We Just Played Borderlands DLC

We try out The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, the upcoming downloadable content adventure for Borderlands.

If you didn't get enough of the loot-and-shoot gameplay of Borderlands, 2K Games is gearing up for the game's first downloadable content release, which will be called "The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned." The content is a full-on playable adventure that takes place concurrently with the original game's story and can be played whether you've completed the game or not. As in the original game, it will also scale the difficulty of its critters to your character's level.

This new adventure will take place in Jakob's Cove, which is essentially a spooky forest full of gnarled trees that are being grown by the Jakob weapons concern for its wood--which apparently enhances the performances of certain weapons. However, it seems like the folks at the Jakob company aren't exactly big on being eco-friendly nor have they been particularly careful about cultivating the trees. The growth of this forest has, in fact, turned the area into a gloomy swamp, and the maintenance employees have also been slightly affected by the environmental changes, causing all of them to contract a minor case of being-turned-into-mindless-zombies-that-attack-you. Yes, this is going to be a spooky zombie hunt that might have missed the end of October to commemorate Halloween, but it seems to have plenty of holiday spirit, from the hordes of zombies and the dank swamps to the scenery and bosses (one of the five new bosses is named "Pumpkinhead" that leaves Jack-o-lanterns lying around his territory).

However, there won't be much holiday cheer in this DLC adventure. It'll be much more about stomping zombies that will rise up out of the ground from out of nowhere and generally rush at you rather than fire weapons from cover. If this sounds tough, we'll tell you that it can be, especially if you're all alone and happen to get surrounded by the DLC's new varieties of zombies. These include not only standard shambling zombies that simply charge you but also "defilers" who spit goop at you that obscures your vision and slows you movement, as well as "tankensteins," which are giant zombies that hurl explosive barrels at you. They'll also pound the ground to create shockwaves or simply bum-rush you. A new variety of Borderlands' crowlike rakk, the corpse-eater, will also make its debut here.

Standard zombies seem to be most vulnerable to headshots and take regular headshot criticals, like the original game's basic bandits and soldiers (you'll actually find zombified versions of both in Jakob's Cove), while tankensteins are most vulnerable if you can hit the fiery barrels strapped to their backs. (And if you're lucky, you'll also find "loot goons," which are basically tankensteins that, instead of flaming barrels, carry red treasure chests on their backs.)

While you'll stomp a ton of zombies in this new adventure, you'll also take on about 50 new missions given by "Dr. Ned," who denies being Dr. Zed (the medic you meet at the beginning of the original Borderlands), despite sounding exactly like him, being dressed exactly like him, and looking exactly like him (aside from his obviously phony mustache). These missions will give you more chances to gain experience points and, of course, hunt down new randomly generated loot items. All told, the DLC should offer some six to 10 hours of gameplay and is scheduled to launch on November 24 for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. 2K has not yet announced what plans are in store for the PC version.

123 Comments

  • Sivok

    Posted Nov 29, 2009 11:36 pm PT

    Chernnunos,

    Due to the requirement of system specs and more importantly how easy it is to crack/pirate software on the PC, those releases are held out for the sake of profit.

  • 96761

    Posted Nov 27, 2009 10:47 pm PT

    why didnt they make the dlc for the pc borderlands?

  • Chernnunos

    Posted Nov 26, 2009 7:20 am PT

    I dislike how long it takes companies to release stuff for the PC. It makes no sense, since Xbox is basically a PC with a different case.. Consoles are so damn tired.

  • eric1996

    Posted Nov 25, 2009 5:02 am PT

    will consider buying this after completing game

  • Morphumax

    Posted Nov 24, 2009 8:36 pm PT

    c'mon, chub. there's no way this dlc ought to have been included with sale of the orig game at release time. Thematically , it's way out of left field. It's brilliant as an add-on with what looks to be a totally different feel. This isn't an example of devs being cheap, money-grubbing or lazy - the original game is crazy long and has tons of replay value on its own. I think this reflects dedication on the part of the devs. And lasting value on games like this. And if there is anything lazy about dlc 3 wks after a game's release, i don't see it. With a zombie theme, it's obvious it was never originally intended to be part of the original. Instead, this is an example of solid dlc being released in record time. Good for them.

