issue 10 / volume 41

arts // 9

Steven's Man-Cave: Straight to the moon!

» ‘Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel’ PS3 review

Steven Cayer
Senior Columnist

K’s Borderlands series has
aalways had a special place in
my heart, ever since the iconic
reveal in 2009 and the sequel
in 2012. Now 2K’s Australian

game that takes place in
between 1 and 2, aptly named
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.
The game actually begins
at the end of Borderlands
2, where Athena, one of
Handsome Jack’s henchmen,
is being interrogated by the
townspeople of Sanctuary. She
then goes on to tell the story of
how Jack became the psycho
that we know and love.
The game features a
lot of the same things from

completely different

playable characters from

the past two games: Athena,
Wilhelm, Nisha, and finally—
my favourite character of the
series—Claptrap. Athena, “the
Gladiator,” was first introduced
in one of the many DLC
missions from the Borderlands
1. She has a shield which can
absorb damage then throw

: itat enemies, not unlike
Captain America. Wilhelm,

: “the Enforcer,” can eventually
transform himself into the

: more cybernetic form he had
: asa boss in Borderlands 2.

00000

: sheriff of Lynchwood. She has

: the weaponry skills of a true
cowgirl and isn’t afraid to show
: you. Last, but probably the

: best, is Claptrap “the Fragtrap.”
: Being such an iconic character
branch has created a standalone : of the series, Iam so happy that
I could actually play as him.

: The best part is that he has a
combination of skills from all

: of the past playable characters,

: depending on the situation

: youre in.

Nisha, “the Lawbringer,” first
appeared in the sequel as the

The gameplay is more

: of the same (running and

: gunning, shooting and looting)
: with a few changes

: thrown in, such as low-gravity
butt-slams and freezing

: weapons. Sadly, it also took the
: annoying stuff too. The pacing
previous iterations, such as four : during some missions can get
tiresome, especially when you
: go through bandit camps that
: spawn enemies every time you
: pass through.

If youre a fan of what

Borderlands is doing, this is just
: more of the same ridiculous

: humour and

characters. I really hope 2K

: releases the whole series on the
: next-gen consoles.

 

 

Comic Corner:
The same old song and dance

» ‘Seconds’ review

Brittney MacDonald
Staff Writer

don't like the Scott Pilgrim

series. I know, I know—it’s
amazingly hilarious and filled
with whimsy. But that type
of humour never appealed to
me. That didn’t stop me from
picking up a copy of Bryan Lee
O’Malley’s new book, Seconds.
Unfortunately, I think I liked
this one even less. Seconds
attempts to capitalize on
the magic and humour that
made Scott Pilgrim appealing
to so many readers, but
unfortunately it just comes off
as shallow in this one.

Seconds follows the life of

Katie, an executive chef at a
largely popular restaurant. Just

: when life is looking up for her,
: construction, her ex-boyfriend,
: an injured waitress, and trouble :

00000

with a co-worker all seem to
push her back down. Enter a

mysterious yet magical girl who :
: teaches Katie how to goback
: in time and fix her problems

: before they even happen. But

: what happens when Katie tries
: to fix too much? Life-altering

: mayhem!

The character of Katie

: was a big hurdle for me. She

: is nearly a carbon copy of

: Scott Pilgrim, just with more

: jealousy issues and fewer crazy
: outbursts. If] were to judge by

: this alone, I would say O’Malley
: has no idea how to write

: convincing female characters.

The art is the same as

O’Malley’s previous works:
: simple and cartoony with bold
: colours. The colour themes

: sometimes alter to convey

: emotion: yellow for scared, red
: for mad, blue for sad. There's

: no definition between the

: background and foreground,

: and Katie looks like a child

: throughout the entire novel,

: even when compared to the

: other characters.

: I think this will probably

: be the last time I pick up an

: O’Malley work. Despite his

: popularity, I can’t recommend
: this.

 

YouGiit) Music Video Classics

Nickelback - When We Stand Together

   

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

ith Remembrance Day coming up, this week’s YouTube

Music Video Classic pays tribute to the people involved
in wars and disasters and the ones who fought to make a
difference in world peace. In the video for one of Nickelback’s
hit singles, “When We Stand Together,’ the band performs ina
mountain field while various photos of memorials, protests for
peace, soldiers, and emergency personnel in action are shown.
They show that when a major event happens, everyone needs to
stand together.

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y96WY5Do_bs