Knights of the Cardboard Castle

So we’re at the last of the Borderlands DLC. This one is about fighting the robot claptraps that have been annoying you since the beginning of the base game. I guess that’s one good thing it has going for it. Otherwise it just average. Not horrible like the second DLC, just somewhat middling.

• It’s a lot humbler in scope than the third DLC. The only truly new enemies are the claptraps themselves and they come in only three varieties, a kamikaze type, a close-range samurai type and a long-range soldier type. Only the kamikaze claptrap is much of a threat and that only if you don’t see them coming. The other enemies are claptrapped versions of the usual mobs. The Hyperion Recon Team is new, but they behave just like the Crimson Lance and have less variety as well.

• There are far fewer missions as well, so you’re done with it quite quickly. According to the wiki, there are 21 missions in this DLC and 43 missions in the third one. Both DLC cost the same on release. Go figure.

• The main treat are the boss fights. You get to fight claptrapped versions of many bosses you’ve encountered previously. It is recycling old material but kind of entertaining regardless. The end boss in this DLC is fun to fight as well and genuinely challenging. You really want to take down all its turrets before trying to damage it directly.

While being pretty mediocre I guess it makes for a suitable last hurrah for committed fans. I still wish Marcus had really been killed at the end there.