Tales from the Borderlands' third episode, Catch a Ride, is its best yet. Its cold open--a frantic action sequence that kicks off seconds after the previous episode's ending--sets the bar for drama high and never falls from it during its two-hour run.
The best thing about Episode Three is that it is essentially two vastly different games. The final choice you made in Episode Two, Atlas Mugged, has a profound effect on what happens throughout the entirety of Episode Three. Your narrative path is determined by a decision made in desperation as all enemies closed in on Fiona and Rhys in Atlas Mugged's last minute, and that choice will set you on a path that follows either Fiona or Rhys more closely. Other characters caught in the crossfire will undergo significantly different changes as well--it's hard to discuss this without spoilers, so pardon the vague terms--which in turn also affect just how screwed you are as you go about your mission.
After making your last decision in Episode Two, you can play through the entirety of Episode Three without seeing half of what the episode has to offer. So if you want to see both narrative paths and experience every possible outcome, you'll have to play the episode twice following two distinctly different decisions. It's a little confusing, and a lot of time to invest, but it's time well spent; Catch a Ride's two versions offer their own memorable moments and bits of hilarity, so it's worth the second playthrough.
An unlikely pairing.
Catch a Ride calls back to previous episodes in meaningful ways, deepening the story and giving players headspace for some serious theory crafting. Remember Felix, Fiona and Sasha's wheeling and dealing adopted father? His story comes into play in a big way in Episode Three, turning everything the two girls thought they knew upside down and making their trials in Vault hunting more emotional than physical. As the sisters struggle to come to terms with this new information and babysit the boys (because let's be honest, they are in charge here), Rhys is grappling with his own ever-growing problem--the literal voice is his head.
Again, depending on your choices, the ghost of Handsome Jack is either chomping at the bit for more control of Rhys' body or has completely convinced the guy to trust his guidance. Both of these tracks present some incredibly tense scenes between the two, and the growing idea of Jack's ghost as a legit threat adds more anxiety to an already thrilling narrative.
This isn't the first time Telltale's versatility in presenting varied narrative options has really shone through in Tales from the Borderlands, but it is perhaps the ultimate example of what they can do. Tales' branching story fully handed you the reigns for Episode One, and the challenge back then was maintaining that surrender to players for four more episodes. Episode Three is a strong example of how much control you actually have on this story, which is a lot; it's surprising and delightful to navigate certain social situations and be reminded that this is, at the end of the day, your story. Fiona and Rhys may misremember or exaggerate what happened, but it's you who gets to decide what is truth. And when the credits roll, going back to try the episode again with different choices results is such a different entertaining experience, it's hard not to want things both ways.
He's definitely the beta.
Narrative variety aside, notable elements of Episode Three include the addition of new characters and expanding roles of existing ones. Vault Hunter Athena steps into a much larger role, and her presence feels completely natural among Telltale's new heroes. My favorite moment in the episode is a conversation between her and Fiona about what it means to be a Vault Hunter, with Fiona doubting her own abilities and Athena insisting it's not about power--it's about being able to think on your feet. This brief moment of real talk is a humanizing moment for Athena and a wake-up call for Fiona. It's the sweetest moment in the series so far, and one that reaches out to not just Fiona, but you as the player and consumer of the Borderlands universe.
Ashley Johnson's character also makes her debut in Catch a Ride as what is perhaps the world's cutest robot. Her performance is astounding, adding another layer to the headache Rhys and Fiona are dealing with and another mouth to spout hilarious dialogue. Johnson's character has the best one-liners of the episode, and I definitely snort-laughed a few times during her scenes.
Tales of the Borderlands shines in the little things, its moment-to-moment drama and humor consistently on point. Every exploration sequence is populated with curiosities to examine and conversations that shape the world in big ways. Action sequences move quickly and keep your heart pounding; like in the original Borderlands games, you need to catch up and run with the big boys or die gruesomely. Each second spent in its world teaches you something about the characters you're shepherding and the Borderlands universe at large. Episode Three is definitely the best we've seen of this series so far.
