Filip Novotny The more you promise someone, the worse it can be in return. The guys from Gearbox Software promised quite a lot in the case of Borderlands for iOS, and according to the reviews so far, they hit it hard. Now let's see for ourselves how the first mobile Borderlands actually turned out.
When the official Gearbox Software forum leaked a trailer for the Borderlands Legends, the upcoming iOS game, has taken the Internet by storm. "It'll blow your mind," it read. The developers promised a strategic shooter that includes randomly generated missions, thousands of different weapons and a strategic system of cover from enemies. Then there are 36 unique abilities and skills and finally the best: we can play as the favorite heroes from the first part. In short, everything indicated that we should expect a great game from the world of Borderlands, albeit of a different genre than the previous "big" games. So what could have gone wrong? The answer begins to surface after just a few minutes.
After an impressive intro, we are greeted by a tutorial that lets us touch the main functions and elements. We find ourselves in a kind of enclosed arena, where four heroes from the first part of the Borderlands series are impatiently waiting. They are berserker Brick, elemental Lilith, soldier Roland and sniper Mordecai. Unlike the other games of the series, we will not control only one hero, but all four at the same time. The joke is that each character has its advantages and disadvantages, so we will have to skillfully combine their abilities.
For example, Brick excels with massive brute strength but has very limited range, while Mordecai can cover an entire arena but cannot survive a prolonged melee attack from enemies. Therefore, it is necessary to place the characters correctly and also to time the use of abilities well. These are also unique to each hero, but they share one common feature: they have a cooldown, so we can only use them once at a certain time.
After we get the hang of the controls, the enemies will gradually start rolling in on us. At each arena, they will be divided into four large waves, after which we will move to the next screen. Each of the randomly generated tasks has three to five of these arena screens, and sometimes there can be a really tough boss at the end. For completing the task, we get a reward in the form of money, which we can spend in the machine for better weapons and equipment.
That, in a nutshell, is all that Legends can offer us. And right here we have the first of the problems that accompany the game: the fights are repetitive and get tired after a while. You get a randomly generated task that obviously doesn't fit into any larger story, shoot a few recurring enemies, collect money and maybe advance to the next level. There is nothing to drive us on; it is an endless and after a while boring shooting, for which you will pay up to 5,99 euros. Of course, this is a very low amount compared to the big titles of the series, but thanks to the huge number of users, there are a lot of excellent games on iOS with a significantly more affordable price tag.
In short, in terms of quality, the mobile version cannot be compared to the console version at all. The first two parts of Borderlands entertain with the possibilities of exploring large maps, quirky NPCs and charming environments. There is nothing in Legends. The beautiful graphics are there (even if the latest devices would definitely pull something more tolerable), the tasks are randomly generated and therefore have no meaning, and the game principle of a strategic shooter simply does not pull all the weight.
On top of all that, it's also possible that you'll drop the game in frustration the very first time you launch it. The reason for this is the poorly balanced difficulty, which is surprisingly high in the first mission and quickly drops down over time. In the later stages of the game, fending off even the largest hordes of enemies is a breeze, and only the bosses remain a real challenge. Of course, this fact does not add to the attractiveness and level of playability at all.
What's most frustrating about the game are the technical issues that accompany it throughout. Controlling the characters should, in theory, work very easily: we choose the hero with one touch, and with the second we send her to the desired place on the map. However, theory is miles away from practice in this case. In the confusion that can easily arise in the arena with a higher number of enemies, it is often difficult to choose a character. And even if it succeeds, it may not obey our command at all due to bad pathfinding. The heroes get stuck on obstacles, on their colleagues and enemies, or simply stubbornly resist and refuse to move. You can imagine how sick it is to control the game at the moment of the toughest battle. It's annoying. Really annoying.
Momentary flickers of mediocre fun alternate regularly with bouts of anger at clunky controls and AI obtuseness. If this is what a game of relaxation is supposed to look like, it does the exact opposite. If with this creation the developers wanted to trick players into buying Borderlands 2, we hereby name them the Suicides of the Year.
What to add in conclusion? Borderlands Legends simply failed. A batch of patches could perhaps turn it into an average game, but even those wouldn't save the exhausted concept. We would prefer to leave this title only to hardcore fans of the series, we recommend everyone else to try the original Borderlands on PC or one of the consoles. A great game is waiting for you, which even this shameful cry will not overshadow.
[app url=”https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/borderlands-legends/id558115921″]
[app url=”https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/borderlands-legends-hd/id558110646″]
I've played this on xbox and ipad and it's incomparable, overall playing on iOS devices is just fine when I'm waiting for the bus or want to kill some free time, but it's definitely not a primary gaming device.
Bad Piggies or The Simpsons get 5 stars for graphics and this gets 3?
Graphics are not rated based on whether they are in 2D or 3D. It doesn't even depend on the number of polygons, but on how the visuals look overall.
oh, sure
mainly you can't compare this with the console version, they are completely different games. you can compare deadspace, because this is almost the same game. here you are comparing turn-based strategy with fps rpg..
it was directed at Honza