Gearbox delivers another quality add on to their already addicting franchise.
The Secret Armory of General Knoxx extends the world of Pandora in every way, adding more of everything that made the franchise great. Guest appearances of the previous (and memorable) characters to the addition of new (and oddly interesting) cast, the game offers everything you would want in a DLC pack. Tons of weapons? Check. Awesome new vehicles with crazy load-outs? Check! Crazy bosses like a giant lobster that requires four level 61 people to defeat it???? CHECK!!!! This game has absolutely crazy amounts of content for old and new fans alike. It boasts the same amount of content that some companies are currently charging $50-$60 for and offered as an add-on to an already great game.
General Knoxx adds about six to twelve hours of new content to the already massive Borderlands game. It is structured as the original game in the form of story missions, side quests, and ridiculous tasks that must be completed in order to get the 100% completion. However, these tasks never feel ridiculous or repetitive in nature and are actually fun. To go along with the fun, every task is seamlessly woven into the odd and cultish world of Pandora and evades the feeling of being tacked on or being an afterthought. The only issue General Knoxx suffers from is the same issue the original game suffered from: the myriad of technical flaws. While this issue does not render the pack useless or unbearable like it did to Moxxi's Underdome, it will turn some players away from the series the same way the original title did.
Upon being transported into the new area, you will notice there are a variety of new areas to discover such as the T-Bone Junction, a town that serves as the hub of the Crimson Tollway, a suspended highway system. You soon meet a mysterious female assassin that is being chased by General Knoxx and the Atlas Corporation, and the quirky story unfolds from there. Riddled with tons of the tongue-in-cheek humor that launched the original game to fame Knoxx serves up more enjoyable and laughable lines.
The DLC can be enjoyed alone in the single player campaign or with up to three friends in the normal and hard (second) playthroughs, just like the original. The primary enemies are the various ranks of the Crimson Lancers (Knoxx and Atlas' army), but there are also a variety of non-Atlas enemies you will encounter. Looters, skyscraper-tall spiders, midgets, and prisoners will all be looking to kill and pillage the mercenaries you control. As always, you are expected to strike quickly and with extreme prejudice and loot the bodies of anything that falls to your arsenal.
The situations you will find yourself in not only teeter on the brink of hilarity, but often smack the concept of "political correctness" in the face with a two-by-four. Examples of these tasks and humor include the performing a genocidal mission on an encampment of midgets and a mission titled "Scooter? I don't even know her!!!." This approach gives the gamer not only the solid game mechanics and entertainment they expect and paid for, but also wrap it in a wacky package that delivers a lot of laughs on the side. Even when Gearbox appeared to be out of tricks they pulled another white rabbit from their magic hat for the franchise faithful and newcomers alike.
So bravo to Gearbox Software to giving us more of what we asked for: original and lengthy Borderlands content. General Knoxx takes a road less traveled of add-ons that cannot be described as overpriced, tacked on content. This add-on could be a whole game in and of itself, but we have been graced by a company that wants to please the customers rather than nickel-and-dime their faithful. If the Borderlands franchise and General Knoxx prove anything with this outing, it is that the customer is always right and developers should listen more to their fans. Now get back to work on that fourth DLC pack, Gearbox – we're waiting for it!!!!