In the Footsteps of Demigods: Why Return to the Game After Level 50? An Experimental Review Only on Gamer.ru
I haven't gone live in a while, I confess. It's all "Igromir"'s fault. And all its fruits — thousands of work, millions of tasks. But now that it's a bit cleared up, I have a little time... As a result, this experimental review was born. Its purpose is not so much assessment as a different presentation, a different perspective on all aspects of the game. The experimental nature lies in the YouTube windows you see right below this paragraph. This is not a video — just sound. Hit the Play button (only after you finish reading the paragraph), get comfortable — we are heading to the Pandora Wastelands to see how the level 50 hunter is doing. He has already opened the Vault, reached the maximum level, but something keeps pulling him back to adventures. Why? What's so special about this Wasteland? We will look for answers to these questions in his traveler's diary.
[Here you are already listening to music. If not, it's better to wait — let it load]
First, about our hero. Like everyone else, he arrived on Pandora in search of the Vault. These are not those huge underground catacombs where people hid in Fallout — according to the inhabitants of the Borderlands universe, there should be various extraterrestrial technologies of very, very high value stored there... In general, we need to step back a bit to understand what kind of planet this is.
Pandora is a small rock on the outskirts of the galaxy. The only notable features are its mineral-rich depths... and rumors of signs of aliens. By this time, the Atlas Corporation had already encountered the legacy of the Eridians and rapidly gained power. All of this, in fact, attracted large mining companies to its surface. As is often the case with colonies — the first to embark on the long journey were mostly the dregs of society. The deposits of valuable resources were like Klondike — people felt the gold rush across light years, rushed to the newly discovered planet, leaving behind their previous and, let's say, not entirely honest life.
In addition to the shady settlers (of whom there were few), various prisoners were forcibly brought to the planet, who instead of serving their sentences dug up all the most valuable. Thus, Pandora lived for seven years — there was plenty of work, money flowed like a river, and the Dahl Corporation offered communication equipment to all newcomers. Abundance in the Wasteland — the golden time...
Then summer came. Pandora revolves around the sun in 10 years — the first landing occurred in winter. Feeling the arrival of warmth, the planet's fauna woke up from hibernation and began to devour colonists indiscriminately. Crabs, skags, rakks, skags, spiderants... and they all want to bite and feast. The gold rush ended — no one managed to find the Vault in seven years. Most flew away, while the remaining became bandits, raiders, or simply lost their minds.
When the passions quieted down — rumors of the Vault crawled back. And... here we are.
I think you already know that the game is very interesting and engaging in online mode. Gather in a group of four friends, ensure voice communication... go around crushing everyone left and right, indiscriminately. A lot of shooting, it's fun, and you can also duel, measure you-know-what... But it so happened that my hunter traveled alone. His friends arrived on the planet when he had already reached level 24 — it was somehow inconvenient to start searching from the beginning, so he went further. The only companion he had was his faithful pet — Bloodwing.
Lone Wolf
I started my journey from Firestone, I heard that all the new arrivals are brought here. I didn’t expect it to be easy, but the story, to put it mildly, started far away — from here, not only is the Vault not visible, but there aren’t even any hints of it. However, there are a few settlers who need help. Some voice (calling itself a guardian angel) says that I should gain the surroundings' favor — work for them. And all this work mainly consists of shooting various local wildlife, which is either the target of the quest or just hangs around something we need to steal, find, activate, steal, and so on. The first ones I encountered were various breeds of skags. The heads of these creatures split in half — resulting in a huge mouth. They jump — it's quite the passion. The shotgun works best against them, but you need cunning: a creature jumps at you — and you feed it a mouthful of very unpleasant hot metal food. The open mouth of a skag is its most vulnerable spot, that's where I aim.
Diary — Skags
A simple and ubiquitous life form. Skags woke up hungry and angry — so they often attack people in groups. In search of food, they devour everything they can — even inedible things. Skags eat equipment, ammunition, weapons, people... What they can't digest — they spit out. Unfortunately, they completely digest people.
Skags come in various breeds — most of them have no special abilities but attack simply with their teeth. Some can spit acid blobs, and others have long tongues that lash at the victim. However, one should beware of the tougher individuals, who sometimes absorb certain elemental properties. An adult skag can send any adventurer to the afterlife with just a couple of blows, while smaller ones can't cause any harm.