Devil May Cry 4 is excessive by design, from the mammoth swords to the boss battles rooted in elegant mayhem. The action can feel like a firework show that spurns a nuanced routine for a non-stop, thirty-minute finale, and there's a certain charm to this bravado. But the excessiveness takes away just as much as it gives. The structure of the extended campaign works against its own momentum, forcing you to retread recently explored locations and battle all-too-familiar enemies over and over again. While this Special Edition provides slight combat tweaks and additional characters to toy with, there's just not enough mechanical or architectural variation to justify the fluff. As a result, the endless combat rooms and recycled scenarios can be exhausting.
The Devil Bringer can transform even the toughest of foes into pretty blue explosions of light.
The most significant change introduced by the Special Edition is the inclusion of three additional characters: Lady, Trish, and Vergil. The fresh cast is playable from the start, and thankfully, each member provides a much-needed layer of combat variation absent from the original release. Lady's proclivity for projectiles punches up your offense at range, allowing you to more easily dust airborne foes and wipe out large groups with a single, charged missile. Trish and Vergil aren't as unorthodox in their play styles, but both benefit from swift hypersonic attacks that help you smoothly transition from demon to demon. Vergil, especially, can quickly jump from place to place and easily build upon a string of combos without having to waste time walking to a new target.
Devil May Cry 4 is deeply flawed, but the new 1080p, 60 frames-per-second wrapping provided by the Special Edition does well to modernize the aesthetic while maintaining the series' blistering speed. The action rarely skips a beat--even when a sea of enemies floods the screen--and while you might not mistake it for a brand-new 2015 release, the characters and environments just look cleaner. The uproariously extravagant cutscenes, where you'll find Dante and Nero elegantly sliding under deadly projectiles or bouncing away from massive demons with aplomb, benefit the most from the improved visual fidelity.
Nero is like a younger, moodier version of Dante.
But like a stubborn wine stain, the repetition so deeply rooted in Devil May Cry 4's fabric can't be easily washed out. The additional characters replace Nero and Dante in the same scenarios, so you're still playing through identical missions you're likely already tired of. Starting the game over with a different character only highlights the lack of unique locations, so once the initial wonder of Vergil's lightning-quick technique and Lady's devastating grenade launcher wears off, there's not much left to enjoy. You can avoid replaying the main missions by instead testing out each character's abilities in the Bloody Palace, which is a series of combat challenges where the deeper you descend, the more difficult the enemies become. However, Devil May Cry 4 can already feel like a combat gauntlet, so stripping out the story, puzzles, and exploration doesn't do it any favors. It's nice to have more options, but the Special Edition's prevailing new features are hampered by the nature of its main adventure.
The series of events is both interesting and challenging the first time around, at least--even if they're weighed down by too many back-to-back combat sequences. Nero's combo-driven sword-play is bolstered by his pistols and wonderfully versatile Devil Bringer--a demonic arm that acts as both a quick means of transportation and a powerful melee option. Beyond its practical use, the Devil Bringer gives you greater opportunity to increase your style gauge and extend combos to great lengths. By diversifying your attacks, you can earn more points and, most importantly, complete a combat scenario in the most surgical, exciting ways possible.
Like a stubborn wine stain, the repetition so deeply rooted in Devil May Cry 4's fabric can't be easily washed out.
You can grab, pull, and pound enemies into the dirt through Nero's glowing grip, but the manner by which this arm translates to platforming and puzzle solving is more frustrating than fun. Devil May Cry 4 provides very limited camera control, and shifting perspectives often obfuscate your view as you use your arm to grapple from point to point. It can be difficult to determine your position, let alone time a jump or push certain objects to unlock doors with such a restrictive, jarring point of view.
If you're a seasoned demon hunter, the Special Edition does provide a new, punishing difficulty called Legendary Dark Knight Mode. Here, a greater number and variety of enemies spawn at any given time--creating more opportunities to string together stylish combos, but a higher probability of becoming overwhelmed. Thankfully, the points and skills accrued over time carry over, so some of the difficulty's edge can be dulled by tackling this hellish challenge on a second playthrough. However, no matter how skilled you become, the boss battles here can be ruthless, so even fully decked-out characters can fall after a few mistimed dodges.
The boss battles are beautiful, but sadly, you'll have to see each of them three times.
