Whenever I get drawn into a game with RPG elements, I love going back and getting reacquainted with my old characters and the weapons I’ve collected for them over my game time. Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution gives fans of Borderlands who have long since put aside the game reason to dust it off once more.
Borderlands has had a history of solid downloadable content before now. The Zombie Island of Dr Ned brought a fresh element and new personality to the game. The Secret Armoury of General Knoxx gave players an optional mega-ultimate boss, Final Fantasy style, and featured some nice combat, but was let down by excessive and drawn-out travelling. And Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot was just a flat out fail. Claptrap’s Robo Revolution falls just below General Knoxx, in my opinion, but is still a decent DLC for fans of the game.
Chronologically, Robolution (as I’ll refer to it as from now on) takes place after all the previous DLCs and shows us what happens to the Interplanetary Ninja Assassin Claptrap from the main game’s ending cutscene. Long story short, the Claptraps are rebelling and are turning everyone into robo-zombie slave followers, and you’ve been hired by Hyperion to stop it.
The main attraction Robolution brings is the ability to fight Claptraps. Honestly, who hasn’t tried shooting a Claptrap between missions? Now we actually get to kill them. The Claptraps are designed in varying amusing ways, but the novelty wears thin and soon they just feel like any other enemy. They fight like robotic versions of the midget enemies you’ve already encountered in the game, and don’t really have the character that, say, the zombies had with Dr Ned. The same goes for the Hyperion soldiers, who feel an awful lot like the Lance soldiers from General Knoxx and the main game. The same lack of character extends to the scenery and story. The story itself is actually rather bland here. We’re given a fun premise but the story never feels fleshed out or developed like it had in previous DLCs. It almost feels like the missions are just a repetitive step-by-step to achieving the ultimate goal where at times a more immediate motivation would have made things more interesting. The scenery itself is nice enough, and it certainly has the character of Borderlands, but I didn’t feel it was different enough from the main game. One of the most appealing aspects of previous DLCs was the fresh twist it brought to the game. Robolution feels a lot like the kind of stuff we’ve already witnessed, which is fine if you loved the game, but after already playing through that I’m looking for something different to keep me coming back.
The area still has the Borderlands satirical charm.
And that is how most of Robolution feels. A rehashed version of a game we’ve already experienced. The whole thing leaves itself vulnerable to getting repetitive, and if you play it in one sitting it can certainly start to tug on your patience. What keeps you going is the amount of boss fights. There’s a good four or five challenging boss fights packed into six or seven hours of gameplay. And guess what. You’ve fought most of them already. Be prepared to have to re-fight some of the memorable enemies from your Borderlands past, reanimated as robo-zombies. While the rest of the DLC might feel a bit stale, these certainly don’t. I enjoyed fighting all these guys again. It’s these interspersed moments that keeps Robolution from feeling like just a rehash and more like a celebration of Borderlands. This comes together no more beautifully than the end, where you have to fight your way through your old enemies one after another before facing the Interplanetary Ninja Assassin itself. And trust me, that is perhaps the hardest boss fight in the whole of Borderlands.
Your reward for all this? Good question. My favourite parts of other DLCs were the weapon and level upgrades they provided. Robolution isn’t fantastic for this, but it’s not bad. I played it through on playthrough 1 with characters just starting playthrough 2, and I upgraded my shield slightly, purchased a slightly better rifle and got a nice upgrade on a class mod I only occasionally use. It wasn’t until the end where you are rewarded with Hyperion’s gift shop weapons stash that I found a true gem, a high powered Maliwan Hellfire. While being able to sell everything and buying nothing is great for your bank balance, I would prefer to spend my money on great gear. To get the most out of this, I’d recommend playing Robolution when you’re approaching the end of the main game. This was the same time I played Dr Ned’s DLC and walked away with a hefty bank balance and big upgrades on nearly every weapon and gear slot. I don’t think Robolution is that valuable, but I’d be surprised to hear anyone walk away without better gear if they timed it right.
Be prepared to run into some old enemies.
Overall, Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution is a fairly solid DLC that is best served for giving old fans of Borderlands reason to dust off their copy and celebrate the game they know and love. It may feel too similar to the main game to be worth the money for those in full swing, but the chance for a bit of extra levelling up, plenty of boss fights and the possibility of better gear may be too much to resist. Buy Dr Ned and General Knoxx’s DLCs first, but if you still want more Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution is a solid experience that will keep you happily treasure hunting for that little bit longer.
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- Borderlands ‘Claptrap’ DLC review: They, robot (joystiq.com)
