In Regards To Jeff's Remarks On the Bombcast

First off, I am playing on the PS4 so I can only speak to that collection.

When listening to the latest Bombcast I was a tad worried about this collection as Jeff seemed extremely down on it. I know Jeff really only loves the first Borderlands, but BL2 and the Pre-Sequel were great games in my opinion. Based on his comments you'd think the graphics stunk and it was dropping frames left and right, which would be terrible. However, I've experienced nothing like that yet and I've played for about 10-12 hours. The game seems to be running just as well as it did when I played it on PC.

For anyone who has played the Xbox One version (which he was), do you experience the issues Jeff described in the podcast? How about you, PS4 owners? Do you experience similar issues?

PS4 user. Same experience - about 8 hours in and very little noticeable framerate drops, though it gets a little hitchy from time to time, but it's barely a factor.

From what I've read online, the FR issue was mostly on the Xbox One?

Good to hear the ps4 version is better. Probably gonna go pick it up today or tomorrow.

I don't have the game, but:

When Jeff doesn't like something, in this case Borderlands not-1, he really digs into the minutiae to make it sound bad. It may be slightly less impressive than the PC port, or the frame rate isn't locked all the time with some varied texture detail. But the overall experience might be 99% there in a quality package.

So don't worry too much about it because I've heard Jeff down on a technical aspect of a game numerous times, when it's only noticeable if you're actively looking for a flaw.

Ditto the hitching over here, mostly when I'm zoomed in with a rifle or going between action and menus, although I recall the same menu shit happening in the previous-gen version. Nothing close to deal-breaker bad.

One question that I would love to hear the answer too. How does the framerate hold up in the 4 player splitscreen?

Played 4-5 hrs of the Pre Sequel on X1 today and it dropped none frames. Haven't played the split screen yet though.

@oscar__explosion: I've only played the Pre-Sequel in split screen but it held up. We had 3 people going for about 4 hours.

It's good to hear that the PS4 version is better, but it's still depressing that a game like that is dropping frames at all. BL2 and BL: TPS both looked sharp on the PC, but they really aren't graphical powerhouses in the slightest.

@captain_felafel: Honestly, how much of that is just a reflection on Iron Galaxy opposed to the tools or hardware?

@sammo21 said:

That's so hard to say, but most likely the tools and hardware at this point. Optimization for these consoles seems to be behind previous generations still.

That's still good to hear. Thanks for they reply

Personally on the PS4 I found that Borderlands 2 ran absolutely fine, but that The Pre-Sequel ran less smoothly but acceptable and still a huge improvement compared to the PS3.

Sadly, 2 player horizontal split screen mode doesn't take advantage of the increased resolution to shrink the UI to fit, so you still have to scroll up and down when changing quests, inventory etc when split.

I'm on PS4 and it has been fine solo and in 2 player local co-op.

Jeff really scared me off about the game too but I gave it a shot. I absolutely love the game. I hadn't played any of the games before and it is exactly what I wanted.

I had just returned Lords of the Fallen to Gamestop because that game's frame rate really bothered me. I think this game is great.

A few points of advice:

If you never played it, watch a Borderlands 1 recap before you get too far into the story of Borderlands 2. Here's one now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRZ5MNdifXc

Be sure to play Borderlands 2 before the pre-sequel, as the pre-sequel is told in flashbacks.

Borderlands 2 has a great frame rate, but that's not really the case with the pre-sequel. Gearbox is aware of the issues, and have said that they'll be looking into them.

There's literally over 100 hours of gameplay in the Handsome Collection, and that's not even counting new game plus, or playthroughs with multiple characters. Have fun.

He was playing the X1 version. Everyone relax. He's not out to get the game.

Jeff gave Borderlands 2 a 4 out of 5 I don't understand why people think he hates the game so much. he only mentions that he wishes there was more to it than just more Borderlands.

xbox one - borderlands 2 has no problems at all

the pre sequel on the other hand hassome MAJOR screen tearing issues in the first area but thats about it after patch came out but from what I can see on the ps4 version its havingthe same issue mainly in the first area

I think that review was one of those instances where Jeff tried to keep his reviewer hat on tight and review the game purely on its objective merits as a game, but that review clearly doesn't mesh with his actual feelings whenever you hear him talk about it now. He never has anything positive to say about Borderlands anymore. (Unless the subject is BL1.) Part of that is Jeff being Jeff, but I don't think he would give that game a 4 out of 5 if he were to review it now.

Whenever Borderlands comes up in podcasts I find myself just skipping ahead, because it's always the same.

