Borderlands: The Handsome Collection Preview

Even more handsome in person.

Among the new releases for Xbox One and PS4, there have been notable remastered titles like The Last of Us Remastered and Halo: The Master Chief Collection. The newest member to this line of revamped re-releases exclusive to current-gen consoles is Borderlands: The Handsome Collection from Gearbox Software.

Borderlands is no stranger to premium bundles that consolidate the franchise's add-on content into one place, but this is definitely the most impressive one we've seen so far. You are basically getting the equivalent of two Game of the Year Editions in one package, and then some. Not only do you receive two whole games, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Borderlands 2, you also get the add-on content previously available through online passes, all additional playable characters, and a long line of customizations and perks, as well as pending add-on content that has yet to be released.

One of the greatest selling points of Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is its local four-player mode. This is the first time the mode has ever been available in a Borderlands game, and anyone who has ever tried to get by playing solo knows how much easier it is to play with more than one person. If you happen to be playing and have more than one friend over, you can enlist up to three of them to help you out by simply picking up a controller. It is nice to not be limited to only one other co-op buddy in a situation like this because Borderlands really shines with more people.

I feared there would be too much going on during a typical Borderlands gunfight and that having only a quarter of the screen available to me would detract from the experience.  When I got a chance to experience the local co-op myself, however, it was surprisingly easy to follow the action on my little corner of the world. Naturally, there are the few inevitable co-op hiccups, like when someone accidentally hits the pause button halting the action, but that’s easy to forgive.



Another great thing about Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is that it lets you transfer your saves from the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PS Vita, with the only caveat being that they will only transfer within their respective console family. Not having to rebuild your characters from scratch is a great benefit for returning players.

Borderlands: The Handsome Collection will be available on March 24 for $59.99. If you have an Xbox One or PS4 and you’re just getting into the Borderlands franchise or have held off on getting the add-on content, then this is the bundle you’ve been waiting for. It’s shaping up to be a great package, and getting to experience it with friends will make it even better.

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