Borderlands 3 marks a return to the loot shooter franchise that helped define the genre. The series is known for its gonzo humor and boasts of near-infinite permutations of guns is marking its debut on the current generation. While the series makes the bold leap forward with improved visual fidelity, it appears to be the same Borderlands you’ve come to know.

According to GameSpot’s Borderlands 3 review, it “carries forward many of the things that made the first two games special, but in doing so it also brings with it a few of the same stumbling blocks.”

Several outlets have published reviews for Borderlands 3. We’ve gathered a range of them below to give a look from around the industry. For an even broader view, check out GameSpot’s sister site Metacritic. If you’re thinking about picking it up, be sure to read up our Borderlands 3 pre-order guide.

• Game: Borderlands 3
• Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
• Developer: Gearbox Software
• Release date: September 13
• Price: $60 / £60 / $68 AUD

See Borderlands 3 at Amazon

GameSpot — 8/10

“If you’ve never been a fan of the franchise, it’s unlikely Borderlands 3 does enough things differently to change your mind, as the game best excels at continuing what the series has always done: deliver a humorous tall tale of misfits looting and shooting their way to heroism.” — Jordan Ramee [Full review]

Forbes — 9/10

“Borderlands 3 was worth the wait and will be a fixture in this genre for years to come. And I think few fans of the last two will be disappointed when they get their hands on it at last.” — Paul Tassi [Full review]

Destructoid — 9/10

“Borderlands 3 takes most of the good bits of Borderlands 2 and either rolls with them or improves upon them. It didn’t need to reinvent the wheel either, as Gearbox pretty much had the formula figured out the second time around.” — Chris Carter [Full review]

Game Informer — 8/10

“Borderlands 3 is a love letter to its fans and a celebration of the style of play it first popularized. Filled with characters from previous installments, and unapologetic in its silly humor and bombastic action, it’s an amusing ride that seems hesitant to innovate. If more of what you loved before is your chief desire, Gearbox has granted that wish through a game of impressive scope that charts some very safe territory.” — Matt Miller [Full review]

US Gamer — 4/5

“Borderlands 3 is more Borderlands, and all the loot that entails. This proper sequel improves upon the formula with more guns, but more importantly, a stretch of unique planets to kill enemies on. The new planets offer more visual variety and a great evolution of enemy encounters. The tuning is clearly meant for more than one player, making a punitive experience at times for the solo Vault Hunter. Despite the formula growing a bit stale, Gearbox has expanded upon it in the right way, resulting in a great Borderlands experience.” — Mike Williams [Full review]

PC Gamer — 63/100

“An endless font of bad jokes and cool guns in the series’ most vapid story yet, Borderlands 3 skates by on watching numbers fly and goons explode.” — James Davenport [Full review]

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/borderlands-3-review-roundup/1100-6469712/

Note: This story contains minor, non-story spoilers for Control. If you’re looking to find everything yourself, you might want to stop reading now.

Check just about any corner, nook, or cranny in Control and there’s something interesting to find. There are tons of clues about the game’s story and its world in the form of memos and reports from the Federal Bureau of Control that hint at all sorts of supernatural situations the FBC has encountered. A few details call back past Remedy games like Max Payne and Quantum Break. And there’s a lot of material that links Control to Remedy’s 2010 game Alan Wake. But one of the coolest and most out-of-the-way Easter eggs has nothing to do with any of that.

In addition to being filled with references to its own games, Control also has a few fun musical Easter eggs. The Finnish studio has a longtime relationship with rock band and countrymen Poets of the Fall, whose music appears in Control, Alan Wake, and Max Payne 2. Control sneaks in another Easter egg related to a Finnish band: Socks and Ballerinas, posters about whom you might have seen scattered around a few places in The Oldest House.

The bigger Socks and Ballerinas Easter egg is located at the top of the big, tall room marked Central Research. In that area, you can find a room where the FBC was testing the “paranatural” effects of the Poets of the Fall song “My Dark Disquiet.” Climb and fly to the top of the room to find another lab (in true weird fiction fashion, you can’t actually get to this one by any staircase) to discover another sound lab, where a Socks and Ballerinas song is also being studied. Hit a button on a nearby control panel and the song starts playing in the lab and makes objects located within it fly to the ceiling.

As Reddit user Jedi-Outcast discovered, there’s a little something more to the room than just an opportunity to listen to the song. On a nearby chalkboard is a message in code, which Jedi-Outcast realized was an A1Z26–one in which a series of numbers correspond to the letters of the alphabet. Filling in the letters revealed the phrase “socksandballerinas.” Beside that is listed a chemical compound in molecular form: C17H35COON8. Jedi-Outcast used some chemistry knowledge to recognize it as a soap molecule.

Googling “Socks and Ballerinas Soap,” led to the Bandcamp page for the group and its album. Jedi-Outcast writes that they were at a loss as to what the codes at the bottom of the chalkboard referred to, until they discovered a “Redeem Code” link on the sidebar of the page.

Dropping in one of the codes from the chalkboard provided a free copy of the album–a reward for the first three people in the world to solve the puzzle. As a response from Socks and Ballerinas on the post notes, Jedi-Outcast was the second.