Almost a Native
Level 24, what day or year — I don't know. Ninety-hour days on Pandora are interrupted by short nights — another planet passes by the sun. I've already settled in here quite well. The main rule is to hold your weapon tightly and stay alert, or you'll quickly find yourself with a bullet in you. At times, I imagine what it was like just seven years ago. Probably, work was in full swing since so many former miners remain here. Many have gone mad — some set themselves on fire and run after me with axes. The most bothersome are the big guys and leaders — they take the best weapons and armor from others, making it very hard to cope.
Diary — Atlas Corporation
Atlas was the first to discover alien technologies. Thanks to extraterrestrial artifacts, humanity made an unimaginable scientific leap in just one night, and Atlas became the richest and most influential in the entire galaxy. The weapons of this corporation are considered the most advanced. Moreover, a special unit, Crimson Lance, operates on behalf of Atlas.
[Around this point, a more upbeat tune starts playing — you can imagine a shootout, action, dynamics, gunfire, and all the other delights of constant battles for survival and goodies]
Mad Mel — a direct reference to Mad Max. You can't get more direct.
I've mastered the auto fleet — it seems fun, but, in reality, it’s of no use. Cars on Pandora are only for mad bandits. Various wildlife constantly rushes into the wheels. Skags are the most harmless, but when bugs or spiders erupt from the ground… In general, by the end of the road, you have to scrape yourself off the seat. I repaired the teleportation network, now New-U stations disassemble me into atoms, and then send me elsewhere. It's sad that that same me dies at the beginning of each journey, but I try not to think about it.
Diary — Bandits
Most of those who couldn't leave and the workers abandoned here by the corporations prefer the path of violence instead of some civilized survival. Which is quite surprising, as there are almost no other people on Pandora. All these very shady fellows seem to rob each other.
In the bandits' camp, a clear hierarchy reigns. The lowest caste — the psychos. No one takes them seriously, plus they don't care about their own lives. Above them are the thin gun owners, who have pistols and, rarely, revolvers. Even higher are the raiders — they form a sort of separate sub-group and use various weapons — from SMGs to rocket launchers. The most formidable members often have shields, throw grenades, and shoot very accurately. I take them out exclusively with a sniper rifle — direct confrontation is very dangerous.
Fully Grown
Level 33 — approaching the Vault. Remnants of eridian defense systems are crawling out of somewhere. I heard they are called guardians. Frankly, it doesn't matter to me — my beloved shotgun takes out anyone who gets too close. The sniper rifle cleans up any particularly tough, distant, or disobedient foes. I'm trying to outrun the Crimson Lance unit to be the first to reach the Vault. There are no treasures inside — I already know that, but do the soldiers know? Probably not.
Badger 288!
On the way, I encounter another treasure chest. You know, the red ones with green lights. They usually contain the best equipment. I try not to think — why is it sitting here unattended when rare specimens could have long been snatched by bandits...
Diary — Guardians
I met these creatures at the approach to the Vault, although I once fought them nearly at the very start of my journey. They say these are not the aliens themselves, but their security systems — robots. They come in various models, but to be honest, they aren't impressive in power or reliability. Once I learned to thread energy shields through — I forgot about all the troubles. All guardians are one big shield hiding a crystal body. As soon as you take down the defense — they are no longer scary. The second time an electric shotgun helped me — an indispensable item.
By the way. While I was heading to the Vault, collecting keys and dealing with hundreds and thousands of enemies — I became a millionaire. All that greed faded into the background — why would I need wealth if my assets no longer fit into the cash indicator? And the Eridians are unlikely to delight me — all the weapons made by them that I've encountered completely lose to Earth’s models. Funny, isn't it? It's all quite simple — I've been carrying that shotgun since the first levels. Those guns are like my children. I handle them deftly, know how to reload quickly. And eridian guns don’t require ammunition — they have batteries that last for three or four shots. On Pandora, the best shooter is the one who has spent the most time with their favorite weapon in battles — but those alien specimens are only found closer to the end... of the completion of my journey.
I’m rich! And have been for a while...
Diary — Hyperion Corporation
Hyperion-brand weapons are the rarest on Pandora, even though they are made of ordinary cheap plastic. The guns from this company are always more precise than all competitors. Furthermore, they are usually just better than the rest. Additionally, the corporation produces New-U stations; they are somehow also connected to the guardian angel, but nothing more is known about them.
