I think Jack has become one of the best villains I've ever seen in a game. I can't remember the last time I've grown to hate an antagonist in a game.

Yeah he's my favorite character in Borderlands. He's the only one I found somewhat funny and he's an evil bastard.

He's the sterling archer of villians. He's awesome

The voice and dialogue are really well done, I think that's the reason why I both like and hate him so much.

I just did the boss fight after you destroy the Bunker and man, he is uncompromisingly evil which is great in a villain. I understand how Jeff might have thought some of those sarcastic remarks he makes can get a bit old but honestly he's a great villain in that he leaves no room for second thoughts - everything he does is purely egotistical and cruel.

I think he falls a bit short. I feel that they kind of ruined him when they tried to be all serious and emotional.

@hbkdx12 said:

He's the sterling archer of villians. He's awesome

That's a great way to put it.

I cant really hate anyone in borderlands 2, just because once I start felling any type of emotion someone chimes in and starts a making a joke. I'm not complaining. I like Borderlands 2.

Brilliant villain. They absolutely killed it with him, and he's one of the few villains that I can laugh at while secretly wanting to punch in his face.

So far he's just about the only character in the game that I think is even remotely funny. A lot of his dialogue ('butt stallion' not included... ughhhhhh....) and delivery is really well done.

I'd love to know what's behind his mask

I agree, fantastic villain. Actually one of the best I've seen in any game. The fact that he has very little physical presence throughout the game and gets me to feel that way is even more impressive.

Jack is a great character.

Yeah there are a lot of lines of dialog in the game that I don't find funny, but he usually gets me every time.

I laughed at Butt Stallion. A lot. I laughed at it the second time, and the third time.

I think a lot of his jokey stuff really misses, but when he turns evil he seems pretty menacing.

I can't remember ever dealing with a villain in a game that I wanted to kill more.

He's such a Hitler.

I love him because of the pretzels scene. Everything after that is a just a bonus.

"Oh-hey bud!"

I haven't finished the game yet, but I'm enjoying Jack being a dick so far. I could see how Jeff might've gotten tired of him though.

I loved the bit after you fight The Sheriff.

"You killed my girlfriend? Huh.. that's.. kind of pissing me off."

I think I enjoy him because of the Archer feel I get from him. I do like the occasional villain who's just a dick to be a dick who is clearly having a good time though.

Also, every time I hear the line "Willhelm, kill these savages" I wish that it was just Jon Benjamin doing the voice.

I just want him to shut up. I don't find him appealing at all.

He's witty and dreamy... not bad.

I love the guy. I also want to stab him in his eyes and then string him up by his intestines, but he's pretty funny.

His grandma didn't deserve that.

@Phatmac said:

I just want him to shut up. I don't find him appealing at all.

This, + every other "witty meme like" humor attempt in that game dialogues. I'm actually play the game with low volume while listening to music or a podcast.

I think he's hilarious. Yeah, he's pretty one dimensional, but I didn't really expect anything more.

@Phatmac said:

I just want him to shut up. I don't find him appealing at all.

I think himself as a character becomes far more sadistic and interesting once you reach the Hyperion animal bunker. Up until that point though, I really do think he talks too much. Most of the time he comes on the echo just to spout some sarcastic and dark humorous nonsense. The problem is he just does it too much. I feel like he's said something in almost every quest I've done.

I think where Handsome Jack really succeeds is that he's present and antagonizing you right from the start, and continues to do so until the game's finale. A lot of games fail to do that, look at Jack's counterpart in the first game, Commandant Steele. You hear from her...what...3 times before finally actually meeting her at the end of the game, and she never really does anything to get in your way. Another example of a game that did this really well is Metal Gear Solid 3. Boss and Volgin are established at the very start as the game's villains, and although they aren't in your face with the sort of frequency Jack is, Snake suffers plenty at the hands of both of them as the game progresses.

I could go on for pages about good and bad uses of villains in storytelling, but to keep it short, I think Jack is a very solid villain, and although his motivation is a bit on the shallow side, I think he's a perfect fit for the world he inhabits.

@AlmostSwedish said:

I think he falls a bit short. I feel that they kind of ruined him when they tried to be all serious and emotional.

I thought that was what stopped him from simply being a one dimensional wise cracker.

I hate him. And not in a cool protagonist/antagonist hate relationship way. I think his dialogue is atrociously bad. But then again, I could say that about pretty much every character in B2.

I thought he was pretty funny, and fuck is he handsome

@WinterSnowblind said:

@AlmostSwedish said:

I think he falls a bit short. I feel that they kind of ruined him when they tried to be all serious and emotional.

I thought that was what stopped him from simply being a one dimensional wise cracker.

I can see that. I actually didn't mind when he got serious in the boss battle at the core, but it was when they went right back to using him for comedy in Eridium Blight (which arguably has the weirdest quests) that I thought they didn't quite pull it off.

He honestly is the best character ever. The way his personality starts off as a happy, almost gleeful demon turns into a violent, vengeful creature. Just the way his voice slowly turns just makes me think about how a man can fall so far into insanity and Absolute Hysteria *cough*

jacks writing and vocal work was great, I also enjoyed a lot of other characters. the purposefully limited amount of claptrap was good and scooter and his sister were great as well.

@YI_Orange said:

I think I enjoy him because of the Archer feel I get from him. I do like the occasional villain who's just a dick to be a dick who is clearly having a good time though.

Also, every time I hear the line "Willhelm, kill these savages" I wish that it was just Jon Benjamin doing the voice.

Exactly. I was wondering why I liked his writing so much and you hit it right on the head. He's just like Archer and a lot of the character interactions on the show can easily be spoken by Handsome Jack. For people who aren't familiar with the show have a taste.

He has his ups and downs in terms of his writing, but killing him is immensely satisfying.

So in that respect, he's sort of the perfect villain for a game like Borderlands 2.

@coakroach: Oh no, spoilers!

I found him pretty entertaining

Love Gerstmann, but I think he's dead wrong about Handsome Jack. I think he's a terrific antagonist, and I love the arc he takes over the story.

For the first half of the game, he just kind of chimes in every now and again to make fun of you or brag about his advantage - but then, he starts to show a more sinister, maniacal edge that is solidified when you kill "you know who". He sounds genuinely unsettled when you start breaching the various defenses of the "Bunker", and I found his "concern" for you-know-who to be genuinely unsettling during the fight in that room.

And then after, there's the ECHO announcement where he takes the bounty off your head, because he wants to kill you himself. It's really well delivered.

The performance isn't going to win an Oscar, but as far as video game antagonists go, I thought he was a good one. Tiny Tina on the other hand, Jeff was completely right about.

It also helps its the same guy who voiced Cell in DBZ