The quirky and more than slightly unstable Tiny Tina from the Borderlands series is back and its new Borderlands spin-off Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands from Gearbox Software is one of the finest outings in the series to date.

Fans may remember the Borderlands 2 DLC Assault on Dragons Keep where Tina and friends played an RPG called Bunkers and Badasses which cast players to take on mythical quests from her neurotic mind. The stand-alone version of that DLC was released prior to the game to bring players up to speed, though you don’t have to have played it to enjoy the new game.

Players create a character known as the “Fatemaker” and pick various classes, skills, and attributes they can update and modify along the way as their characters gain experience. All sorts of timed abilities come into play which greatly help the players along the way. A well-timed spell can mean the difference between failure and victory.

The gameplay will be familiar to Borderlands fans. Characters have countless weapons, shields, upgrade charms, and more. Deciding which ones come along, get used, get sold, or left behind is always one of the harder parts of the game. Some may find a weapon that does lower damage but has a high rate of fire better than a weapon that does more damage but has a slow reload time and a smaller ammunition clip.  The best bet is to find a mix of weapons through trial and error as players can always sell items that do not make the cut.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands offers a clever overhead perspective at times when players navigate the map versus using the Quick Travel options. This allows players to take on side quests, explore areas and more to gain experience and items should the desired quest area prove too difficult for their current ability level.

Missions are filled with plenty of humor and challenges, and the vast number of enemies is amazing. From a dried-up ocean complete with crabs, walking sharks, and serpent creatures to pirates, skeletons, dragons, and more, this game has something for everyone. RPG fans will love the various dice encounters and challenges that arise.

As with Borderlands games, players who fall in battle have a chance to revive by defeating an enemy before a timer runs out or by paying a fee and being revived at various checkpoints.

The game was released a few days before we went on vacation, so I did find myself at times avoiding side quests to complete the main story missions, but I look forward to trying them in the future with my enhanced arsenal and abilities.

The voice-cast in-game is very strong, as are the graphics and audio which really makes the game a true joy from start to finish. My only real issue was that at times when I needed help, matchmaking often set me in an area I had already completed as it looked to match me with a player of a similar skill level versus my spot in the game.

I had to resolve this by going on forums and threads and asking for help but thankfully members of the community were happy to add me, and join me in the game when needed. I also had the option to set my preference to wanting help but I did not have much success in this area.

The game will have future DLC and with the limitless potential of the premise, it is safe to say that fans will have plenty of adventures ahead as Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a hysterical and mayhem-filled romp, not to be missed.

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