I guess I should preface this by saying that I’ve played a lot of Borderlands, and when I say a lot, I mean two and a half playthroughs worth of Gearbox’s loot shooter. So while it should come as no surprise that I was excited for the announced DLC, you should also be aware that I was more than a little burnt out on the game when I started up the Zombie Island of Dr. Ned expansion.
 

 
It’s not, by the way.

Initially concerned as to how zombies would fit in with Borderlands’ otherwise frantic pace, I was pleasantly surprised at how tense moment-to-moment game play is. The zombies, though slow and not much of a threat on their own, are constantly zeroing in on your location, spawning in legion and dragging you down with a number of somewhat frustrating snare abilities. This is illustrated particularly well by a Left 4 Dead-like climax scenario presented early in the story, wherein you are forced to fight off wave after wave of undead predators whilst waiting for a rusty and impossibly slow elevator.

I’ve still got a ways to go with the Island, but if it’s able to keep its pace and the narrative is strong enough to support it, I’m sure I’ll be enjoying the zone long after I’ve finished the main arcs.

Thanks for reading,
End Boss.