And now for something completely different… and yet, not.
As I said in a previous post, to those who have yet to experience the majesty and wonder of the Borderlands franchise, I envy you mightily. I miss that exhilaration I first felt when I fired up the first game.
Of all the characters, I enjoyed Roland the most, and his turret/sentry style has influenced my decision of which character to play throughout all the games. Sure, there’s more broken, heavy damage-dealing types out there, but having an auto-targeting action skill that helps remind you there’s still more enemies to destroy has helped keep me alive.
I dig all the skills, powers, unique enemies and 87 Bajillion guns that the game series has offered me. I’ve enjoyed the plot to all of them, even when they kept drilling just how much you’re supposed to hate Handsome Jack in Borderlands 2 (no spoilers, but they definitely succeeded). But so much more, this game made us aware of some amazing tunes that the population at large may have missed out on without being brought to light by Gearbox/2K Games.
I’m going to avoid songs that are used during the end credits or played throughout the games themselves, as their inclusion when they happen is part of the experience.
In 2009, just a few months before the release of Borderlands, a teaser trailer appeared, letting the world know what it was in for. A game that would meld RPGs with FPSs in a gooey, delicious sammich-like way. It would be the game that would make me start taking the latter genre seriously, as before it, I saw them to be twitchy, reactionary distractions I’d burn out quickly with at best, and unfair insta-kill grinders (with me under the bus over and over) at worst.
When the game came out and was first loaded up, Marcus the weapons dealer would spin a tale about how the Vault Hunters would come to the world of Pandora in search of the mythical Vault, said to be filled to the brim with whatever the seeker’s greatest desire was. While the crew were being transported across the blasted landscape in the armored bus driven by Marcus himself, we got better acquainted with the characters. Mordecai, Lilith, Roland and Brick each had a moment. And this burly jam comes on…
Hundreds of hours later, I still really enjoy playing the game. I never did defeat the Underdome challenge, usually couldn’t get friends together long enough to tough out the matches, and playing solo proved to be too difficult in later waves. Maybe someday…
When 2012 rolled around, we got the Borderlands 2 trailer. We were introduced to the next big-bad that would most certainly be a bullet-sponge before the game’s end… the one and only Handsome Jack. But in addition to being exposed to the arrogant jerk, a genre of music that hadn’t been heard often before was prominently used in the promo. The internet began to rage at the audacity.
I couldn’t help but laugh at all the people who were so angry at the presence of WUBS. Many threatened to cancel their pre-orders over the ordeal. I recall sending out a tweet to Mikey Neumann saying something along the lines of, ‘Don’t listen to the haters,’ and he came back with, ‘I won’t, null sweat chummer, want to hang out later?’ and I was all, ‘Would I?!’ and realized he didn’t actually offer to hang out with me. Ah well.
Then came the actual game, where once again, Marcus was ready to amuse and entertain with another tale of Vault Hunters. This burly song makes quite an impact as they show off the likes of Maya, Zer0, Salvador and Axton. It gets you simultaneously pumped up, but also makes you feel like you’re in way over your head, and I think it was an excellent choice for a lead-in tune to open the scene.
Not too long after Borderlands 2’s DLCs were wrapping up, Borderlands: The Pre-sequel! was advertised. This time, you were playing as part of Handsome Jack’s crew, planted firmly in the shoes of people you would already know a little about if you played the previous games. Athena was featured in the first Borderland’s DLC, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, Wilhelm and Nisha had parts to play in Borderlands 2, and… yeah, you know CL4P-TP well enough.
The song used for the trailer had actually been released back in 2011, but it hadn’t really caught on until early 2014 here in the United States. Around mid-August, the song became synonymous with the upcoming Borderlands-in-SPAAAACE title, and man, it’s just a damn good tune all around.
This time, the storyteller isn’t the same, and I enjoyed the twist they used. As far as the song that was used, once again, excellent choice. This group had good exposure on Rock Band 3 with their song “Get Free”, but for those less inclined to play rhythm games, this may have been their first real exposure to the raw garage band sound of The Vines.
The most recent installment, Tales from the Borderlands, had an early teaser trailer that didn’t feature a prominent song, but instead went for that bluesy desert music that is such a great part of the background of the game. The launch trailer in 2014 actually gave us a song to hang our hat on, and once again, it’s a great tune.
Firing up the game for the first time, you’re treated to a rather funky track with a bass groove that makes it hard to sit still to. Still feels gritty, making it still feel like it belongs in the Borderlands universe.
Questions? Comments? Leave your feedback and let me know!
Enjoy and have fun!
The Underground Tower 