@spaceinsomniac: thanks so much. I am gonna watch that right now. Yeah I started BL2 first. Hopefully the pre-sequel is fixed before I get there.

If you go back and watch the Quick Look, you'll notice the game runs mostly fine. His X1 at home might be having some issues. He even said as much.

@zeik: I listened to an old podcast and him reviewing it very objective is right on! The talks about how Borderlands 2 is clearly a better game than the first one but you can only have your first Borderlands experience once and according to him they did too few new things in it. BUT yeah it is Jeff and he isn't always easy to understand.

But when it comes to the Handsome Collection I've found that Borderlands 2 runs smooth and feels very very good, especially compared to the old gen version. I feel bad for people only playing Borderlands 2 on ps3 cause that is not the optimal way to play it, far from.

So I have played a lot more of BL2. I am level 19 and I have been getting to areas where some frame problems have been occurring. It has been hiccuping.

Nothing that ruins my experience though. Wow it's a great game. I hadn't really liked a game much in years and this just blew me away.

Glad you're enjoying the game. If you'd like to play each DLC in the order of their release, here's a great list of starting areas you should visit, and in which order. Definitely wait until you're done with the main campaign, though.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Borderlands/comments/31o97v/how_do_i_play_the_dlc_on_the_handsome_collection/

In Borderlands, you access the DLC campaigns through the fast travel stations. The starting areas for each campaign are already unlocked when you start a new character, but you should probably avoid them untill you complete the main game. Once you go to one of the DLC areas, you get the starting mission for that DLC.

In Borderlands 2, there are 4 main campaign DLC's. These all contain new areas with a few story missions and some sidequests:

Captain Scarlett and her Pirate's Booty: Starting area 'Oasis'. Seperate campaign from the main game, no real spoilers for the main game story.

Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage: Starting area 'Badass crater of badassitude'. Again, seperate campaign from the main game, no real spoilers for the main game story.

Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt: Starting area 'Hunter's Grotto'. Fairly small campaign, but with a decent amount of sidequests. Contains some spoilers for the main game so you should definately complete the main game before starting this one.

Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: Starting area 'Unassuming docks'. Pretty big campaign (personal favorite) with BIG spoilers for the main game.

Next for Borderlands 2 are the Headhunter packs. These are all fairly short but feature a boss at the end that can be farmed over and over again for some decent loot:

T.K. Baha's Bloody Harvest: Starting area 'Hallowed Hallow'. Halloween HH pack.

The Horrible Hunger of the Ravenous Wattle Gobbler: Starting area 'Gluttony Gulch'. Thanksgiving HH pack.

How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day: Starting area 'Marcus's Mercenary shop'. Christmas HH pack.

Mad Moxxi and the Wedding Day Massacre: Starting area 'Rotgut Distillery'. Valentine's HH pack.

Sir Hammerlock vs. the Son of Crawmerax: Starting area 'Wam Bam Island'. This HH pack contains a lot of references to BL1 that you probably won't understand if you haven't played BL1, but it's fun to play nonetheless and features a cool boss at the end.

Other DLC:

Creature Slaughter Dome: You've probably ran into this without knowing it was DLC, but it's the arena found in the Wildlife exploitation preserve. It was DLC for the original BL2 so I thought I'd mention it.

Digistruct Peak Challenge: Starting area 'Digistruct Peak'. An area with a 'challenge' to beat the peak without dying. This area is mostly used to increase your level after you reach level 72. When you complete the course at level 72, you get to overpower level 1. You then restart the game at overpower level 1, complete the course (which gets slightly harder), and unlock overpower level 2. This keeps going untill overpower level 8, which essentially gives you level 80 equipment, although your character (skill points, etc.) will still be as if you were level 72.

As for TPS, the list of DLC is (still) fairly short. As far as I know there's only 2 DLC area's, which are:

The Holodome (similar to Creature Slaughter Dome)

Deck 13½: Starting location for the new Claptrap campaign DLC. Haven't played it yet so I can't tell you much about this one but I'm assuming it contains spoilers for the main game.

isn't the main issue that people who care about Borderlands have already played Borderlands and this is just the same thing. more or less, instead of being something new?

Jeff can speak for himself, but I'd say that the collection is well worth the asking price, especially if you haven't played the approximately 40 hours of DLC that's included.

@james_hayward:

Yeah but there are a lot of people like me that missed it so this is great. I'm a sucker for these re-releases. I missed a lot of games and I don't mind paying for a better version of the game with everything included.