Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Gearbox knows how to keep a franchise strong. In this third installment of the first-person shooter with heavy RPG elements, the over-the-top mania of the Borderlands series is freakishly familiar with a few added touches that up the bloody ante. The prequel takes us back in time to explore the origins of Handsome Jack, but while the series' stories continue to get better, the real thrill is—and always has been—the great art style, lack of morals, and endless enemies ready to be dispatched. There's plenty of the sick humor and twisted characters you've come to expect—returning fan-favorites and new psychos—as well as overpowered weaponry, quests overflowing with disdain for the questing system, and headshots that pop like cherry tomatoes, all in a low-gravity environment. Messing with the gravity—and the now necessary oxygen tank gear slot—would be nothing more than a threequel gimmick if it weren't for the fact that it was genuinely fun. The low gravity makes travel easier and more creative while the accompanying butt slam to squash enemies is irresistibly excessive. Everything about The Pre-Sequel is excessive, especially the bad taste covering your tongue planted firmly in cheek, but that's what Borderlands does best.