Gamers will have to fight using random skills

Oct 27, 2014 15:28 GMT  ·  By

There are many elements of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel that can be hit or miss, for both fans of the series and for those who experience it for the first time, from the low gravity and the way it is affecting movement and combat to the new cast of characters, all of them sporting thick Australian accents that often deliver very culturally charged lines.

The one element that is probably universally appealing is the presence of Claptrap as a playable character, with his unique approach to skill building and his ability to inject a lot of randomness to mechanics which are supposed to be entirely predictable.

The development team understands that, as a robot, Claptrap needs to play differently and they do introduce some changes to movement, oxygen use and point of view.

But the biggest and most interesting innovation for the character is the way his action skill works.

Claptrap analyzes the situation with his complex algorithm, apparently taking into account the tactical layout, the presence of enemies and the number of other humans that are involved, and then chooses how he wants to approach the situation and loads a subroutine, which is most of the time guaranteed to surprise gamers engaged with Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.

The robot can become a gunzerker, he can turn stealthy in order to take out enemies, can gain access to a meat unicycle for a small amount of time, and more.

Players need to quickly use the newly deployed powers to achieve their own aims, although there are times when the choices made by the algorithm are weird, if not entirely unsuited.

Randomness and the draw of a new play style

I tend to play Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel as a long-range fighter, relying on a solid sniper weapon to engage enemies from range before switching to an assault weapon or a rifle for the rest of the engagement, trying to keep as much space as possible between my character and my enemies.

Because I use Claptrap when I deploy my action skill and get a boost to melee and defense, my style is no longer valid and I am basically forced to either waste time simply running around or to try and see how I can use the newfound power to my advantage.

Basically, the development team at 2K Australia is encouraging me to try out new things, which is a great way of showing everything that the title has to offer even to a gamer who might only get through Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel once, as Claptrap.

So choose the robot and always do what the algorithm encourages you to do.