Gearbox is finally unsealing their lips, offering up some more peeks at the final bit of DLC to be released for Borderlands 2, the Dungeons & Dragons styled Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon's Keep.
We've got some shiney new screens, full trailer, and some nice new details all below for you. But in the interest of keeping you eyes glued here, we'll start off with the "new" trailer. I say "new" because it's really just the full version of the teaser Gearbox showed at PAX East, so if you watched that before, you'll be familiar with most of it. Regardless, check it out below.
Interesting for them to dwell on Roland like that, don'tcha think? The new DLC is obviously a nice bit of fantasy, meaning that maybe we'll get a return from Roland after all.
As is evident in the trailer, Tiny Tina takes on the role of the Bunker Master, so playthrough of the game will be showered with her usual array of quips and color commentary, as well as some of the Vault Hunters who are playing along. Follow that logic? You're playing a game about characters playing a game. That's Gearbox for you...
Digital Spy was able to get a hands on with the DLC, as well as speak with creative director Paul Hellquist, and lead writer Anthony Burch.
As the DLC itself is a fantasy story within a story, a lot of conventional rules go out the window, which is just fine for the absurd world of Pandora. In their hands on, Digital Spy describes how the world rapidly changes "from a land of rainbows to a dark and foreboding rocky outcrop," all because the Bunker Master sayeth so.
"The idea for having the character be the omnipotent god of an environment gave us these opportunities to play with the players' expectations and do things in front of them or change things around," says Hellquist.
Whereas past DLC's were a nice bit of side adventure for the Vault Hunters, this DLC is focused on Tiny Tina. It's her way of venting, and dealing with all the turmoil that's happened in her life.
"Tina's goals are more along the lines of, 'I want to make a fun campaign for everybody, I want to try to distance my mind from the fact my friends have died trying to kill Handsome Jack as much as possible,'" described Burch.
Newcomer Krieg should also fit quite well into the DLC's fantasy setting. Said Hellquist, "When you're playing Krieg his action skill is melee so it feels a little more medieval - you're the barbarian fighting the knight so it works pretty well together thematically."
By their nature, DLC's are often brought in to keep the experience fresh, the story going, and players to keep on playing. Traditionally they're additional chapters that can flesh out bits and pieces of the game's story, or add in another one entirely. However, this DLC is about closing the book on Borderlands 2. Said Burch, "It feels like an epilogue because it's about Tina coming to grips with the fact her friends are dead. It ends in a place that for me feels more conclusive and a moment of grace than the end of the main game which was like, 'Yeah! More vaults to hunt, let's go out there'. I'm very happy with us ending the campaign DLC with this."
Go big or go home, and nothing allows that quite like an epic game of Bunkers & Badasses.
As with any DLC, the lingering question is always, and forever, "what's new?" Well, with the obvious allusion to Dungeons & Dragons, similar enemy types are expected. According to an IGN interview with Burch, players can expect "more new enemy types in this DLC than in the other three DLCs combined." New enemy types include, but may not be limited to: Skeleton Archers and Swordsmen, Orcs, Wizards, Knights, Golems, Giant Spiders, and Dragons (duh). There are some new screens at the bottom of the page offering up a look at some of the beasts you and the rest of the Vault Hunters will be encountering.
There will also be redesigned vending machines to fit the fantasy aesthetic, reskins of existing characters featuring renaissance-themed garb, and new dialogue for the Vault Hunters. Each character will respond to Tina's narration in their own way. There's also new uses for Eridium, so don't go spending your haul just yet. Altars gives bonuses when Eridium is spent, Slot Machines that use Eridium and Torgue Tokens (also not featured), and a new type of 'Dice Chest,' based off those crazy multi-faced dice.
The final campaign arrives June 25 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. The DLC is priced at $9.99, or 800 Microsoft Points, unless you have the Season Pass, in which case it's free.
