Assault on Dragon Keep revolves around "Bunkers & Badasses", a tabletop game derived from Dungeons & Dragons and is tailored for the Borderlands 2 universe. Tiny Tina serves as the gamemaster, while the original Borderlands characters take on the roles of players.[9] Tina herself predominantly narrates the storyline,[10] and her whims often result in the gameplay to undergo spontaneous changing to its mechanics and storyline.[11]
Starting at the Unassuming Docks of Potentially Little Importance, the player embarks on a trek to a village called Flamerock Refuge.[12] As the player approaches the dock, a beautiful sight unfolds, complete with a bright blue sky,[13] a picturesque landscape, and a rainbow floating in the air.[12] However, after Tina realizes the appropriateness of the setting,[13] the atmosphere suddenly darkens and the player is ambushed by skeletons.[12] The player encounters and is quickly knocked down by the first boss, an invincible dragon. In response to the Bunkers & Badasses players' complaints, Tina revives the player and instead offers "Mister Boney Pants Guy," a small skeleton, as the first boss.[11] The player's ultimate mission is to go to Dragon Keep and save the Queen from the Handsome Sorcerer's and his Handsome Dragon's grasp.[13] Characters from the main game, such as Torgue, Claptrap, Moxxi, and Roland, assist the player along the route.[8]
Assault on Dragon Keep includes references to popular titles like Dark Souls, World of Warcraft, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings.[11] It introduces new enemies,[14] such as a Mimic, a creature disguised as a chest,[11] and adds new environmental elements, like replacing ammunition crates with clay jars that can be smashed by the player.[14] Additionally, the expansion pack features recreated assets of the game's chests and vending machines.[10] Some chests now feature icosahedron-shaped dice on top, and the quality of the randomly generated items inside them are directly influenced by the outcomes of the dice rolls.[11]
Synopsis
Setting
The expansion is set within a tabletop game played by the original Borderlands characters, with Tiny Tina serving as the gamemaster. This game, called Bunkers & Badasses, is the Borderlands universe’s equivalent of Dungeons & Dragons.[9] Overall, the expansion centres on Tina’s struggle to cope with the death of Roland, the leader of the Crimson Raiders and a close friend killed during the main Borderlands 2 campaign. Tina inserts Roland as a character in the game’s campaign, creating scenarios and dialogue for him. Her denial is evidenced by her continuation of bringing him into the game, despite opposition from the other players.[15]
Development and release
Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep is the fourth campaign expansion pack for Borderlands 2 and was released on June 25, 2013,[16] following the previous expansion packs: Captain Scarlet and her Pirates Booty, Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage and Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Huntand followed by Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary from 2019.[17] This particular expansion pack, along with the previous ones, are included in the Game of the Year Edition.[18] Furthermore, Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep is also included in Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, which includes both Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, along with all downloadable content for both games.[19]
In June 2021, Gearbox announced a Borderlands spin-off game—Tiny Tina's Wonderlands—which would be set after the events of the expansion.[20] On November 9, 2021, Gearbox released Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep as a standalone game for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One under the title Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep: A Wonderlands One-Shot Adventure.[21]
According to video game review aggregator site Metacritic, Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep garnered generally positive reviews across PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions.[22][25][23] Overall, Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep has been hailed by critics as the best expansion pack added to the game and a vast improvement over its predecessors, particularly the previous release, Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt, which was viewed by some as a disappointment.[26][8][27][28] It was described as being "the best saved for last" by GameCentral reviewer Roger Hargreaves.[1]
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