Borderlands 2

[[CG]Chaplain Bradley]

Ratings:

Violence:
Sexual themes:
Foul language:
Substance abuse:

Review:

I recently acquired Borderlands 2 in a Humble Bundle sale and although it was released in 2012, to my surprise the community is still fairly active on Steam. What’s more, Borderlands 2 is still being supported by developer Gearbox, who to this day is continuing to issue out time-limited SHiFT codes for the game which unlock special weapons and character upgrades. After sinking about forty hours into the game, largely concentrating on the storyline missions, I’m ready to make a very belated review from the Christian perspective.

The storyline of Borderlands 2 is more-or-less unengaging for me, personally. Your allies are a cast of creatively drawn heroes who require your assistance to rescue the citizens of a city called Sanctuary from the villain, a character named Handsome Jack, who according to the opening sequence you can only defeat with the combined talents of the vault hunters from the previous Borderlands. The vault hunters must be recruited over the course of roughly a hundred missions. As a typical FPS-RPG, objectives generally send you to-and-fro on random errands that amount to going across the map, fighting through waves of increasingly-difficult enemies, defeating a boss, and returning to “turn in” and receive the next assignment. As with your standard RPG, the storyline moves forward incrementally, and the cycle must be repeated again, and again, and again. And as with most FPS games with replay value, the promise of loot rewards and the diversity of enemies is what makes the grind worth going through. Combine these with the ability to play with friends, and you’ve got a game that can easily absorb hours of your time.

Violence:
As an FPS, the game is necessarily violent. Enemies, which range from robots to spiders to psychotic masked dwarfs, are killed indiscriminately, often in explosions of elemental damage (typically one's enemies succumb to the effects of acid, fire, or electric shock). The shader-cell art style of Borderlands 2 diminishes the effects of this carnage, and the enemies are never presented as people with humanity. But in any case, Borderlands 2 is a violent game and the storyline cannot be progressed except by killing and the real draw to continue playing isn’t the storyline but the promise of more lethal weaponry -- to kill more enemies quicker.

Sexual themes & Substance abuse:
There aren’t any major sexual themes in Borderlands 2. Some of the female characters are dressed more provocatively than others, and there may be a few passing remarks or allusions to romantic relationships, but in my playthrough I didn’t come across anything overly offensive. I saw no reference to substance abuse.

Language:
Borderlands 2 is rife with profanity and, despite the story being in an alternative universe, characters even inexplicably blaspheme the Lord’s name. This is inexcusable to me and is the primary reason why I simply kept the game muted and listened to more edifying things as I played through.

Conclusion:
The original Borderlands end credits featured a song with the verse, “Oh Lord, don't come around me. If you do, I'll die.” Though God is omnipresent, theologically speaking, there is a great deal of truth to this verse and it reminds me of the passage from Isaiah, which reads: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Is. 6:5). Isaiah’s reason to fear was his awareness of his unholiness, and it is this issue, above all other categories, that I think we ought consider when picking and choosing what manner of entertainment we consume. Video games, television shows, and music that we listen to reveals a great deal about us -- we ought to always be aware of the things which we delight in, that they are things from above and not things of this world.
We are instructed to think about things which are “true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8). I found Borderlands 2 to be largely uninteresting, but never overly convicting or offensive. I wouldn't recommend Borderlands 2 for a storyline playthrough on singeplayer. On the otherhand, what about the co-op? Is Borderlands 2 a game that brothers and sisters in Christ could play together and have spiritual conversation over mics while carrying out the various tasks required? Sure. In fact, I would only recommend Borderlands 2 because of the squad-play feature which could make for edifying conversation during the grind.

                     Christian Gaming Community Reviews
                   Reviewing from the Christian Worldview:                    
                 -----------------------------------------
                  Retro, Rare, or Classic Underrated Gems, 
                Family Friendly Games, Couch/Local-Op Play, 
                  Pro-Family or Biblical/Scriptural Games, 
                      Online Teamwork/Cooperative Play,
               and Popular Games With No Overt Moral Context 

[What is a Man?]

WHO CARES ABOUT VIOLENCE? PFF. ITS ALL ABOUT THE WAR!!! AND DESTRUCTION!! Sorry. Little bit of Chaos slipped out of me there *cough* Seriously though. I'm Christian and I don't think much about most of these things. I don't care about sexual themes. I don't care about Violence. I don't care about foul language or any of that stuff. I'm not saying you're wrong in any way. Just wish you woulden't put things in most Christian's eyes. Because we are not all the same and we all have our differences.

[[CG]Chaplain Bradley]

Originally posted by (SFM)GoldWing:

Seriously though. I'm Christian and I don't think much about most of these things. I don't care about sexual themes. I don't care about Violence. I don't care about foul language or any of that stuff. I'm not saying you're wrong in any way. Just wish you woulden't put things in most Christian's eyes. Because we are not all the same and we all have our differences.

Thank you for your comment.

As you mature in the faith, and as you read and study your Bible in greater depth and begin to better appreciate the gravity of your sin in your life, you will begin to care about how much you allow yourself to be exposed to gratuitous violence, foul language, and sexual themes. This is not some sort of "personal preference" that can be shrugged off because we are all, somehow, different. Rather, the conviction of sin is understood to be a fruit of the Holy Spirit, as explained in John 16:8-11.

[TrippedAndFell]

amazing game

[TrippedAndFell]

also theres more sexual content if you played a bit more

[♰ 50 Caliber 忍]

I enjoyed Borderlands, a few hours at least. It just became so incredibly violent and profain God told me it would be best if i got rid of it. Basically wasted $15 but I am much better of because I disposed of it!

[Choolak]

Originally posted by TheH3rmanCart3r:

WHO CARES ABOUT VIOLENCE? PFF. ITS ALL ABOUT THE WAR!!! AND DESTRUCTION!! Sorry. Little bit of Chaos slipped out of me there *cough* Seriously though. I'm Christian and I don't think much about most of these things. I don't care about sexual themes. I don't care about Violence. I don't care about foul language or any of that stuff. I'm not saying you're wrong in any way. Just wish you woulden't put things in most Christian's eyes. Because we are not all the same and we all have our differences.

I liked that the review went into each aspect of a game that would offend a Christian.

As a Christian, you SHOULD care about what you consume. The bible teaches to abstain from all presence of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). Allowing yourself to consume sinfully-themed material does not show obedience to God in my eyes.