  • Folleyrules

    Posted Nov 24, 2009 12:26 pm PT

    cool.... will get

  • da_chub

    Posted Nov 23, 2009 11:44 am PT

    wow, dlc after like 3 weeks of the games release....this is why DLC is bad for the gaming community. Its one thing if a 6 months they release some to keep people interested, not update something that should ahve been included in the release, but they where to lazy to fix it b4 shipping.

  • xeonnyle

    Posted Nov 22, 2009 11:40 pm PT

    Sweet! This is a nice surprise considering I forgot all about the BL DLC due to playing Assassins creed 2!

  • CustNam

    Posted Nov 22, 2009 3:29 pm PT

    2 MORE DAYS!!! I already have my points to purchase this.

  • HircinesWay

    Posted Nov 22, 2009 9:09 am PT

    YAY!!!

  • it009x9281 posted Nov 21, 2009 10:02 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    it009x9281

    Posted Nov 21, 2009 10:02 pm PT (hide)

    Give it a rest for pitys sake were all sick of the whole zombie thing

  • EGM_BlizzardKil

    Posted Nov 21, 2009 8:56 pm PT

    10 hours?? AWESOME!!! Just what i need to get me off MW2

  • smok15

    Posted Nov 21, 2009 8:38 pm PT

    ive been looking for campaign partners on the game and have found a lack of them i dont kno why this is -could be its lost popularity or what cos when i looked for lobbies there was 2 wtf any one care to enlighten me on this

  • Syferonik

    Posted Nov 21, 2009 3:42 pm PT

    Six to ten hours? s**t thats pretty nice. I hope it does't cost over 800points though

  • jad206

    Posted Nov 18, 2009 11:55 am PT

    @BDL91 So you think Fallout DLC was worth it? Even though it takes around three hours to beat? And, this for the same price, takes three-seven more hours to beat, is NOT worth it?(If you really think you should get this for free then i just think of you as some 5 year old who cant get any money for it) I see no problem paying developers for the work they put into a game, as long as it isnt something that SHOULD be in the game. If they already had zombie in the game but you see them once, then this DLC would not be worth it. Also with your xbox example....you really think that's free? Im sure there is a monthly fee for XBL, which is how they put it in.

  • KalaBank

    Posted Nov 18, 2009 4:22 am PT

    sounds interesting , am buying ^_^

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Nov 18, 2009 3:33 am PT

    @ TupacalypseNow: It's Obvious you weren't a PC gamer back in the mid-late 90's. You may not even be a PC gamer now. It really strikes me that you are looking back to an age you weren't part of, so it's difficult to debate you. All I will say, is that any point in time, games were as good as they could be. Maybe in the future we will have 3D games, and people will look back and diss 2009 for the 'crappy games' that were around, and how they 'didn't look as good', but of course everything is relevant, and you obviously don't think today's games are crappy, just like gamers playing games 10 years ago thought the games were crappy. But they did have more depth, were more intelligent and did do better with characters than today. It was the 90's, after all, that gave us Sam and Max, Gordon Freeman and Lara Croft!!!

  • Killermoy1982

    Posted Nov 18, 2009 12:43 am PT

    And i hate the idea of adding ZOMBIES to this one... They will probably look kinda goofy but they just dont fit to this game...
    Plus-dont U all think that the zombies theme has been a bit exploited lately?? zombies here , zombies there... ZOMBIES EVERYWHERE!

  • shaggydellic

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 7:39 pm PT

    Six to ten hours?!!! That's an entire CoD campaign!!!!!

  • Aegyss

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 7:19 pm PT

    360 interface updates are different from actual chunks of gameplay. Nobody buys a facebook account obviously, but a facebook account is different from a game content like new areas to explore, new enemies and items.

