DLC Review: Tiny Tina's Assault On Dragon Keep

          Well everyone it's time for me to once again share my opinion and views on the latest game I've played. This week in the spotlight is a rather expansive add-on for the stellar FPSRPG known as Borderlands 2. Tiny Tina's Assault On Dragon Keep, from this point on known as TTAODK, is the fourth and largest DLC campaign created post-launch for BL2 and as such shall be reviewed a bit more leniently as it only costs $10 and adds loads of fresh content to keep you looting for hours on end. So with all that being said, let's roll for initiative!

This is metal as hell.

Story

          I'm going to start by saying that before you play this DLC it is not imperative to complete the main story for BL2, however it is important that you play up to a certain point in the story of the main game unless you don't mind being confused about the missing whereabouts of a certain integral character who just so happens to show up in this expansion. The story in this is almost completely disconnected from BL2, so you can still have a damn good time and emerge non-too confused. So apparently once upon a time the original Vault Hunters decided to play a little board game of Bunkers and Badasses(clever is you Gearbox), with their Bunker Master being none other than the explodetastic misanthrope Tiny Tina. Brick, Mordecai, and Lilith select their characters and immerse themselves in a world of fantasy and magic. Also guns. Lots of guns. A new location is added to your list after you purchase the DLC, the confusingly named Unassuming Docks. Quick travel here and an opening cinematic will reveal the story thus far. It is your typical fantasy fare with plenty of dark humor thrown in, along with several go-here-and-kill-this-thing quests that award some great loot. A villain known as the Handsome Sorcerer has cursed the land and kidnapped the insanely wealthy queen, whom has left a trail of glittering diamonds to indicate her whereabouts. Simple and effective premise, with plenty of completely unexpected surprises and cameos of returning characters thrown in for good measure. There is a huge focus on grind in this DLC, which may turn off some players who wish to experience the story without putting in too much work. To put it bluntly: This campaign can be downright unforgiving unless you have some extremely high-level gear and abilities. I started this as my level 50 Commando and had my ass torn apart by several of the new enemy types. This is best enjoyed with a group, as some enemy encounters are hilariously unbalanced without the aid of some powerful weapons to even the odds. As the story unfolds it becomes ever more silly, never letting you forget that the game is perpetually aware that you are essentially playing in a fantasy dreamed up by an unstable little girl who is a little too obsessed with crumpets. One thing I learned is that Brick should never, under any circumstances be allowed to talk to a king or diplomat of any race, as his fists are not well-versed in the ways of spoken words. Ultimately this is a tale with a focus on humor and actual gameplay, rather than taking the reigns from you with a plethora of cut-scenes like many other RPGs do. For BL2 this worked well in establishing the badass that is your character, and it works well for each of the four DLC campaigns. In my opinion TTAODK has the best story of all the other DLCs released thus far, the fantasy setting providing a fresh take on the series other, less-mystical environments.

These are but a taste of the baddies that await you.

Graphics

          The fantasy elements on display here look fantastic, with crisp textures blending in seamlessly with the black outlines around everything in the game world. Almost every possible medieval fantasy location you can imagine has been given life in this DLC, complete with frightening forests, towering citadels, and even Dwarven mines akin to those found in Dragon Age. The building architecture is impeccably detailed, with the aforementioned mines being particularly impressive with their ornately decorated buttresses, vast lakes of molten metal, daunting caverns, and barracks filled with Dwarves eager to enact vengeance. The enemy designs in particular are excellent; with plenty of skeletons, spiders, orcs, golems, and even dragons being tossed into the violent lot. Each enemy class has its own unique appearance and abilities, with the orcs being by far the most frustrating and diverse new opponents. (More on them later.) It really is something to travel to the Forest of Being Eaten Alive by Trees(yes it is really called that) and seeing Ancient Treents uprooting themselves and lumbering towards you with their stumpy offspring in tow. The environments are not always static in this game, as several seemingly empty areas can suddenly give birth to extremely tough Badass level enemies. Even the loot chests themselves have a chance of coming alive and chasing you down, a fact I found most disturbing whenever happening upon a new, pristine chest. The skyboxes are extremely detailed, especially the one above the Handsome Sorcerer's citadel, with it's orange clouds swirling ominously overhead. In truth BL2 has never looked better than what is on display here. The artistic direction is nothing short of fantastic and I commend Gearbox on the hard work they put into this. It looks remarkably different from anything else shown in BL2 and its other campaigns, but still retains that cell-shaded aesthetic that separated the series visually from the other shooters and RPGs it competed with or parodied. PC gamers with high-end rigs may be disappointed to know that the new campaign does not make a noticeable use of Physx implementation, though I hardly noticed with the amount of action occurring on-screen.

