Monday, December 14, 2009

Braaaaaaaains!


I spent most of my weekend achievement whoring in the first expansion to Borderlands, The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned. I started off on my own, but was quickly joined by Barry and our friend who sounds like he's from across the pond, Ben (he was born in the states but managed to pillage the accent... well played sir). The easiest way to describe the experience is downright fun and hilarious. From the opening cinematic, to the zombie brains that fly out of your fallen foes, downright to the final battle... The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned keeps you engaged and laughing all the way through.

The story has our adventurers sent off to Jakob's Cove... and island owned by the Jakob's Corporation. As far as I could tell (I admittedly don't read all the quest descriptions... I just want to kill zombies) the Jakob's operation involved turning very very large tree stumps into the fine Jakob's weapons you've all come to know and love. Something has gone terribly wrong, and 97% (this is discerned by the hilarious announcements going on throughout Jakob's Cove) of the population of the island has gone all zombified on us. The adventurers are here to find out just what happened, and to put a stop to the zombie outburst lest it spread to the other 3% of the population.

Much of the expansion has you battling off waves of zombies, of course, as you make your way to different parts of the island. The zombies are often udead versions of other enemies you faced in Pandora, including Lance soldiers, psychos, and midget psychos. There are even zombies who look like giant Frankenstein versions of the Tanks from Left 4 Dead. Many of the zombies will also spit bile at you that slows your walking speed and impairs your vision... also much like a certain special infected in Left 4 Dead. The zombies are much easier to kill than their living counterparts... but this is made up for by the sheer numbers that are thrown at you. However, you'll find killing waves of enemies very satisfying. Head shot kills will reward you with a zombie brain that is used to complete a quest for an undead TK Baha as well as unlock an achievement.

Overall The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned is a very satisfying and comedic experience. For extra laughs, pay special attention to the announcements made in the small city of Jakob's Cove. It doesn't offer an extended level cap or new abilities... but for those of you looking for a fun new way to grind your character up to level 50... this will more than do the trick. My 2nd playthrough character started the DLC around level 43, as did my buddies. We all ended around level 48. This left us just a few quests away in the main story line from dinging level 50 and satisfying that achievement requirement. Go get this DLC. It's a great excuse to keep shooting and looting, and it will keep you in practice for the new DLC that was recently announced.

4 comments:

Tagurit said...

Please do not make oral contact with the undead.

Unknown said...

FYI I was born in Germany.

AirstrikeRhino said...

How convenient... or something.

AirstrikeRhino said...

Also, Ben, why are you not a fan of our (my... these a-holes don't post) blog.