  • BDL91

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 6:55 pm PT

    @Jad206 , You bye an xbox 360 and you expect to get free downloadable updates to make xbox a better experience right ? eg Avatar, Myspace Etc.. how is this any different for paying full price for a game then having to buy extras, It should be free but they do this so they can get every cent out of people like you the only DLC i can think of that is actually worthy of paying for is the New GTA addons , and Fallout addons.Others like fable 2 addons are more like , an Extra mission with some more achievements that should be free

  • jad206

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 6:03 pm PT

    @TeaBag, Why in the WORLD would this be free? Oh right, all DLC should be free(end sarcasm) and since it has to do with zombies it releates to Halloween?(which it said it didnt have any Halloween cheer, did you read?) I would also like to know how they could update the level cap. They would have to add in brand new quests for the main quest, or do you do side quest till level 50+? This isn't fallout3, i doubt it will get a level increase.

  • TeabagChampion

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 4:24 pm PT

    "Don't be shy now! CATCH A RIDE!"

  • TeabagChampion

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 4:23 pm PT

    I think that this DLC should be free, and although Halloween just past us, I guess its safe to say that thats another reason why it should be free. A level limit being raised would also be a good idea. I didn't like how the highest level you can get to is level 50.

  • TupacalypseNow

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 4:20 pm PT

    @Humorguy_basic

    i'm not saying the STORIES were bad, i'm saying the medium aka the games that delivered them were not as techologically advanced- not saying graphics makes the game because that's totally not true but the amount of stuff we can now put into games to make them bigger and better has increased substantially and this allows devs to experiment with different types of gameplay for example. And what i was getting at was that you're being short sighted in saying that to combine two kinds of genre in video games is a bad idea. now more than ever games are being released with more depth and more creativity in the game desighn than ever before, ive been wating for a shooter like this ever since i beat Diablo 2 and loved it. not saying that borderlands has the best story, but the new gameplay style is ground breaking and to be ignorant of that is whats sad. (and yea sim-city was the $hit)

  • parrot_of_adun

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 4:05 pm PT

    While Borderlands was a great game, I've never once seen such a vast amount of squandered potential.

    It's safe to say that, for me, it was the biggest video-game related disappointment ever. Maybe this DLC will just add a few hours to it's life.

  • Djin

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 3:28 pm PT

    To bad I sold Boderlands in the first week of buying it. In two days beat the game, in seven days I have all the achievements, and rebeat it with every class (and twice on the 2nd play through).

    The game wasn't even a real challenge, and I was hardly putting any time into it. It's sad when games are nothing but flashy graphics and a small "wow" effect here and there and they believe the masses will enjoy this game when the content is extremly lacking. For an RPG to be beat in two days is beyound me. Even if it has FPS aspects, it shouldn't take two days to beat it. I didn't even rush through the game. Also, after I experienced the bug that erased all my skills and my weapon profeciencies, that was the final straw. I promptly went to the store and asked for my money back, all they could do was offer another game. I explained that the game is bugged and I lost days worth of work. They looked at me like I was lying. This is a KNOWN BUG and they have not even addressed a fix for it. So this game got a very low score due to that, and what is with ZOMBIES?! I am so tired of zombies. This is NOT Left 4 Dead. This is BORDERLANDS, not some Zombie game.

    Another poor route on their part.

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 1:28 pm PT

    @TupacalypseNow: You mean stories like The Longest Journey (2000)? Or Planescape Torment (1999)? Or Baldur's Gate II (1999)? Or the creative gameplay of SimCity (1989)? Or Civilization (1995)? Or Half-Life (1998 )? Later? Then how about Pyschonauts (2006)? Or Beyond Good and Evil (2006)? 5 plus years ago will always beat the last 5 years in story and creative gameplay. Always.

  • denter21

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 12:04 pm PT

    This is where the cars live. GET YOU ONE!

  • w4rgasm

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 9:56 am PT

    Level cap increase please

  • TupacalypseNow

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 9:37 am PT

    @Humorguy_basic wow that's sad, you want to go back to when games were a weaker medium for story, and had less creative gameplay? sad...

