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Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot Hands-on Preview

Feature
by Jeff Marchiafava on December 18, 2009 at 11:02 AM
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Even before Gearbox started pumping out DLC, Borderlands was a massive game, complete with tons of ground to cover, bosses to slay, and loot to claim. The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned added to the wondrous grind, sending players on an epic quest to acquire 250 zombie brains, among other things. But while Borderlands offers plenty of areas to explore and side missions to perform, one thing that’s missing for many high level players is a challenge. That will change with Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot.

There’s never been any question that Borderlands has been inspired by Mad Max. From the deranged bandits that wander the barren landscape to your run-in with Mad Mel, the game’s tributes to the classic movie franchise aren’t exactly subtle. Mad Moxxi beats the homage over the head with a shovel – but instead of being a simple spoof, this DLC pack fleshes out the idea of a Thunderdome (or in this case, Underdome) with an intricate rule system that makes it unlike anything Borderlands has offered yet.

But before we go any further, let’s talk about what Mad Moxxi isn’t. Unlike Zombie Island, Mad Moxxi doesn’t add a lot of real estate: In the preview build we played, there were only three arenas (albeit each is much larger than the main game’s arenas), linked together by a central, uninhabited hub. There aren’t a ton of missions to complete, or loot to grab – aside from the two new mechanics listed below, all Mad Moxxi offers is the new arena-style gameplay.

The Story:
Like the rest of Borderlands, Mad Moxxi is short on story. All you’re told is that the absurdly busty Mad Moxxi has a habit of killing off her previous husbands.  Now that she’s currently single and has no man to abuse, she instead takes pleasure in torturing contestants of her Running Man-esque arena tournaments, while waiting for the next man worthy of her attention. Is it you? We didn’t get to see how the story plays out, so we can’t say for sure – but like the rest of Borderlands the intro is humorous, and the environments are packed with style. From the mustachioed Clap Trap at the bank to the gaudy stages that boss enemies appear from in each of the arenas, this DLC is another awesome addition to Borderlands’ domain.

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Comments
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  • by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 11:16 AM

    i'm gonna be straight with ya and say i didn't read all 7 pages (heck i didn't even finish the first page). but this looks interesting. i'm not really much or a reader. short and to the point is more my style unless my interest in the subject is high otherwise i pass.

  •
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 11:27 AM

    Man you make this sound friggin sweet!! I love the co-op aspect of borderlands and look forward to kickin trash at Mad Moxii's Areana. It's just to bad I am going to have to wait longer for the dlc. Why is it taking so much longer for the ps3 version?

  •
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 11:34 AM

    hope this is good.

  •
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 11:35 AM

    This looks like it'd be worth ten dollars to me. I love co-op, and Horde mode was one of the only reasons my friend didn't slap me for asking him if he wanted to play Gears of War 2 again and again.

  •
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 11:41 AM

    I can't wait! I hope these guys keep this pace of DLC for some time to come. Now if naughty dog would just release some co-op DLC for their little Game of the Year, I would truly be in co-op heaven.

  •
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 11:42 AM

    This looks sweet but it would have been cool if mad moxxie was a playable character!

  • by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 11:54 AM

    Seven page preview - is this IGN? That is a lot of work you did, would have been great for print. Why do game sites have this backwards, long articles = print, short articles = blog. Okay, I'm done.

    -Laurance

  •
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 11:59 AM

    This looks awesome.

  •
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 12:14 PM

    Been waiting for a challenge. Because Playthrough 2 sure as hell didn't offer it, not even on the DLC.  So I'm waiting for this, doesn't look too hard though, but we'll find out.

  • Staff
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 12:29 PM

    Can't wait!

  • Expert
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 12:31 PM

    Test

  •
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 12:39 PM

    Mmmm, I'll gladly be picking this up.  We'll see how long I can last.  WTB new level cap however.

  •
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 01:11 PM

    Also, Mad Moxxi is a hot collection of pixels.  

  •
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 01:31 PM

    It's pretty amazing that they are already releasing a second DLC for this game! I personally think that this will make the game so much more enjoyable in terms of difficulty, and I think they might have hit the nail on the head this time for sure. I can't wait to get my hands on this and lose my soul for a few hours!

  • by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 01:59 PM

    I think we need a picture book for Christian Ramos up there!

  •
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 02:14 PM

    I wonder if that weapon code you input into their website is to reduce duping in the game.

  •
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 03:26 PM

    Please, some one rule 34 on her!

  •
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 03:36 PM

    Sounds awesome!!! Been looking for a challenge on the game and the only thing that gave me one were the arena matches.  Also the Dr. Ned zombies were fun. Not very strong but when you're surrounded by what seems like 50 of them it's a rush.  Can't wait for this one.

  •
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 03:42 PM

    The funny thing is Halo ODST charged us 60 bucks for this mode.  So I think ten bucks is worth it, and the bank is a huge plus in this game.

  •
    by Friday, December 18, 2009 at 03:46 PM

    I think the weapon input on the website is them trying to fix all the cheating and weapon copying.  This is a good direction for this game.  This whole DLC seems to be aiming this game in the right direction.  I'm sure next thing is level cap, and new zones.

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