Borderlands 2 Impresses With A Great First DLC Offering

With the first Borderlands, Gearbox offered a great collection of varied DLC packages that told several new stories and introduced new areas. If the newly-released Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty DLC is any indication, the studio has an even more impressive lineup in store for their sequel.

Several new areas are introduced with the DLC, all set near the dried-up town of Oasis. A large desert surrounds the town, and new sand worm enemies are a clear nod to the movie Tremors. Most citizens of Oasis have died of thirst, but you’ll accept several initial missions from a great new character named Shade. He’s deeply in denial about the fate of the town and its citizens, and his insane ramblings are consistently entertaining.

Once you’ve run some errands for Shade, you’ll have a chance to assemble a new vehicle that can be unlocked at the game’s Catch-A-Ride stations. The sandskiff is a hovercraft that features smooth handling and an exploding harpoon weapon. I’m a fan of the original vehicles in Borderlands 2, but piloting a hovercraft across the desert is more fun than the standard bandit vehicles.

After acquiring your sandskiff, you’ll take it to Captain Scarlett herself. She’s another great addition to the series, and her constant reminders that she’s going to backstab you kept me laughing. She’ll be your primary contact throughout the story missions, as she has you running around the new areas collecting parts of a compass that points towards a legendary treasure. Along the way, you’ll run into a creepy stalker named Herbert and take on tons of new enemies. The new anchorman and harpooner baddies add a new dynamic to the firefights, as you need to be wary of their flying blades.

At the story’s end, you’ll face off against a massive boss battle that grants you access to the fabled treasure room. It’s a satisfying conclusion to an experience that features at least four or five hours of gameplay even if you’re beelining through story missions. If you’re the type to explore all of the new side missions (and you should), it should lengthen the DLC significantly.

Gearbox has been cranking out the Borderlands 2 content since launch, with both the Mechromancer and this new Captain Scarlett DLC hitting within the first month of the game's release. If the quality of this download is indicative of their plans going forward, picking up the season pass should be a no-brainer.

The Captain Scarlett DLC is available today for $10.