The visual improvements and additional characters layered atop the Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition can't conceal its bloated structure. This is, without a doubt, the best this stylish action romp has looked and felt, but just because you can gussy up an old game, doesn't always mean that you should. If you're dying to see how Vergil fares against the Order of the Sword or feel the need to test the extreme difficulty, take the leap. Just be warned that some aspects of the game would have been better left in the past.
Unlike other massively multiplayer games, Wander does not begin with you tuning sliders and picking palettes to create a character or accepting a fetch quest from a non-player character, because neither of those options exist. Nor do you have to kill ten of X, because combat or creatures are nowhere to be found. The only to-do list is the list of achievements, most of which read like chores. Wander focuses on exploration and wants to be a refreshing new contender, yet it's nothing more than a glitchy, boring mess.
Instead of embracing the aforementioned genre standbys, Wander starts you off playing as a humanoid tree creature known as an Oren. This Tolkien-inspired being moves around the island at a grueling pace trying to find a transformation stone as soon as possible. The forest floor only has a few paths at the beginning, yet you can still find a dead end, requiring you to backtrack at the speed of a turtle. The game, whose sole purpose is exploration, penalizes you for doing just that in the first five minutes.
Exploring as an Oren can be difficult when the form takes up a third of the screen.
Once finding the stone in a nearby cave, the Oren shrinks and becomes a Hira: a nimble figure with fins that act as a wingsuit. Once you transform, there's no reason to even think about returning to your prior ineffective form. However, shortly after freeing myself from the Oren's fetters, the game crashed, and I knew this would be an unpleasant walkabout.
As a Hira, you can glide like an ice skater, walk under water, stop time, and burrow through earth. Oh wait--those are movement glitches, bugs, not features. The graphics are another imperfection. Although it was made with CryEngine, Wander looks like an extension of Playstation Home. Textures are flat and dull, if they even load at all. Trees and vegetation flicker in and out of existence as they sway in the coastal breeze. Ponds vanish, and you swim through the air and on dry beds of rock. The plants farther down the road are identical to the ones that came before, and my eyes glazed over scanning the thick brush for something unique or captivating. Each summited outcropping teases a view of a breathtaking landscape, but disappointment sinks in every time. The Hira is a marooned sailor destined to die from monotony on an island prison.
Here is the Hira sporting a trendy skirt made from stone.
Wander's narrative is supplied via lore stones, which are similar to the audio logs found in games like Bioshock. These rocks provide meaningless blurbs discussing flora and fauna rather than any actual story or plot. After finding the first lore stone, the map room is unlocked. In this cave, you can also switch between four different forms, such as an aquatic lizard or a flying griffin, at will. However, the relief map itself is useless without a "You Are Here" marker.
In addition to the lore and transformation stones, pillars give the gift of speech. Each found stone lets players speak necessary words, like "hello," and extremely specific terms that you will never need to utter, like "thermal." You say sentences by drawing the corresponding glyph on the DualShock's touchpad and hoping the gods accept your handwriting. Chances are they won't. Thankfully, there's an alternative method, but it requires cycling through each individual gleaned word on the D-pad. Then, when the controller is idling on the coffee table, random words will sound without any input--not to mention, the same tutorial for the Rozhda language system plays, even if it's your tenth time finding a glyph. The touchpad is also used to summon fireflies, but they never heeded my call, so I can only guess at their function. Luckily, I didn't find any chatty players, so I was never forced to piece together a fragmented phrase from an obtuse mechanic.
The Azertash makes aquatic navigation easier, yet without a dedicated dive button I wouldn't recommend heading to the ocean floor.
The only respite provided in Wander is the lovely soundtrack composed by Benjamin Woodgates. The soothing vocals contrast with the grating gameplay and give life to the vacant land. However, the music rarely plays, and most sounds that graced my ears were the chirping of invisible wildlife. Otherwise, Wander is a sandbox constructed from rotted wood that lacks toys. Without character customization or any semblance of proper communication, the game has nothing to offer in place of its sacrifices. Like Sisyphus on a treadmill, I fruitlessly walked around in hopes of discovering something worthwhile. Unless this game can find its way, discovery will remain a lost cause.
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