Ok... lets get something out of the way before we start in earnest... I would love to earn a comfortable living in the game design/journalist/development/commentary. I can barely put into words what gaming means to me but lets face it... the world doesn't revolve around warm, fuzzy feelings.
With this in mind I began my YouTube channel about 6 months ago. I was tentative for obvious reasons.... I'm not naive enough to believe that becoming a YT legend happens overnight. I have since managed to get my subscriber base over 50 (a massive thank you to those guys!) and my content has steadily improved, mainly in the area of my live commentary.
However, I feel it is now the time to declare openly that I would like an official YT partnership with a gaming network.... and I hope you guys reading this can help!
So what have I been doing to gain this partnership, I hear you ask. Well aside from working on getting better, more structured content up on my channel, I have been applying to the smaller networks, offering my videos as ''CV'', if you like. It does seem though that something is missing. So what I need from you, dear readers, is some helpful input!
1) Please rate my videos - good or bad could you let me know what you think. Especially bad. I can't get better if I don't know whats wrong with my content :D
2) Share my videos - If 10 people share a video then the chances are that 50 people will watch it. However if you ask your 5 friends to share it then potentially 250 people might watch it, and so on and so forth. This is the viral attribute that is missing from a lot of the videos I produce... so I decided I needed to be proactive in this particular area.
3) Subscribe - Its free and it keeps you up to date with what I'm playing and allows you to communicate freely with me.
So now you have read this you are probably thinking something along the lines of ''this is selfish and not in the ethos of the BacK2GraW team!''.... You couldn't be more wrong. Brand awareness has to come from somewhere and after speaking to Gee at length about the individual brands this was my response:How can the BacK2GraW brand grow if no-one is looking. B2G on YouTube is a singular entity, but with all 4 members doing what they enjoy, gathering individual fan bases the group as a whole can become a diverse and popular setting in the future.
Lets get something clear though.. the end goal is for the BacK2GraW GROUP to be known world wide for quality comment, humour and reviewing. We all work hard in our own ways to achieve this and ultimately the group will unite under the single banner to provide our own Community Network. In the meantime I just have to stick to what I know and try my best. Hopefully you understand.
So to kick start your viewing here are the YouTube channels, and I hope you enjoy what you see!
www.youtube.com/ollypantrey
www.youtube.com/goblingee
www.youtube.com/insomniaplaysgames
www.youtube.com/dominchutchinson-backer
Banditlands 2!! Sorry, Borderlands 2
Ok! With that out of the way lets get down to some gaming talk... starting with Borderlands 2! (I feel there should be a cutscene with a still image of a hideous creature and his nickname... but.... meh)
This is one of the craziest games I have ever laid my eyes on. Set on a planet called Pandora you are a vault hunter, who is very much disliked by the guy in charge, Handsome Jack. After a failed attempt to murder you, it is imperative you rid the planet of Jack and his evil regime whilst helping to save the residents in this lawless and baron world.
With that in mind you should understand that this is a dungeon crawler in a similar vein to say Skyrim. It has large, expansive landscapes that offer a main story along with a multitude of side quests and challenges. You bump into many different people that create this large scale Bandit Country. From people that share your cause to people that flat out want the bounty that is on your head, you move from area to area, facing min bosses left, right and centre. This would seem to be not too bad but the native creatures you encounter are terrifying! Bullymongs, Skegs and Spitters are everywhere, not to mention the hoards of Marauding folk just trying to stay alive.
Whilst I'm not going to give out any spoilers I want to give a brief outline on the way this game works.
The Artwork
The vibrant, yet pencil sketch colouring, leaves a stark impression that this game is supposed to be tongue in cheek and it certainly is. This doesn't make the animals and wild beasts any less scary though! I haven't even mentioned the psychos either but perhaps that its saying too much.
The Combat
Guns.... lots of guns. Also grenades.... lots of grenades.
Umm yep that about covers the current character I'm using... the Gunzerker/Tank/Fat Mexican Boss.
This of course isn't the truth about what this game offers to the player in the way of killing enemies. It actually does as exceptional job of creating a balanced team of characters for you to choose and customise to your particular style of gaming.
There are 4 ''heroes'' to choose from. A commando, a siren, a gunzerker and an assassin.
These have individual skill sets that can be upgraded persistently throughout the gameplay using the badass tokens and skills tokens you are awarded whilst you level up and complete challenges. Each class also has an ability to utilise a 'special'.
These specials are unique to each character and range from a minigun turret to becoming invisible. They are incredibly useful when in combat situations where the odds seem to be stacked against you.
These classes also allow you to engage in different styles of combat, be it close range, long range or using 'magic' shall we say.
All in all the combat seems to be well rounded apart from the fact that enemies can shoot accurately when being shot. This is somewhat annoying but the AI's ability to take cover and actually become injured to the point they cant return fire is a beautiful design and makes the gun fights seem far more real and engaging.
One word of warning... if an enemy has a higher level than you (noticeable by the number next to their health bar), run.... or get a friend to help....
Multiplayer
Yes! There is a multiplayer. I'm sorry to dissappoint all the fps fans out there wanting team deathmatch, as it is in the story only. This is, however, one of the greatest achievements of this game. It works supremely well in or out of multiplayer because of the ability to hotjoin. Oh yes, no longer do you have to worry about starting a campaign again because one of your friends bought the game late. Just set it up to invite friends and where ever you are on in the story they will join and be able to help achieve all your targets whilst leveling up themselves.
This is soo much fun, especially when the vehicles come out! You can even have all 4 members in one vehicle.... but I'll stop myself there.
Does the game become easier when you are in multiplayer? No. Very much no.
The game has an adjustable difficulty dependent on the number of people that are playing. Play on your own and its tough. Play with 2 and it is very tough. I think you can guess what playing with 3 or 4 people is like! Fear not though because as a bonus, loot drops are increased in rarity, you just have to get over the fact the enemy damage hits are harder and they have increased health.... all in all a pretty fair trade off I think!
So I think Im going to leave you with that as a taster towards Borderlands 2. I'm currently doing a walkthrough on my YT channel so I don't want to give away all the secrets!
Just know one thing, this game is as mental as it is addictive. It is also one of the best multiplayer experiences available at the moment and I can't wait play it from the second I turn it off. Usually because it is very late and my wife is very angry...... usually it is worth it!
Cheers
Flads
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