Tales From The Borderlands: Episode One - Zer0 Sum Reviews
Tales from the Borderlands may be light on gameplay, but it's long on entertainment. An easy recommendation for fans of adventure games and the Borderlands series alike.
Telltale has given us an excellent first chapter in what is gearing up to be one of their best series. While it had its hit and miss moments with the humor, and some of the choices outside of dialogue were less than impressive or nonexistent, I loved getting a different view of Pandora and the Borderlands universe. Putting you in the shoes of people who don't have the mindset of 'shoot-and-loot first, ask questions later' brought an experience that I didn't even know I really wanted on Pandora. I thought that I was content with how Borderlands told its stories, but Telltale proved that there is another side to hearing the tales of the vaults with a superb inaugural episode that barely lets up and ends on a note that left me wanting so much more. Let's just hope they can keep up the pace, humor, and bring more choice to the action for the other 80% of the season.
Tales from the Borderland: Episode One is light on challenge but makes up for it in a big way with story and presentation. This is a great opening chapter to the series regardless of your familiarity to the Borderlands world.
Zer0 Sum is a great start to the series. It brings Borderlands to life in promising new ways, it's genuinely funny, and it has a terrific cast. The choices one makes are naturally not as gut-wrenching as those found in Telltale's darker games, but that doesn't really matter.
Everything I'd expected from Telltale's take on this franchise, executed with such skill that it's hard to find anything to complain about...It's an enjoyable, violent and well-crafted introduction to the series. Episode Two can't come soon enough.
Tales from the Borderlands Episode 1 is a hilarious, fantastic start to Telltale's trip to Pandora
Zer0 sum is like an impressive pilot to greenlight a TV show. Hopefully the rest of the season is just as good.
Tales from the Borderlands – Episode One: Zer0 Sum does a brilliant job of drawing the player into the world of Pandora. Both fans of the franchise, and players being introduced for the first time, will appreciate the engaging characters and their story.
Telltale didn't hit the same heights with this year's releases that it did with the first season of The Walking Dead, but Tales from the Borderlands, despite being tonally very different, is off to an incredibly strong start.
The comedy, the story choices, the setup - it's all done well in Tales from the Borderlands: Episode One - Zer0 Sum. The next episodes can't come quick enough! Grab the season pass and enjoy waiting with baited breath for each episode to be released. The team here at Cubed3 certainly will be!
Tales From The Borderlands kicks off with a feel-good tour de force. Not only is Zer0 Sum a satisfying and frequently hilarious use of three hours, but it would have been strong enough to stand on its own as a masterful piece of interactive Borderlands fiction. As Zer0 might say... :D
Overall, this first episode is a fantastic introduction to the genre's take on the Borderlands universe. While there are the occasional long periods of player inactivity, they do little to distract from the engaging story and characters, especially as you'll spend most of this time laughing. If this is what Telltale has to offer for episode one, then I can't wait for the rest of the series.
Tales From the Borderlands: Episode One – Zer0 Sum is one heckuva debut. Somehow, the developers allow the action and story to leap off the screen, and they give a sufficient amount of time to each. The visuals are superb, the soundtrack is excellent, the cast is worth knowing, and the overall atmosphere and style is vintage Borderlands with Telltale's obvious influence and flair.
Tales From The Borderlands is a chance for fans of the franchise to see Pandora in a new light.
I will say that Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 1 - Zero Sum didn't immediately grab me as a must see piece of game art like The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us did. However, it did grab me as a well written piece of game comedy, and those might be even rarer than the dramas, horrors, and mysteries we have seen throughout gaming's history. Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 1 - Zero Sum is undeniably fun, and I can't wait to see what further episodes bring. Until them, I AM THE CAPTAIN OF THIS POOP TRAIN! I'M GOING TO FILL YOU UP WITH BEES AND PLAY YOU LIKE A HARMONICA!
By seamlessly weaving creative humor, some of which is entirely player-driven, into a narrative that constantly leaves players guessing, "Zer0 Sum" is as good of a pilot as we've seen in an episodic game. Regardless of where Rhys and Fiona's ridiculous journey take them next, hysterical one-liners, tense moments, and intense struggles are sure to follow. The biggest question here isn't whether or not Tales from the Borderlands is worth your time; it's when will Telltale's incredible run finally come to an end?
After playing the first episode for Tales from the Borderlands, I feel more excited and anxious for the next episode to hit than their other games. It's almost scary how well the Borderlands franchise translated into the style of game Telltale is well-known for.
Previous Borderlands titles have taken us from Pandora, to the moon, and back, but the first episode of Tales from the Borderlands has already shown that there are plenty of other places in the Borderlands universe that we have yet to explore.
There's no telling just how many twists and turns will occur, but even casual Borderlands fans will find plenty to like here. This is one of the best first episodes we've seen from Telltale, and quite possibly one of the best episodes of all Telltale's work.
Tales From The Borderlands: Episode 1 - ZerO Sum is a strong debut for what looks to be another Telltale Games classic.