Introduction

I'm an idiot.

That's probably no surprise to anyone here, but there's actually a reason I bring it up. You see, I'm a really big fan of the Borderlands series. Obviously they're popular games but they have a few glaring flaws. The games have some admittedly stupid jokes that really can kill the mood if they don't hit your sense of humor. The drop rates are pretty baffling for what amount to non-competitive multiplayer games so it can be extremely rare you find weapons that are both good and that click with you and your playstyle. Also, the level scaling algorithm is so hilariously lopsided it makes the endgame a real chore that leaves you grinding for the perfect weapons... which takes me back to argument number two.

But you know what? I love those games.

When I heard some rumbling that the next Telltale project was going to be a Borderlands game, I was a bit skeptical. I really enjoyed their work on the first season of The Walking Dead and overall I liked The Wolf Among Us, but I found the rest of their releases lacking and I wasn't particularly confident the Borderlands world was going to make a smooth transition into Telltale game.

I want you to look back on what's come out in 2015. We got the high-octane death-defying stunts of Rocket League. We had Nintendo put the power in our hands to make our own own levels and share them with the world in Super Mario Maker. Third person stealth gameplay was perfected in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Heck, even Telltale is getting a run for their money in the adventure games genre with Life is Strange (which, by the way, is conveniently being LPed by my friend Panzer Skank!). This year is STACKED with phenomenal video games. It's kind of ridiculous! Now what if I told you that a first-person loot-hunting shooter game turned into a story-driven point and click adventure was actually one of the best games of the year? You'd probably call me an idiot, but we covered that already.

I want to introduce you to Tales from the Borderlands-- one of my favorite games this year and arguably the best Borderlands and Telltale game to date.

Just some quick things to note before we get started:

1) No spoilers. This should absolutely go without saying but I'm still just going to say it outright. This is a heavily story driven game, and parts of it are based on choices we may or may not even make! Don't spoil anything! I'm serious!!

2) Commentary will be sparse. There's a lot of dialogue in this game and the humor/action angle they're going for doesn't leave a lot of downtime for me to speak. There will likely be several minutes at a time where I don't feel I want to interrupt the game, since I generally hate talking over dialogue in a game. A few times I might, but I'll try to avoid it.

3) This LP assumes you have no familiarity with the Borderlands series. This game does a pretty good job at assuming that already, but there's a number of cameos and returning characters here and there. When I chime in, it'll mostly be informative about trying to fill in some details about who someone is or why something might be important.

4) I'll be leaving some choices up to you, the viewers! There's a lot of choices to be made in a Telltale game. A large majority of them are dialogue choices. I'll take artistic liberty on these since I obviously can't ask you guys to pick every single line I say. I will, however, try and end most videos with a fun or even major choice to make for our characters! When that's the case, you guys will decide our fate. If you've already played the game before, that's fine. Feel free to cast your votes regardless! Just please don't explain your votes as "well if we vote [x], [thing] will happen" because holy shit did you even read the first note in this list??


The following links all go to polsy due to potential spoilers in the YouTube recommended videos bar. Click through to YT at your own risk:

Music

Borderlands is generally known for having fun title cards with great music and Tales from the Borderlands is no different. Here's the tracks we've heard so far!:

Episode 1: Jungle - Busy Earnin'
Episode 2: Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra - Kiss the Sky
Episode 3: The Rapture - Pieces of the People We Love
Episode 4: Twin Shadow - To the Top
Episode 5: James Blake - Retrograde
Final Credits: First Aid Kit - My Silver Lining

Fan Art

Sometimes people are crazy enough to create content pertinent to an LP I'm working on. Here's where you can find the ones for this thread!:


Edmond Dantes pitches a game that might be better than this one.


Edmond Dantes wants people to understand that it's ok to trust Jack every once in a while.


Edmond Dantes has a thing for trying to convince people that Jack is a good source of advice and inspiration.


Hostile V drops the hottest album this side of Pandora on us.

Votes

Most videos end with a vote of how we should continue the story. Here you can see the results of all of them, in case you're curious how close or not-even-remotely close some of the choices were!:

#1-1: The Promotion
What weapons should we equip our Loader Bot with?
Machine Gun - 15
Riot Shield - 18

Rocket Launcher - 23
Longbow Grenade - 11

#1-2: The Deal
How should we stop August?
Blow his mind - 19
Break his heart - 18

#1-3: The Con
Do we attempt to shoot August?
Save the bullet - 24
Risk the shot - 7

#1-4: The Warehouse
Which mask should we buy?
Psycho Mask - 13
Steve Mask - 16
Skeletal Menace Mask - 9

#1-5: The Race
What should we do about Felix?
Warn Him - 39
Taunt Him - 6
Shoot Him - 16

#2-1: The General
Who should Sasha help?
Help Rhys - 30
Help Fiona - 6

Should we tell Vaughn about Handsome Jack?
Tell Vaughn - 24
Don't Tell Vaughn - 7

#2-2: The Grave
Do you think Vaughn would betray us?
Vaughn did betray us - 6
Vaughn did not betray us - 25

Where should we fly to?
Fly to Old Haven - 6
Fly to Hollow Point - 27

#2-3: The Mechanic
Should we peek at Sasha's gift?
Take a peek - 17
Be respectful - 25

Which paint job should we buy?
Factory Settings - 0
Iron Blunder Bus - 0
Filigree Flintlock - 9
Goldrush Hammer - 0
Inflammatory Style - 5
Storming Vexrunner - 1
Norfleet Van Guard - 3
The Scooter Special - 27

#2-5: The Galatarium
Who should we trust?
Trust Fiona - 45
Trust Jack - 41

#3-1: The Queen
How should we deal with Vallory?
Cut her out of the deal - 4
Make her head spin - 33

#3-2: The Road
Should we agree to a tentative alliance with Handsome Jack?
Partner up! - 42
Turn him down! - 23

#3-3: The Dome
What clothes should we buy?
Phlaming Phoenix - 1
Steampunk Princess - 30
Z-R37 LookSpex - 3
Apollo Visioneers - 3
Cyberpunk'd - 20
Silver Centurion - 1
Save Your Money! - 17

#3-4: The Jungle
Should we intervene between Athena and Cassius?
Allow Athena to satiate her bloodlust - 10
Disapprove of Athena's conviction - 40

#4-1: The Plan
Should we tell the girls about Handsome Jack?
Tell them! - 35
Don't tell them! - 19

#4-2: The Disguise
What outfits should we buy?
Standard Issue Uni-form - 1
Onyx Overlord - 30
High Flying Hyperion - 5
Phlaming Phoenix - 1

#4-3: The First
Should we launch the satellite?
Launch! - 43
Don't launch! - 3

#4-4: The Top
What should we do about Yvette?
Talk and tell - 8
Talk but don't tell - 5
Stun and tell - 19
Stun but don't tell - 17

#4-5: The Office
Should we accept Jack's offer?
Rule Hyperion - 38
Reject Hyperion - 28

#5-3: The Stranger
Who should we ask to be on our Vault Hunter team?
Janey - 63
Felix - 75
August - 18
Cassius - 27
Zer0 - 38
Athena - 69