But even with story being as manic as it is, there’s no denying that Pandora and its moon are gorgeous places to explore (and blow up), and the Handsome Collection’s 1080p/(mostly)60 frames-per-second upgrade certainly highlights its cel-shaded beauty. Few games look as striking as Borderlands’ comic book-inspired visuals, and thanks to the enhanced resolution and bloom lighting, the environments pop more than ever.
Speaking of ‘pop’ (best segue ever), these next-gen updates still feature the Unreal Engine’s signature ‘no-textures-no-textures-suddenly-all-the-textures’ pop-in, as well as a few additional issues that wiggled their way into the ports. Both games were handled by different studios (Iron Galaxy for Borderlands 2 and Armature for The Pre-Sequel), and both have their own unique wrinkles that mar an otherwise excellent port-job. I’m not entirely sure what causes it, but each time I loaded up Borderlands 2, there was a chance that the framerate would either run buttery smooth or become inexplicably choppy. When the framrerate dips, it’s not unplayable, but it’s definitely noticeable. On the other hand, The Pre-Sequel’s framerate is solid, but it’s accompanied by persistent screen tearing, like someone forgot to tick the V-Sync option before shipping the game. I’ve been playing both games on the Xbox One, so these issues might not exist on the PS4. Even so, there’s no way a two-and-a-half-year-old game should be having these problems on a more powerful console.
Even with these quibbles, there’s no denying that Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is a fantastic deal, combining two full, fun-as-hell games and every single piece of DLC in one package. If you haven’t played the crap out of this FPS/RPG hybrid (or heck, even if you have), Borderlands is still one of the best, most entertaining shooters in the business. Shame about that framerate, though.
This game was reviewed on Xbox One.
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Borderlands: The Handsome Collection review - App Review 4u
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