S&S Review: Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt DLC

Title: Borderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt DLC
Format: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Release Date: January 15, 2012
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Gearbox Software
Price: $9.99
ESRB Rating: M

The latest DLC expansion for Borderlands 2 stars the outlandish Sir Hammerlock, as you join him on a hunting expedition.  It's a cool concept for a DLC expansion, but the DLC never evolved into anything memorable.  Don't get me wrong, this is a good expansion, it just doesn't live up to the expectations set from previous expansions.

Story, Presentation, and Core Gameplay:
The DLC takes place after the original game, as you join forces with Sir Hammerlock, and go on a big hunting expedition.  The title gives the game's story right away, and there really isn't much else to the narrative.  Good thing that Gearbox decided to focus an expansion on one of my favorite characters, that really made the DLC that much better to me.  The new area of Aegrus, a place that's reminiscent of the island from the old King Kong movies.  I'm sure Gearbox meant it to be that way, and with enemy types in the game, you'll definitely understand what I'm talking about.  Most of the enemies you fight are the most stereotypical types of natives you can imagine, with all the voodoo masks and Witch Doctors to boot.  The developers were striving for a specific theme to the area, and they pretty much nailed it.  This is nothing new to veteran players of Borderlands 2, Gearbox is known for making these eccentric areas with bustling personalities.  The new area really takes a different route than previous areas of the game.  Aegrus is a lot darker, and gloomier than the bright and colorful areas of before.  It's a welcome change of scenery in the end.  There are a lot of new challenges and enemies that you'll come across in Aegrus.   The most notable being the Aegran savages I recently mentioned.  

These baddies congest the area, and create a completely new experience from the psychos and midgets of Pandora.  The cool Witch Doctor can alter and change the savages on the fly.  It's similar to the Kantus in Gears of War 3, the enemy serves as a support and buffing type.  Of course you get all your different variants as well, offering different levels of Bad Assery.  This is all part of the Borderlands 2 charm we've all come to love.  The DLC adds a new vehicle into the mix, the Fan Boat, which gives you access to a number of secondary turrets for you and your co-op buddies to operate.  It's a cool vehicle, and it can definitely cause a bit of havoc.  The sad part about the Fan Boat is, you don't have a lot of opportunity to drive the big machine.  It could have been fleshed out a bit more, if there were more missions that were focused around it.  One of the coolest new features I enjoyed, had to be the new boss battles.  I won't go into detail, because I want you to experience them for yourself, but they're definitely a lot more epic than the bosses in previous expansions.  The main story of the DLC won't take you very long to beat.  In fact, you can get through the main story arc in two hours.  This is definitely the shortest expansion I've played for the game.  There are a number of side missions to partake in, these brief missions can definitely add some more time to your playthrough.

Final Thoughts:
Sir Hammerlock makes for a great character, but he doesn't make for a great centerpiece for a DLC expansion.  The new area of Aegrus adds a lot more diversity to the game's visual style, and some new enemy types will add and create some new challenges.  Overall, this serves as a good add on pack for Borderlands 2, and I'm sure that fans of the game will find enjoyment in the new DLC.

S&S Rating: 7/10

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