All the codes have been redeemed as of this writing, so that part of the puzzle is over. Still, as far as Easter eggs go, this is an interestingly elaborate one and a pretty cool nod to Remedy’s attention to music in its games and to Finnish bands in particular. While you can’t get it for free, you can still check out the Socks and Ballerinas album on Bandcamp and Soundcloud.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/one-of-the-most-fascinating-control-easter-eggs-is/1100-6469718/

The wait is over. Borderlands 3 will be available for everyone on September 13, and we are doing an online giveaway to celebrate the launch. The grand prize package comes with Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition and an Xbox One X console. The Super Deluxe Edition includes the Season Pass and Deluxe bonus content in a Steelbook case.

We also have one (1) first runner-up winner that will take home a Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition and a PS4 Pro. And three (3) second runner-up winners will win the standard edition of the original shooter-looter.

What do you have to do to sign up for this giveaway? Fill out the form below after reading our official rules and accepting our terms and conditions. If you are a die hard fan of the franchise you can increase your chances of winning by doing extra actions in the form to obtain additional entries.

If you can’t see the form you can use this link.

Winners will receive an email once the giveaway is over, so be sure to set a reminder for September 20th to check your email (and junk folders). Potential winners have 48 hours to respond to receive the prize.

Head to our comments and tell us which playable character is your favorite and why? Good luck!

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/win-a-borderlands-3-super-deluxe-edition-bundle-an/1100-6469702/

New Releases highlights some of the biggest games launching each week, but this bonus-length episode packs in a few extras. We’ve even got a dedicated sports section for eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 and NHL 20. This week is also home to AAA shooters like Gears 5 and Borderlands 3, plus some games you won’t wanna let fly under your radar like GreedFall and Daemon x Machina. The gothic indie adventure Blasphemous arrives this week too.

Gears 5 — September 10

Available on: Xbox One, PC

Gears 5 focuses on Kait Diaz, who will learn more about her own family’s history as she uncovers the Locust’s origins. Gears 5 offers the standard campaign and multiplayer options, but there are some big changes to other modes this time around. For one, Horde mode gives every character unique abilities and ultimate attacks–there’s even a pair of characters from Halo: Reach in the mix. Characters also get special perks in the new Escape mode, a three-player co-op experience where you have to destroy Locust hives.

More Coverage:

• Gears 5 Review In Progress – Mutating For The Better

• Gears 5 Having Rocky Launch But Dev Says Issues Are Being Worked On

Blasphemous — September 10

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch

Blasphemous is a combat-platformer set in the land of Cvstodia. You play as The Pertinent One, who wields a deadly blade known as the Mea Culpa. You can customize that blade with different adornments as you explore the world and take down massive bosses. Blasphemous developer The Game Kitchen promises “fast-paced, skilled combat [and] a deep and evocative narrative core.”

GreedFall — September 10

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC

The world of GreedFall is under the shadow of a deadly plague, and your hero will journey to a mysterious island in hopes of finding a cure. GreedFall is an RPG, but there are no set classes. Instead, you can choose from tons of skills to customize your playstyle to your liking, from combat to stealth to diplomacy. Your choices can change the direction of the story too.

eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 — September 10

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC

Why the name change for PES 2020? This year’s football game focuses on online multiplayer, with pro tournaments and the PES League. There’s also a new mode called Matchday, where two pre-selected teams face off each day. You can log in and win the match for your team of choice–almost like a Splatoon 2 Splatfest, but with a real sport.

More Coverage:

• How Do PES 2020’s New Changes Impact This Year’s Game?

• PES 2020: PS4 Pro Gameplay – Man United Vs. PES Legends

NHL 20 — September 13

Available on: PS4, Xbox One

NHL 20 has its own range of new features too. First, Franchise Mode is mixing things up by letting you hire coaches, which come with new dialog and scouting options. Hockey Ultimate Team is back with new Squad Battles, which gives you a fresh lineup of opponents to take on each day.

More Coverage:

• NHL 20 Now Available With EA Access 10-Hour Trial

• NHL 20: All The Details On Franchise Mode

Borderlands 3 — September 13

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC

There are new characters to check out in Borderlands 3 as well. Amara the Siren, Moze the Gunner, Zane the Operative, and FL4K the Beastmaster are your Vault Hunters for his adventure. You won’t just be seeking Vaults on Pandora, though; for the first time, you can travel to other planets aboard the Sanctuary III. As usual, expect to find a ridiculous amount of guns as you battle the evil Calypso Twins.

More Coverage:

• Borderlands 3 Pre-Order Guide: Diamond Loot Chest, Super Deluxe Edition, Bonuses

• Borderlands 3 Launch Roundup – Release Date, Preload Details, Region Unlock Times, PC Specs, And More

Daemon x Machina — September 13

Available on: Switch

Nintendo Switch gets an exclusive this week thanks to Daemon x Machina, which is all about mech combat. You can customize your mech, known as an Arsenal, with different handheld and shoulder-mounted weapons–and you’ll need all the firepower you can get to save the world after the moon is destroyed. Daemon x Machina offers local and online multiplayer too.

More Coverage:

• Switch Exclusive Daemon X Machina Gets New Trailer Showing Off Improvements

• Daemon X Machina – Airborne Combat Gameplay

We’re only a few weeks into September, and there are plenty more games to come. Next week, New Releases will take a look at AAA releases like The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and anticipated indies like Untitled Goose Game.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/top-new-game-releases-on-switch-ps4-xbox-one-and-p/1100-6469697/