Recent reviews by DenDrio

I've really enjoyed Battleborn, though I've mainly played PvP. Having played Super Monday Night Combat, it definitely scratches the SMNC itch.

Battleborn has two different game types. There's PvE ( coop story) and PvP (competitive multiplayer). PvE plays more like a dungeon or a raid for all those MMORPG lovers out there where as PvP plays more like SMNC. I haven't really played the story so my opinions below are mostly PvP-oriented.

PvP has three modes: Capture, Incursion, and Meltdown. I've only played Incursion and Meltdown so far. Each mode has two maps each and play very differently from one another. Capture is a King of the Hill mode; Incursion is the more standard Dota, kill-the-base mode; for Meltdown, you have to escort minions to a grinder to get points, once your team gets 250 points (500 is victory), the grinder changes spots and you have to escort minions further into their base. Around the maps are shards which are currency you can spend on gear or upgrading and building turrets. Shards are important because spending shards on buildings give you a lot of XP and buying gear gives you a stat boost.

As far as the number of heroes available, you only get around 10(?) or so at the beginning. You have to unlock the rest by playing more basically. I'm not sure if some unlocks are PvE-exclusive or not, but I believe you unlock them every few player-levels. Each hero has a passive, main and secondary attack, two spells and an ultimate. You can customize your hero as a match progresses. Every level you get to mutate one of your abilities, making them stronger or do something special.

You also get gear which work more like LoL's runes kind of. Gear is acquired by buying them with in game currency, levelling up, or playing PvE. They add attributes, both positive and negative, that affect your attack, hp, spells, tankiness, etc. You can activate your gear in game by accumulating enough shards. So you can really customize your heroes.

Yes the game has its faults:

• Optimization isn't that great. A lot of people have low (< 60) FPS on good machines. I'm running it on around 25-40 fps but I'm still having fun. The developers have stated they are working on optimization in the near future.
  
• Matchmaking being a bit of a problem, but I've learned that player level isn't really representative of actual skill in PvP. Plus the smaller playerbase doesn't help either.
  
• You can't change your Battleborn during character select, if you lock in, there's no turning back.
  
• UI can be clunky, but it hasn't really hindered my enjoyment.
  
• There isn't a real tutorial on the game modes. Instead they have an in-game video in your spawn at the very beginning of the match detailing the basics of the mode. I haven't had a problem with this, but a lot of people don't care enough to watch or they just want to go in guns-a-blazing.

All that said, the gameplay itself I've found to be very fun:

• Each Battleborn feels unique and their skills are customizable.
  
• Playing the objective instead of TDM. If you focus solely on killing enemy players, it'll be harder for your team to win.
• There is a strategic element of deciding whether or not to kill someone, clear a wave, or get some mercenaries, which I enjoy.
  
• The voice acting is awesome and the humor is borderline (heh) borderlands-esque. You can definitely tell it's a Gearbox game. There are situation-specific dialogue which i always enjoy.