


Playing as a solo gunzerker starting at level 42 (and gaining four levels in the process), I died countless times. My only complaints with the "Big Game Hunt" expansion have to do with the way every piece of DLC that's been released so far has seemed more and more balanced for level 50 players, and less balanced for anyone else. I got really good at running backwards while shooting, and found myself relying on my gunzerking skill more than ever before. Add to this new witch doctor enemies, who constantly buff their allies and regularly transform into fire tornadoes, swarms of bats, or singularity-like black holes, and every normal combat encounter is a fight for your life. Savages replace the normal bandits, with most choosing to chase after you with spears and clubs or simply hurl themselves forward on hands and feet like wild beasts. And the new environments are more wild than what we're used to in Borderlands 2. You'll discover plenty of savagery, including some of your own when you're faced with the expansion's difficult enemies. There's a definite Heart of Darkness vibe-they even threw in a "heart of relative dimness" joke at the start. But when the dastardly Professor Nakayama reveals a plan to clone Handsome Jack, the main game's (late) villain, and get revenge on the vault hunters, he becomes the prey in the most dangerous hunt of all (man being the most dangerous game, as Claptrap is kind enough to remind you). There's plenty of big game hunting-many of the new quests, including a plethora of optional ones, involve hunting down huge monsters like giant, flying Rakk and Skags with loose bladders (seriously). In "Big Game Hunt," Hammerlock takes up residence in a hunting lodge in a previously unexplored area of the planet Pandora, inviting the vault hunters there for "a carefree weekend filled with nothing but hunting, companionship and bawdy jokes about social taboos." Or so he says, though things quickly go south.

It's also the most difficult by far, so if you're looking for a challenge you won't be disappointed.Īt its epicenter is Sir Hammerlock, a dashing gentleman who appeared toward the beginning of Borderlands 2's main campaign. "Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt" is the third major expansion for Borderlands 2, and it's undoubtedly the best one yet.
