Having finally bought all the Borderlands DLCs off Steam I thought I’d give them a spin, then review them after finishing or getting stuck.
Accurate depiction of what you will be facing
First up is Dr. Ned’s Zombie Island – This DLC promises us the opportunity to slay zombies and lots of them.
Set on a island bought by the Jacobs corporation which for some reason is now crawling with zombies, wereskags and other undead abominations.
This looks promising...
As you materialise from the Fast Travel system you are greeted by a Claptrap imploring you to clear the local township of zombies and reset its defenses. You are then set on a journey through swamps, forests and hordes of zombies to meet the [in]famous Dr. Ned who sends you on your way to run errands to collect data on the zombies which he created accidentally but is apparently looking for a cure.
I really am helping...
From this point onwards you are thrust into an adventure to find out the truth behind the zombie infection, fighting mutated citizens and undead creations that only Dr. Frankenstein would think up.
My flesh, it burns!!!
Gameplay is the same as Borderlands just this time there’s more emphasis on use of incendiary, explosive weapons and copious headshots to be had on your undead foes – those who decided to invest in elemental weapons you won’t be disappointed by the lightshow.
Pack rats and trigger happy folks are well catered for with the zombies dropping masses of loot, and ammo.
I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...
The Zombie Island arc difficulty is scaled to your current progress in the main arc, resulting in more challenging zombies and better loot the further you are. Unfortunately for me I was only a third way through my second play-through when I decided to give Zombie Island a spin which resulted in a less than challenging run.
Watch out for the clay pidgeons
The AI is rather dumb with most zombies charging at you with exceptions of those that attack you at range with slowing mud or explosive barrels (that can be blown up), all of which can be countered by simply backpedaling and setting the poor souls on fire. They do have a few tricks up their rotten sleeves such as the ability to spawn anywhere that there is dirt, so watch out for that midget creeping up behind you as you’re fight the tank in front.
The new art assets for the zombies look great in their rotting glory, the new maps although simple are loaded with atmosphere everything from creepy looking trees to angry crows that want to eat you; the new local include a hospital graveyard, lumber mill and haunted swamps. Gearbox have done a great job getting the point across that something is not right in paradise.
Network play also gets a mention here as it seems like the various patches for Borderlands has finally fixed the inability to host private games, unfortunately what they haven’t fixed is the lack of information about the server such as ping, and location. Aside from those faults the netplay runs like butter.
I think a saw a body move...
This is a great DLC but there are a few shortcomings such as Gearbox recycling the Lance outpost featured in the main arc – reskining it, placing a few corpses strategically and changing the lighting to make it all creepy. Unfortunately that won’t fool anyone as even the vending machines are in the same spots.
The problem with items partially showing or not showing at all still exists and remains unpatched by Gearbox.
This picture contains spoilers click at your own risk
Overall what did I think of this DLC? It’s a great distraction from the main plot, lets you kill zombies in the most spectacular ways, has a few plot twists, and features Claptrap on Claptrap action: All in all a fun package wrapped in rotting zombie flesh.
Go grab it and you too can be a hotshot zombie slayer!
Yeah I know you're look at those funbags.
Stay tuned for my review of Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot DLC!
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