  • red1isdabest

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 8:57 am PT

    ive been playin borderlands and i loooove zombies! i don care about the lvl cap but i wud like 2 c som new wepons!

  • Anabub

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 1:47 am PT

    I just wish they would raise the lvl cap ... why would I even buy let alone play this until they do so?!?!

  • SicklySunStorm

    Posted Nov 17, 2009 12:35 am PT

    I'm with you alabama2561990 - I'll buy the bundle of the lot when it comes out

  • alabama2561990

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 11:52 pm PT

    sounds good but i always hold off til they have bundles

  • robgam3r

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 10:48 pm PT

    i see 2k is trying to bust out somthing like fallout 3 wich has 5 dlc so that is like 50 bucks but fall out 3 gave u alot more lv cap new skills even tho all together if u got each dlc u spend around 100 bucks on 1 game i like dlc i think its kool but the price just isnt fair i already beat the game with in a week and i mean platinum trophie and when it was over i was sad but i can not afford 10 bucks to play and 2-3 months latter pay another 10buck ill just wait unuilt there is a bundle beside theres alot of game i want to play and not dlc ....................mau2 dlc r u serious if u bought that wow i guess u got the money

  • valcrist09

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 10:39 pm PT

    This DLC was being worked on before Gearbox can get user feedback, i expect next DLC will be more user based content.. hopefully game fixes and level cap increase ect.

  • bodylotion

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 10:38 pm PT

    I did not finish Borderlands because I didn't have the time and because of Dragon Age Origins. To me it's a great game but until now it's pretty easy and the online co-op does not really work.

  • twistedlemons

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 7:33 pm PT

    i want more levels. like to 60 or sumthing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • RAPTORLunchbox

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 7:17 pm PT

    I LOVE this game. it is Diablo meets FPS. I cant wait for the DLC. Like everyone else im hoping for an eventual locker of some sort and maybe even raising the level cap. Heres to hoping we can get those things in future DLC, but I am more than satisfied with the DLC commin out next week!

  • axeman87

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 6:48 pm PT

    @Humorguy Basic - You do realise that BLs has been well received right? And BLs IS an RPG/FPS. Its not a made up tag line, and the RPG elemant is a large portion of the game. Also, your asking for games to regress and devolve. Pretty sure your on your own there mate, but to each his own I guess. You may have to go back to playing older titles, because combining genres is the future of games.

  • Silthers

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 2:37 pm PT

    Any news on raising the level cap? :/

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 2:30 pm PT

    @ AdamWriter: You mean a dumbed down world, where you have to have lots of easy shooting to deal with any roleplaying parts, 'ooh - how do I deal with an inventory....Never mind, i'll just do some more shooting!'

    I mean it was the developers of Alpha Protocol themselves that said their 'RPG' would have about 20 hours gameplay! an RPG with 20 hours gameplay..... That's what we've come to in this 'new diverse age' is it??!!

  • AdamWriter

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 2:00 pm PT

    @Humorguy_basic

    Lol, dood, we live in a new, diverse age. I think you are part of the small percentage of people in the world that don't want there to be things different in this world. Time to let that go and accept NEW things.

  • AdamWriter

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 1:55 pm PT

    Thank you piraters for making us purchasers have to wait much longer than the consolers for the DLC.

  • Gammit10

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 1:54 pm PT

    price?

  • AndSome-FTW

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 1:02 pm PT

    nice...

  • meghus

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 10:25 am PT

    WELL THATS THE BEE'S KNEES!!
    i can't wait for this to come out!

  • mrzero1982pt2

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 8:14 am PT

    this game has been out for like a month and a half and already getting dlc? REALLY? heh. sign me up! this game isnt afraid to make fun of itself and its hilarious!!!!! at least it explains why the jakobs guns are mostly wooden!!!! i want to see a dlc where we see some renegade claptraps! heh BRING IT! IM READY!!!

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