Review

With the immediate success of Borderlands, Gearbox subsequently released The Zombie Island of Dr Ned downloadable content. As the title suggests, the downloadable content opens a new area of the game with plenty of zombies.

Easily implemented into the Borderlands teleportation system, Jokob’s Cove is a dark and eerie contrast to the original games locations. The area is an outdoor coastal swamp with plenty of vegetation, offering new missions and enemies. With the exception of the Old Haven area of Borderlands and its new dark, zombie themed twist, the exploration remains totally fresh. The coastal area adds caves and beaches, to the moon-lit graveyard and spooky mansion, expanding the repertoire with an unseen water based location, contrasting again to the desert of the main game.

The storyline keeps fairly linear with only a few side quests (although one involves the collection of 500 skulls from dead zombies) to extend the life of the location. The main story involves a detective like structure with finding the cause and culprit in the outbreak of the zombie infestation. Centre of the plot is the sole survivor, Dr Ned, the local doctor who Boarderlands fans will recognize. The progression is kept interesting with twists and turns, but the quests are kept fairly simple.

There are no recycled enemies in the ‘Cove, despite plenty of zombies, instead there are variations of the enemies found in the main game, but with the disease. This keeps in line with the new and interesting background, ensuring the player is never encountering the same situation. There are certainly many options for new adversaries in the horror theme, and it all adds experience to the character.

The content does not increase the level cap or offer any unique items, but the perhaps overused theme is interesting enough in the Borderlands cell shaded look. With an approximate 4 hour length, the constant zombie horde does not outstay its welcome, although it also adds the question of whether it is worth the money. The Zombie Island of Dr Ned is Borderlands is without any groundbreaking additions; it is simply extra hours in the Borderlands world in a bold, new skin.