Borderlands 2

I meant to post yesterday, but have been feeling under the weather.  Now that that's out of the way, Borderlands 2.

I'm sure many people were excited by the release of this game on Tuesday, but I myself was a bit on the fence.  If my room mate hadn't of bought it, I wouldn't have been able to play it.  THere was some reason lodged in the back of my mind that made me stop playing the first Borderlands, but I couldn't remember it.  I beat the game by myself, and I had thought the reason was that I had to make a new character every time someone new wanted to play co-op with me.


After playing Borderlands 2 for quite a few hours, I remembered.  Borderlands 2 is actually a very competitive game.  It's actually less competitive than the first, but its still there.  The first Borderlands had some kind of challenge system that, when completed, gave you experience.  This created a gap between players, with some leveling up before others.  It was damn annoying.

In Borderlands 2, they have this Badass ranking system that gives you the most minuscule of bonuses, but yet somehow players are constantly comparing their Badass rank to one another.  You'll be in the heat of a firefight, and your partner will say "Why did you kill that Nomad?  I only need one more Nomad for a Badass rank!"  Personally, I shoot at whats in front of me, especially since playing split screen while 'gunzerking' leaves your field of vision rather small.

I, myself, who prides himself on being anti-competitive, found myself in the same competitive spirit when my room mate played without while I was in the shower.  He got a full bar of experience and a good many Badass ranks ahead of me.  I feel rather foolish now, since I've almost caught up in experience and I've quite passed him in Badass ranks.  I think my room mate and I are past comparing Badass ranks, because we're not competitive people.

I don't understand competition.  Competition in business is necessary, says the capitalist in me, but in my activities designed for fun its not very welcome.  I used to be extraordinarily competitive, and I realized that I was being an asshole, so I forcibly made myself stop thinking that way.  I throw games, stop shooting back for a moment, or even pretend not to notice an enemy whenever we're playing a game against each other that I find myself with an advantage.  Its still fun, because the longer everyone stays happy, the longer we play.  Is winning fun?  Sure.  I prefer that everyone involved enjoys themselves on some level, though.

So, if you play games like I do and pick up Borderlands 2, don't get too caught up in the 1% or less bonuses from Badass ranks.  What's the point of co-operative play when its not co-operative?