Borderlands 2: Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty PS3 Review

Gimme more, more, more! It's the motto of the diehard vault hunter who has spent more time in Pandora than with his own family and friends in the last few months. Longing for more loot to collect, more places to explore, and more enemies to kill in the frontrunner for Game of the Year 2012? Download the incredible DLC adventure known as "Borderlands 2: Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty." Our love for this game has been well-documented but "Pirate's Booty" just takes what's already so perfect about "Borderlands 2" and makes it even denser, richer, and more remarkable. THIS is how you to do DLC. Too many expansion packs feel like little more than deleted scenes (ex., "Argul's Tomb," the disappointing two-hours of tedium recently released for "Darksiders II.") Who wants to expand the universe of their favorite game with something that feels like it was scraped off the cutting-room floor of the development team's war room? "Pirate's Booty" is no mere afterthought. It would be a great game on its own. It's that rich.

• Publisher: 2K Games
  
• Developer: Gearbox Software
  
• ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
  
• Genre: First-Person Shooter
  
• Pros: Bang For the Buck, Great New Worlds & Characters
  
• Cons: Feels a Bit More Repetitive Than Similar Chunks of "Borderlands 2"

"Borderlands 2: Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty" is the first of four expansion packs for 2K Games' amazing title and it's no mere collection of side missions. It includes an entire new section of the world to explore called Oasis (with other areas within like Wurmwater and Pirate Bay), complete with hours of new story and side missions with new enemies like Sand Pirates and the vicious Anchormen standing in your way. It's an amazingly detailed, fully-realized experience that will take you longer to explore than most stand-alone games. And it will give you tons of new weapons and skills to bring back to the core experience of "Borderlands 2" for your next playthrough. It's time to go back to Pandora.

By now, the gameplay of "Borderlands 2" is familiar to anyone looking into buying "Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty." It hasn't changed. In fact, you can immediately access the world of Oasis through any Fast Travel station in Pandora. Don't think you can do so like a quick side mission to kill some time. You're going to spend hours here. You'll run missions for the devilish Captain Scarlett, kill sand worms, and blow up dozens of pirates. And then there are the Anchormen -- giant beasts who will hurl chains with hooks on them and drag you screaming toward them. They're a sniper fan's nightmare.

The world of "Borderlands 2: Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty" doesn't just include new enemies and new missions but new treasure to be discovered. In fact, it's a world that's rich, pardon the pun, with cash and prizes. I don't think there's any comparable section in the actual "Borderlands 2" in term of weapons, cash, mods, and other treasures to be discovered. If you and your buddies are struggling in the actual game, it makes sense to visit Oasis to bulk up on weapons, experience points, and more.

It's identical to "Borderlands 2" but this is no mere copy of that game. There are entirely new worlds, environments, and enemies that clearly got as much love on a development level as the core game itself. The audio is, once again, stellar, particularly the dialogue and voice work by Captain Scarlett herself.

I've played a lot of non-essential DLC in my time as a hardcore gamer. Most of it is secondary to the overall experience. 2K Games and EA (with the DLC released in their "Mass Effect" franchise) completely defy the norm when it comes to downloadable action. They offer DLC that truly expands the experience, creating something closer to "Borderlands 2.1" than anything else. And I can't wait for "Borderlands 2.2"

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.