and they both start with "The." Tales From the Borderlands, on the other hand, is based on an established video game series, is quite funny, and ... ok, it also has a "the," but it's near the end. It also has two playable characters: Rhys, the tech-using Hyperion employee, and Fiona, the steampunky grifter. After watching the first 30 minutes or so of the first of Tales' five episodes, I talked to Telltale's Richard Iggo about what else is different this time around. (Spoiler: Loot. Lots of loot.)
Tales From The Borderlands nets a nerdy voice cast
Tales From The Borderlands, the upcoming adventure game spin-off from the Borderlands series, will feature the voice talents of Nerdist's Chris Hardwick, developer Telltale Games revealed today. Hardwick's character, named Vaughn, is described as the best friend of Rhys, one of the game's primary protagonists. The promo art revealing Vaugh shows him with a scared expression, but what's there to be scared about? Pandora is just a planet overrun with insane robots, psychopathic bandits, telepathic mercenaries and giant monsters, after all. Other names attached to Tales From The Borderlands include Patrick Warburton (Family Guy) and Mr. Video Game Voice himself, Nolan North - or does that title go to Troy Baker now? Tales From The Borderlands is expected to make its debut sometime this summer. [Image: Telltale Games]
Tales from the Borderlands gets first screens, debuts this summer
Tales from the Borderlands is dressed to kill in its first screens, which aptly showcase Telltale's dialog choices alongside Gearbox's penchant for violence. The upcoming collaboration stars data-miner Rhys and con-artist Fiona as the two playable characters, Of course, some familiar faces from the Borderlands series show up, including mysterious Borderlands 2 assassin Zer0. Telltale says its wasteland adventure is "premiering" in the summer, although we're still waiting to find out which systems are on the red carpet. There's a clue that some form of Xbox is on the guest list, and we're guessing it's most likely the original Xbox. [Image: Telltale Games]
Tales From The Borderlands first details emerge from SXSW vault
A panel at the SXSW festival has shed new light on Tales From The Borderlands, the story-driven adventure game collaboration between Telltale and Gearbox. Polygon reports that the two main characters, Rhys and Fiona, will narrate the story from a future perspective - in other words, what you play is what the characters say happened. Telltale President Kevin Bruner told the panel's audience, "You never really play what actually happened, you're playing this Big Fish version of what happened." Given that Rhys works for megacorporation Hyperion (which is led by Borderlands 2 villain Handsome Jack) and that Fiona is a con artist, that's shaky ground to stand on. The characters' backgrounds also means that they won't be world-saving heroes; these are people motivated primarily by greed. Unlike Telltale's The Walking Dead or The Wolf Among Us, which often force players to choose between bad and worse, Tales From The Borderlands will present players with two extremely desirable options. The game's tone will also set it apart, as it will be a lighter, more humorous affair than Clementine or Bigby's misadventures. Tales From The Borderlands is due later this year. [Image: Telltale Games/Gearbox Software]
Tales from the Borderlands SXSW panel presents first details in March
Telltale Games will share its first Tales from the Borderlands details at an upcoming SXSW 2014 panel, the studio announced this week. Attending Telltale Games representatives include president Kevin Bruner and designer Harrison Pink. Gearbox president Randy Pitchford, Borderlands series director Matthew Armstrong, and Borderlands 2 writer Anthony Burch will also attend, presenting new insight into the game's creation and fielding audience queries in a Q&A session afterward. The panel runs from 5:30 through 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, at the Palmer Events Center in Austin, Texas. [Image: Telltale Games]
Tales From The Borderlands is a Telltale, Gearbox crossover project in the Borderlands universe
Telltale is working on a crossover project with Gearbox Software that takes place in the Borderlands universe. Like other Telltale games, this will be an episodic series where the storyline is defined by player choices. Gearbox is providing assets, but the development is all Telltale. Telltale has created new characters for this game; they're not quite Vault Hunters, and a male character shown bares more than a passing resemblance to Borderlands 2 villain Handsome Jack. Coincidence? We'll find out in 2014.
