Borderlands 2 DLC: Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep
Producer: 2K Games
Release Date: June 25, 2013
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Rating: Mature
Genre: First-person shooter
Master of Puppets
Written by Jesse Seilhan
Gaming has its roots in the basement. For dozens of years before video-based entertainment, millions of people waged epic wars by lamplight or toppled armies with a fistful of Cheetos in one hand and a 20-sided die in another. The feeling of imaginary victory was as powerful as the creativity built within a small network of friends and games like Dungeons and Dragons let people do something more than most games could. In the digital era, few games have the ability to recreate such glory, save for those LAN party staples such as Counter-Strike or Halo. The world of Borderlands is built around that cooperative experience and with their newest piece of Downloadable Content, Gearbox is bringing Dungeons and Dragons out of the basement and into Pandora, with one tormented character playing Dungeon Master.
The beauty of this setup is that it taps into the weirdest mind in the game, Tiny Tina, who is like the Cheshire Cat jacked up on Jolt Cola. She tackles many of the standard DM issues, like unbalancing the battles and providing crazy campaigns that provide little clarity. But her ADD-fueled behavior leads her to change her mind about the weather, the characters, and the enemies, so things pop in and out of the world with the flick of her wrist. You can almost see her grabbing the die-cast model off of the table and replacing it with something else while cackling to herself.
The variety is the key to this DLC, something Borderlands has been slammed over on not only both main games, but plenty of the downloadable add-ons as well. This feels similar to Far Cry 3’s Blood Dragon campaign, something meaty enough to latch on to after the core gameplay is finished. Every new area has a whole host of different enemy types. The caves feature drunken dwarves, the forest are filled with angry treants and orcs, while the castle sections feature skeletons, knights, dragons, and more. These aren’t just re-skinned versions of the myriad of bandits from the main campaign, but instead retooled and unique enemy types with their own behaviors, animations, and dirty tricks.
All of the vendors in the world that sell you ammo, weapons, and health have new dialogue, all done in faux-fantasy high-speak. Old favorites from the game help out on your epic quest, including the always-awesome Mr. Torgue, who provides laughs that sometime force you to put the controller down for a minute, which is fine because your friends will be laughing as well. Like the majority of Borderlands experiences, they only really shine when you’re playing co-operatively. The bosses, both of the mini and final variety, are rough and rarely let up if you are playing solo. The huge sprawling landscapes and hundred-story towers only feel worth it if someone is right next to you slogging through the same bullet fodder. This DLC is just fine if you’re flying solo, but gather up some buddies so everyone can enjoy the writing and take down some of the tougher enemies in the game.
The hidden bonus of this campaign is actually within the story, as characters that usually only feel special because of your heroics now get 3-10 hours of new story that wraps up with a bit of an emotional arc. If you don’t care about these cartoon people by the end of your time playing Bunkers and Badasses (Tina’s name for this game), then you haven’t been paying attention. Gearbox has done right by those clamoring for more with the best DLC I’ve played in years and a great way to top off the first season’s worth of extra content. Tiny Tina is one of the more beloved and, at the same time, controversial characters in the Borderlands universe. Giving her keys to the final piece of content was bold, but the brilliant writing and advanced level-design is an unbeatable combo.