Borderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt DLC for Mac OS X

Perhaps the most pertinent thing about this latest instalment of Borderlands 2 add-ons, is that that it’s rather difficult.

Upon first arriving at the new Hunter’s Grotto location, you’ll have to meet the titular gentleman relatively close to where you enter. Regardless, you’ll likely die in the process. Many of the new creature types will make short work of you, and at first I thought that they were spawning many levels above mine, or that somehow the level scaling was off. I later discovered that, unlike previous addons, the new creatures are more than just reskins, with entirely new tricks to murder you with.

Two of these, the giant floating spores, and the tribal witch doctors, are extremely powerful, at least until you understand precisely what each of them do (there are even different varieties of each, but the witch doctors in particular really have to be studied to be understood), and even better, learn how to make their powers work to your advantage. For the first time since playing Borderlands 2, I found myself having to think much more tactically than before when going into a fight. The DLC requires that you prioritise targets and are careful out positioning.

As you might expect, this expansion is all about the creatures. The characters are not as flamboyant as those found in other addons, and although the central antagonist is amusing, he’s not nearly as raucous as Mr. Torgue. Generally the storyline and missions aren’t as bombastic as we’ve seen throughout the series so far, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There’s a new vehicle to be had, the most powerful yet (and has three different variants) although it doesn’t stand up to much punishment at all.

Just as Captain Scarlett gives you things to do and Mr. Torgue gives you guns, Sir Hammerlock provides the shooting gallery. Many times throughout the DLC there was so much going on, with multi-levelled, wide-ranging battles, that I had no idea what was going on. You’ll encounter hordes of scorpion-like “Scallions” that leap, bite, spit, and web you, so much so, that the screen becomes a flurry of colours and you have to pull the trigger and hope for the best.

For these reasons, it seems that the Big Game Hunt is perhaps most suitable for co-op play. There’s no real storyline to pay attention to, and many of the missions are glorified scavenger hunts, encouraging you to lay waste to the grotto (and beyond) as you please. As with other DLC we’ve seen for Borderlands 2, the Big Game Hunt culminates with a very difficult boss fight, and is perhaps the toughest one yet. Trying to beat it solo at the “recommended” level took me a fair amount of time, though I have no doubt it would be significantly more suited to a group, and it was no way near as frustrating as the final sequence in the Badass Crater.

Gameplay Video

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