On the other, Big Game Hunt pulls from a genre that’s rife with gross ideas - phrenology and the White Man’s Burden - used to justify American slavery and, somewhat later, British colonialism. Shooting a giant scorpion-esque monstrosity in the face is the ur- Borderlands, after all. Some of Borderlands 2’s best writing comes in the form of repurposed genre fiction, as evidenced by the Lynchwood and Captain Scarlett story arcs, and a hunt seems like the perfect, low-key excuse to shoot guns at terrifying creatures. On the one hand, I understand the desire to use the safari adventure story as a jumping off point. The “witch doctor” enemy class brings a touch of the Magical Negro stereotype, effectively rounding out Big Game Hunt’s problematic vision of indigenous black people.īorderlands 2: Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 )ĭeveloper: Gearbox Software, Triptych Games The premise sends our intrepid Vault Hunter to the yet-uncharted continent of Aegrus, which is populated by dark-skinned, facepainted, spear-wielding “savages,” whose vocabulary consists of “ooga” and “booga.” Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt, the third downloadable campaign for Borderlands 2, has the dubious honor of bringing that tradition into the new year. Trotting out tired, well-worn stereotypes about poor people in Ireland and the American South is picking low-hanging fruit. These depictions are offensive at worst, and boring at best. I was disappointed to find the illiterate, incestuous, and NASCAR-obsessed Hodunk family roaming the Dust I expect that Gearbox’ Irish audience weren’t thrilled to see the Zafords depicted as whiskey-addled leprechauns. Casual fans may pass and shouldn't feel like they missed much.It’s a good thing that Borderlands 2 doesn’t often touch on real-world culture over the course of its kitschy, ostentatious sci-fi romp - the times where it does have tended to be low points. All in all a decent DLC worth a go, but I feel is better suited to more hardcore players. NOTE! I played this in TVH mode starting at level 38, so the 'normal' mode may differ a bit but probably not much. Loot drops are pretty consistent with other entries. Aergus itself is a tad barren with not a ton of different areas//buildings to check out, but again not that big a deal for me. Another irksome thing was having completed a side quest having to go through waves of re-spawned enemies in an already cleared area just to complete it! It didn't bother me alot but others may find it unacceptable. Also used 'slag' weaponry/grenades ALOT more. On the positive side to that I found I used the rocket launcher and shotgun a TON more than any other previous entry which was kinda 'new' for me. I can see some people rage quitting after being killed by a witch doctor for the umpteenth time. I'd say be at level 35 at least before heading in. As others have stated previously, this DLC is difficult. That being said, some things you should know. It's fairly short, the characters and humor aren't as good as past entries. Basically if you dig the past DLC's this one is worth playing. It's fairly short, the characters and Almost completed it.

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