However, besides blasters and emitters, there is also a whole set of magnificent toys. They say there are millions of them here on Pandora. They probably remained from guardians who guarded prisoners. Although it is said that weapons are manufactured right here for some reason. These are likely just tales. In any case, interesting and tasty goodies constantly fall out of either boxes or enemies. I've long forgotten about the main mission... I'm not delving into the tasks of the planet's inhabitants anymore — the main thing is the reward. A new, shiny, cool, powerful, beautiful gun! Sometimes I want to find thicker shields, but my interest in them is much more modest — there are too few parameters and variations. But weapons — that's where the real passion lies! Besides rarity (which is expressed in color), there are a whole bunch of parameters. Shotguns that shoot in the form of a smiley face; pistols whose rate of fire is comparable to aviation machine guns; rocket launchers that split into a thousand deadly particles; sniper rifles that shoot ten bullets at once... There aren't thousands or millions of unique features, but finding a couple — how the soul yearns to seek a new path, search more, shoot, try in real combat... What quests, what saving the world, what are you talking about? Give me new guns, quickly!
Diary — Dahl Corporation
The main extractor of minerals on Pandora, sponsored the first archaeological studies. With the onset of summer, they evacuated from the planet, leaving behind millions of units of weapons (mostly in green livery). They also produce green trash bins.
[You can rewind almost to the beginning here, the music should be ending already — I checked. Rewind to 0:40 — it will be just right]
Second Coming
Level 50. Playthrough 2. Everything is very, very strange. I feel a strong sense of déjà vu — I've been here before, done all of this. Only the monsters, however, were a bit weaker. The victor [of the last boss] almost kicked the bucket battling wild dogs right by Firestone. Even my guardian angel forgot that I’ve already left my mark here, but I remember... So why am I returning here? After all, the level — is already maximum. The story — has already been completed. No thousands or millions of patches, achievements, trophies, and other popular nonsense in our galaxy are given to me. The story is linear. Even for the fifth time, I will reach the goal to do all of the same again... Why? Do you know? No? But I do.
Missed — died. At such levels, it's no joke.
Already on the way to Firestone, I seemed to feel this planet. In just seven years, people left a serious mark here — during my travels, I encountered huge dumps, some ruins, abandoned mechanisms, and even entire forgotten settlements. Everything that remains works on the utmost good faith — supplies are rarely delivered here, and the remnants of former life are no longer needed by anyone. Despite this, Pandora is alive; it's not a desert, aggressive representatives of the fauna can be found everywhere. The miserable vegetation also struggles with the natural conditions — it's scarce, but it clings with frail roots for existence. The wasteland here is only in the understanding of humans. They left this world, and it is after them that mountains of garbage, junk, and... mysteries were left. Just casting a glance at these ruins makes one want to imagine how civilized people lived here. Looking beyond the boundary guarded by laser turrets makes one think about what could have happened to the planet if humans hadn't come here. And everywhere, this feeling is different. Firestone seems just like some backwater town where no one remains. Whereas the ruins of Old Heaven look like bandits just ruled here yesterday — judging by the smell, it was a little while earlier. You could just wander around, roam the Wasteland, look around — how organic and real it is, even with a touch of some "glaze".
This world is easy to feel — it conveys a mood. Even such hardened fighters as I notice this. What difference does it make — a million bullets to fall or a billion, but if there is no atmosphere, then even a successful and cheerful shootout won't seem engaging.
Indeed, gorgeous, isn’t she? It’s a pity she’s a monster.
And, of course, the thirst for new weapons is enticing. You can go through the same places time and again, but you never know what will drop from the enemy in the next moment. Most often, various trash is encountered, but sometimes fortune delights with colorful items. And it's for them, even more than for the atmosphere, that we treasure hunters return here time after time. And in the end, we don't care about the Vault. Just give us new weapons, so we can boast to each other!
And finally, let me show off my weapons to you to fulfill the purpose of a true treasure hunter. Its essence is not to find the Vault, but to prove to others that your guns are cooler. Or not prove — this will give a new reason to return to Pandora.
I found this thing rather early. In fact, it’s all junk — but it has infinite ammo. The chance for elemental damage is quite low, but that is easily compensated by speed.
In terms of parameters — junk. But it burns for 800 to everyone. We make 3-4 shots, and the corpse slowly burns away. It's a shame it's useless against elemental bosses.
And this is a direct reference to Diablo.
A very rare weapon — not orange, but pearlescent. The rarest of the rare.
A very corrosive pistol. Increased acid damage. One hit — then death.
This thing fires a thick rocket that explodes multiple times on the way. Big bada-boom.
This is from some boss. Hits painfully hard on crits.
This thing launches three rockets at a time — colossal damage. Saw crits of nearly 10,000 each.
This thing explodes with fire. Very effective against Rakks and large groups of various animals.
An automatic sniper rifle. Fires in bursts. Very fast. I constantly run out of ammunition.
Well, this is my shield. Blue — but thick and recharges quickly.