A most magnificent view.

Gameplay

          If you've played BL2 then not much has changed here in the gameplay department. Its still the whacky, ultra-violent, loot fest we've come to love. The fantasy setting comes with some interesting additions though, not the least of which are the awesome new guns to collect such as a shotgun that shoots a giant sword, which then has a chance of exploding into smaller swords which also explode. The game gets wickedly creative with the various malevolent entities and monsters you face, such as tons of types of skeletons and different elemental dragons. Oddly enough I did not find the dragons to be the most difficult enemy to face, that award goes to a particular bastard named The Duke of Orc. Though thankfully rare, these hulking foes start off as a slightly above average orc melee fighter, which is the best time to kill them off lest they emit a thunderous war cry which causes themselves and all fellow orcs around them to level up simultaneously. The Duke of Orc is the highest level this enemy can attain, and once reached they poise a near unstoppable threat to any solo player who is not packing some serious hardware. I literally spent about 20 minutes fighting one, though a lot of that time was spent running away terrified as this orc badass has a leap attack which nearly drains all of your health and shields. I know that this monster is supposed to be tough, but this is a level of toughness that is better implemented when there is a four player party roaming around, as opposed to one sole Vault Hunter. Aside from a few teeth-gnashingly difficult enemies, the game itself is not overly difficult and not embarrassingly easy. To it's credit it manages to balance playability and challenge without compromising the feel that makes it a Borderlands game. Another neat feature is the world around you changing to the fickle whims of the Bunker Master: A serene, tranquil forest can suddenly become a maze of malformed trees with bodies hung from their branches, and even NPCs can be swapped out without provocation. What this crafts is an extra random experience that was already random to begin with, adding upon the heaps of variety that already exist within the virtual walls of Tiny Tina's campaign. Areas are generally decently sized with plenty of opportunity to explore and uncover those much sought-after loot chests that may or may not decide to eat you, with plenty of enemies populating virtually every area you can see. Aside from the main quest you can accept a large number of side-quests given to you by various NPCs, which generally involve you either fetching items or killing certain monsters. While this may get repetitive at times, the humor always swoops in to lighten the mood, with the promise of new stash driving you to continue plowing through the wealth of content here. One quest in particular has you searching for an extremely powerful gun, whereupon finding it you must roll dice to either pick it up or have it fly off into the distance. The boss battles are appropriately tough and grind-tastic, though usually silly in one way or another. Even the series star robot Claptrap makes an appearance as a completely inept wizard who ends up sabotaging his own spells in an attempt to impress the player. This is a BL2 add-on at it's finest, and it just doesn't get any better than this.

The space ninja always wins. Always.

Sound

          Much like the visuals, the sound in this game is extremely well done. Every area has its own auditory theme, such as the awing orchestral score in the Mines of Avarice, or the sounds of creaking wood and howling beasties in the forest sections. The item descriptions and lines of dialogue spoken between the four characters playing the game of B&B are notably hilarious, with some conversations  affecting the world around the player and even the appearance of certain enemies. Mr. Torgue's antics are also an absolute joy to listen to, as in one exchange he demanded that I blow up the ocean just to please him, much to the chagrin of the Vault Hunter's just trying to enjoy their game. The various weapon types you come across all sound appropriate, with some notable exceptions having ridiculous sound effects that add to the comedic themes that abound through this campaign. You will want to listen to the world as you venture through it, as the musical score and sound effects are top notch and not lacking even in the slightest.

Gah!

Conclusion

          TTAODK is perhaps the finest bit of DLC I've ever played, as the new setting and dialogue helps better flesh out the personalities of the original Vault Hunters from the first Borderlands while giving you a chance to explore every major medieval fantasy setting you could hope for. The meager $10 cost should encourage new players to jump in, as this new addition is anything but brief. Your first playthrough should take around 15 hours if you seek out all additional quests, with new missions becoming available after the main quest is completed. The amount of content being offered here is staggering when you think about many full-priced games out there today which actually offer less than this DLC. This inexpensive add-on is a great buy for anyone looking to have a blast with a few friends or even for solo players looking to tackle some of the tougher monsters on their own. Tiny Tina's campaign is an excellent addition to BL2, one that truly does not seem to be an obvious cash grab. Gearbox loves this franchise, and it shows. 9/10 (PC version reviewed)