That was the year it was: 2020

And so we come to the end of another year. And so Game Tumour will go into hibernation, only to emerge in the new year (unless of course there are some last minute surprises between now and the new year). 

It should be noted that this year has seen some milestones for this blog. Not only has it seen a full decade of existence - which, let's be honest, is a millennium in internet terms - but it should be noted that this post is the one thousandth post in this blog! 
Yeah I don't know how I did that either but this is major achievement: Granted this may be a dying medium but to come so far, even when other blogs tend to have a limited lifespan (or at least the one's I have seen) and are written by people who's interest and commitment tends to die off rather quickly, is something to be proud of. 

So to everyone who has seen this blog, who has been following it and who kept coming back to it, through periods of activity, stretches of nothing happening, through posts of both insightful observations and just utter nonsense, I want to say Thank You.
From the bottom of my heart Thank You.

As for 2020, it's become something of a cliché to deride 2020 as a seemingly never-ending year of disaster, where it seemed a challenge to say how things could get progressively worse. 
But it has seen something of a boom time for gaming. Because, after all, when Lockdown has you stuck inside your house, what else are you going to do? Well, personally I completed Borderlands 2, Rakuen and Wolfenstein 3d (at last!). I have upgraded both my gaming chair and the Retropie to the Raspberry Pi 4. I have said goodbye to ESO, was traumatised by Phasmophobia, and viewed the Space Australia that was the Borderlands Pre-Sequel. 
And I swear I have spent more time waiting for games to download than actually playing them. 

So where do we go from here? 

Well the way I see it, there are still plenty of more adventures to be had in this wonderful world that is gaming. So whilst my interest in this hobby and this blog may have quietened down in recent years, I am not prepared to give either up just yet. 

And with that, Game Tumour bows out for 2020.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope to speak to you all again on the other side of 2021...

Come to Australia / You might accidentally get killed

 So what happens when you complete everything in Borderlands 2? Well, you take a shot at the Pre-Sequel of course!

The Pre-Sequel is of interest to me: It was the final game by 2K Australia and as such, goes for an Australian setting. The music of the Vines features prominently in the opening cinematic and there's tones of Australian Accents and in jokes all around. Considering how much the Borderlands series indebted to the Mad Max movies, perhaps it is fitting that it would have an iteration built off of an Australian setting. 

The problem with this game being a prequel (as indicated by the title) is the same with any prequel: We know what's going to happen. So of the Vault Hunters available, it's difficult to choose between them due to knowing beforehand what fate awaits them in Borderlands 2. So I settled for the DLC character Aurelia because a) I knew next to nothing about her and b) sniper rifles and ice powers - what's not to like?

Which is ultimately a fancy way of saying she's the only selectable character that interested me. 

So here we go into the Pre-Sequel....

Bordered up

To follow up from a previous post, I did a check on my Steam account and found that yes indeed, Borderlands 2 is the most owned game by the people on my friends list.

And it would seem for very good reaosn

Cross the Border

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of casting another game from my Hall of Shame. Clean up your desk Borderlands 2, you're out of here!

Original image located here. Accessed 7th February 2020

According to my Steam profile, twenty five of my friends have this game - so to say that it is one of the bestselling games of the last couple of years is an understatement to say the least.

But who would dare challenge a statement? From the view of the outside looking in, there has been much said about this game: It has plenty of personality, the combat is intense, there's some decent writing and colorful characters, there's a villain you'd love to hate, this game gets so much right that it renders it's predecessor obsolete.
For me, having played this game all the way to the end credits, I can safely say that everything I'd heard was 100% true. This game was a fun ride balancing humor, quotable lines, the atmosphere of traversing a ruined world and some truly intense battle sequences (least not the final boss battle).
One can always tell when a lot of passion has been put into getting a game together and this is indeed one such case.

Funny thing though: I did enjoy Borderlands 2 but that enjoyment came from playing with some friends. I can imagine that playing it by one's self would yield a different experience but, for some reason, I'm not about to try. No doubt such a move will challenge my enjoyment of this game but, at the same time, I know very well when one needs to walk away.

But ultimately, who would dare challenge this game's status? Not me that's for sure.

I must be getting soft in my old age.

Back on the Borderline

Recently I've been having a crack to Borderlands 2.

I got talked into playing this through some friends of mine - that and seeing it (along with some DLC) on a Steam sale for 97% off. This game has a sizable fanbase behind it so there has to be something going for it, right?

So far, this gaming is proving to be a lot of fun. I have only previously played Borderlands 1 on one occasion but here I've been able to put a lot more time into it. Time that has revealed to show intense action and wicked sense of humor. And being irate at Claptrap.
Needless to say, I will be persuing this one more in future....

Sometimes, a passionate fanbase can make sense.