Borderlands: Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot: Reviewed (360, PS3)

Anyone that knows me or has spoken to me has realised by now that Borderlands is essentially my top game for 2009.  It has its faults but they are soon forgiven for addictive gameplay which keeps me coming back for more.

The rarest of creatures that will have me putting the disc in and joining a few friends for a bit of loot and pillage.  Such is my addiction for Borderlands that I could not wait for 2K’s PR to come back off the Christmas break so I bought th DLC myself and jumped on in.  Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot deviates from the usual extra missions DLC and gives something back to the lovers of the Hoards type of gametype to expand Borderlands in a different way.

I like variety, I like it a lot and Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot will essentially give you another 20 or so hours of gameplay.  Based in 3 arenas, this is a gametype where you will come under attack from different creatures, monsters and bosses from the main game in arena warfare that keeps the virtual crowds jumping for joy.  Based over 5 waves of 5 rounds you have 2 types of tournaments, short and long.  The short tournaments weigh in at around 45 mins to an hour each to complete with the long tournaments taking an epic 3 – 4 hours + each.

What Gearbox have done with this is add a little bit of depth to the gametype too which spices things up a little.  Usual Hoarde gametypes in Gears 2 etc mean you just fend off your foes, wave after wave.  With Mad Moxxi, there are elements to each round with either bonuses or ailments added to give the round an extra twist which are called “Moxxi’s Maxims”.  This can be anything from Pistols dealing extra damage and shields being un-equipped to enemies running and re-loading faster called the Spastic (I can see this power up getting a lot of stick!).  At the end of each wave you will also get ammunition and health drops and are also rewarded at the end of each round with a weapon drop.  The same as all Borderlands drops these weapons will be random but we have found a Hellfire in the cache already so the better weapons can appear.  For people thinking you will be able to gain XP and a shit load of loot here you will be disappointed.  No XP gained for killing your adversaries and unless you are using the Bloodwing, no dropped loot either apart from the end of each wave and round.

Check out the list of Moxxi’s Maxims below to see what you may be up against-

• Beef Cake – Enemies have more life.
• Close Combat – Harder to aim from a distance close up you deal more damage.
• Combat Rifle Challenge – Combat Rifles deal bonus damage. All other weapons do less damage.
• Dead Aim – Enemies have better accuracy.
• Dodgeball – Enemies are more likely to dodge.
• Elemental Challenge – Elemental Weapons deal bonus damage. All other weapons do less damage.
• Head Shot – Critical hits deal bonus damage, regular hits deal reduced damage.
• High Speed – Players and enemies move faster.
• Iron Hide – Enemies shields are tougher.
• Kick Ass – Enemies deal bonus damage.
• Low Gravity – Players jump higher.
• Naked – Player has no shield.
• Overclocked – Enemy shields regenerate faster.
• Pistol Challenge – Pistols deal bonus damage. All other weapons do less damage.
• Rocket Launcher Challenge – Rocket Launchers deal bonus damage. All other weapons do less damage.
• Shotgun Challenge – Shotguns deal bonus damage. All other weapons do less damage.
• SMG Challenge – SMGs deal bonus damage. All other weapons do less damage.
• Spastic – Enemies move and reload faster.
• Vampire – You lose heal over time at a steady rate. When anyone on your team gets a kill, everyone’s health is fully replenished.
• Weapon Masters – Enemies spawn with higher quality weapons.
• Body Shot – Critical hits deal less damage.

Although the Maxims add some depth there will be some arguments as to how much of an effect these will actually have in the gameplay itself.  An example is that I went in with my level 50 character who has a Hellfire dealing 150 odd damage with the x4 elemental modifier on.  I also had a mod equipped for a fast ammo recharge rate.  Now, although these Maxims were being added and weapon damage was less etc, we were still able to plough through certain levels with ease when you thought it would be more challenging.  That said, some of the Maxims worked really well like the Maxims Close Combat and Naked and can provide more of a challenge.  What would have been nice, along with the Maxims added would be to restrict the weaponry that would be able to be used for each round too which would add difficulty and even more variation like shotguns only with certain Maxims applied.

I say it was easy but in all fairness the whole DLC can provide a very tough challenge in the right hands.  If you all enter at level 50 then you will have your work cut out for you and is not a given at all.  The DLC commands teamwork and organisation and although can be played in single player is best served up with a bunch of friends.  One reason would be because you know them and the other reason would be that the weapon rewards will not be swept up for keeps and is liable to be shared out for all your hard work.  If you can get a decent team like we had then  it is a lot of fun and definitely adds the extra dimension to the game.

If you are thinking of doing the longer challenges then you WILL need to put a whole afternoon aside for each challenge.  As I said before, they can take anywhere between 3 – 4 hours each to complete which is a long time.  Yes, there are break points in between but there are no save or check points so you will have to plough all the way through them.  This could be a big problem if the host switches off and you lose connection and although I applaud Gearbox for being daring this may not have been thought out properly as it will definitely lead to some serious frustration if a host of problems reared their ugly heads.

Last but not least, Gearbox has obviously had a look at the Dragon’s Age DLC and introduced a bank within the Mad Moxxi’s Underdome central hub.  The bank allows you to store all those rare weapons you may have found during your time with the game and is very welcome indeed.  Additional slots can also be purchased depending on your level and is a very nice touch as you marvel at your rare loot without being forced to carry them or drop them when you have maxed out your inventory slots.

Overall, Mad Moxxi’s undedome Riot adopts the same risks of development that has made Borderlands so successful.  The additive gameplay and fun far outweighs the minor technical flaws that the game has had and again outputting risky DLC content has definitely paid off.  It may be argued that this could have been implemented into the original game, especially when you have arenas already available to you in the main game but Gearbox has yet again showed that with risk comes reward and we have to commend the developers here for producing a piece of content that for Borderlands addicts is definitely worth the price paid.