Post by SaHD Gamer on Feb 28, 2014 14:45:41 GMT -5
You know what game I like? Borderlands 2. The game was lots of fun, especially when playing with my wife. But there's one thing that always bothered me. Handsome Jack, the main villain... really sucks. People think he's a great bad guy, but really, he's not.
First, let me clarify a few things before people start busting out pitchforks and shit. The voice actor did a great job, and really brought the character to life. That's not the issue here. Handsome Jack is even funny sometimes. However, mostly he is written pretty terrible.
Why? Well, first of all, he WILL NOT SHUT THE FUCK UP. Seriously, think about how much he talks to you, specifically, in the beginning of the game. Not only is it annoying since you are trying to kill stuff and turn in quests while he is incessantly babbling in the background, it also makes no sense. He's the head of a big company... he shouldn't have time to vomit the sheer amount of wordage he does at you. Also, wordage is now a term, shut up.
Besides that, why would he take the time to talk to you? Because you didn't die with the bomb? Because you got near Liarsburg? Why would he even track that? It doesn't really fit that he would actual converse at you until much later, when it was clear you were a threat to his plans. Instead, they just want you to hear him talk about his stupid horse, which was funny the first time.
Other than Handsome Jack not shutting his face hole, the other problem I have is what he does that makes him evil. They made it so EVERTHING he does is evil. It's silly, really, that every part of the game, they have him do stuff that reminds you that he is super evil and has no redeeming qualities. I get it, he's a bad guy. He doesn't have to kick puppies and babies every scene he's in so I remember that. It seems like they make him do stuff just because it's evil.
Of course, they kind of bungle that with his daughter. He is using her powers to charge the Vault Key. Fair enough, that at least makes sense. But his password is that he loves her, and even gets really mad when she is killed (presumably he's mad that she died, since the key is charged enough to open the Vault, as the final boss can attest to). Why? He doesn't care about her, since he's so evil that he would do the stuff he did to her to get her help. Why pretend? So she or others think he cares? If he's so evil, he wouldn't care if they thought that. If he does actually care about her, then why does he treat her so poorly? It just doesn't fit with the rest of it.
Sadly, Handsome Jack is just a convenient plot device for several parts of the game. If he was written better or made a bit more believable than "he is super evil, hate him!", he would be a good villain. I mean, he has the monologing down. They at least did a good job of making people hate him, since a lot of people think he's an amazing antagonist, but I, at least, hate him for the reasons they didn't intend.
First, let me clarify a few things before people start busting out pitchforks and shit. The voice actor did a great job, and really brought the character to life. That's not the issue here. Handsome Jack is even funny sometimes. However, mostly he is written pretty terrible.
Why? Well, first of all, he WILL NOT SHUT THE FUCK UP. Seriously, think about how much he talks to you, specifically, in the beginning of the game. Not only is it annoying since you are trying to kill stuff and turn in quests while he is incessantly babbling in the background, it also makes no sense. He's the head of a big company... he shouldn't have time to vomit the sheer amount of wordage he does at you. Also, wordage is now a term, shut up.
Besides that, why would he take the time to talk to you? Because you didn't die with the bomb? Because you got near Liarsburg? Why would he even track that? It doesn't really fit that he would actual converse at you until much later, when it was clear you were a threat to his plans. Instead, they just want you to hear him talk about his stupid horse, which was funny the first time.
Other than Handsome Jack not shutting his face hole, the other problem I have is what he does that makes him evil. They made it so EVERTHING he does is evil. It's silly, really, that every part of the game, they have him do stuff that reminds you that he is super evil and has no redeeming qualities. I get it, he's a bad guy. He doesn't have to kick puppies and babies every scene he's in so I remember that. It seems like they make him do stuff just because it's evil.
Of course, they kind of bungle that with his daughter. He is using her powers to charge the Vault Key. Fair enough, that at least makes sense. But his password is that he loves her, and even gets really mad when she is killed (presumably he's mad that she died, since the key is charged enough to open the Vault, as the final boss can attest to). Why? He doesn't care about her, since he's so evil that he would do the stuff he did to her to get her help. Why pretend? So she or others think he cares? If he's so evil, he wouldn't care if they thought that. If he does actually care about her, then why does he treat her so poorly? It just doesn't fit with the rest of it.
Sadly, Handsome Jack is just a convenient plot device for several parts of the game. If he was written better or made a bit more believable than "he is super evil, hate him!", he would be a good villain. I mean, he has the monologing down. They at least did a good job of making people hate him, since a lot of people think he's an amazing antagonist, but I, at least, hate him for the reasons they didn't intend.