Review

Tales From the Borderlands: Episode 2: Atlas Mugged

We’re back for another exciting adventure on Pandora. Last time we left our friends Rhys and Fiona, they had just stumbled onto something big. Which of course means that some people (everyone) is going to be looking to cash in on their prize. It doesn’t take long for the bullets and “moonshots” to start flying. The good news is that a returning character is there to help them along…

“Atlas Mugged” picks up right where the last episode left off. Rhys and Fiona continue telling their story to the strange gunman as the group makes their way across the desert. During the flashbacks, the player will see Rhys, Fiona, and the rest studying a map to an undiscovered Vault on Pandora. Rhys is startled by the appearance of Handsome Jack, who for some reason thinks he’s still alive. It seems that the data Rhys downloaded into his skull in the previous episode also had some ruminates of his former boss. Now he can appear as a hologram that only Rhys can hear or see; he’s like a digital ghost. I won’t go too far into what happens next because it goes into spoiler territory. Just know that the craziness ensues as our “heroes” are forced to deal with bounty hunters, Rakks, and more on their journey.

Telltale always seems to shake things up in the second episodes of their ongoing series. In the last episode, one of the complaints I had was the lack of a branching narrative. Sure, you made choices that were impactful but not enough to justify the story’s premise; the idea that these two characters are telling embellished versions of recent events, I felt, was poorly utilized. Their tall tales provided humor but didn’t affect how things played out. I mean, what’s the point of lying to their captor if neither character gains anything from it? In Atlas Mugged, the story does allow for more branching but for different reasons. For instance, there’s a point in where Rhys and his friend Vaughn get separated from Fiona and her sister. Their goal was to make it to Old Haven, a town that housed a secret Atlas base, but were attacked along the way. The thing is, upon separating from the girls, the guys lucked up in acquiring a ride while the girls were forced to head to the seedy location to hide out. From here the player can decide to either go to Old Haven and wait or head towards the girls to make sure they’re ok.

Even though the difference in events based on who’s telling the story is still a criminally underused element, the choices I made did seem more impactful as a whole. Of course, the writers pushed things towards a more unified outcome and I won’t know how my playthrough will end for some time. It’s possible that things will change dramatically based on how many lies where told. Then again, the player doesn’t have much say over when each character will share the truth so that’s probably not the case. Ultimately though, this episode fared better in making me believe I was in control.

Beyond the decision making aspects, Atlas Mugged is funny, well-paced, and provides fans with more nods to the past games. The visuals and voice acting is still great – Handsome Jack steals the show – and the QTE’s have been minimized. Those of you who were on the fence based on the premier should leap on over to our side of things. You won’t be disappointed!