“Back so soon? What’s’ the rush?” Those are the ironic words first spoken in Catch a Ride. It’s fair to say that Telltale are certainly taking their time with Tales from the Borderlands.

SPOILER WARNING: The following review contains spoilers for Episode 2: Atlas Mugged. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of playing the second episode, do not read on.

Episode 2 finished in medias res, so initially Catch a Ride deals with the fallout. Rhys and Fiona desperately attempt to escape the clutches of Vasquez with the ‘Gortys’ intact.

When the enigmatic ‘Gortys’ turns out to be a robot reminiscent of Claptrap, the rest of the episode revolves around finding an upgrade for the little cutey that just happens to be situated in the heart of a terraformed jungle filled with killer plants.

Catch a Ride is a far superior episode to Atlas Mugged but falls behind Zer0 Sum, and it’s success is due to the fact that like the first episode, it feels like a complete adventure. It means that the player can just enjoy the ride without having to be invested in the wider-story.

Telltale have an interesting and amusing roster of characters (shout out to my main man Loader Bot) but the wider story is lacklustre thus far. I’m beginning to think that Telltale should focus on having each episode being a self-contained story, in the vein of X-Files ‘Monster of the Week’ episodes.

A positive aspect of this series that has remained through-out the episodes is the humour. Catch a Ride made me a laugh quite a few times, particularly with its use of the ‘unreliable narrator’. Tales from the Borderlands is a flashback story, told by Rhys and Fiona in turn.

The result is that depending on who is telling what, we can never be sure if the events played out as we see them, as each protagonist attempts to boost his/her ego with a bit of harmless embellishment, only to be called out on it by the other protagonist. It’s an amusing little device that always provokes a chuckle.

Catch a Ride is a lot more innovative than most of Telltale’s work in that there appears to have been a real effort to mix up the gameplay and give the player something to do other than choose dialogue options. Through-out the episode you’ll find yourself batting away missiles with a big stick, shooting killer plants with elemental weapons and hacking into computers.

This episode also confirms that Tales from the Borderlands features the best action sequences Telltale have ever done. Although nothing in Catch a Ride compares to the explosive Mad Max-esque finalé of Zer0 Sum, the robot/car chase that closes this episode elicits a satisfying, pulpy thrill.

There were some strange narrative decisions taken in this third instalment. Before you start furiously clicking the ‘X’ emblazoned in red in the corner of your screen, I’m not going to spoil anything. All I’ll say is, I was bitterly disappointed with what occurred upon meeting with Valory. Telltale took one of the shining features of this series and crushed it underfoot, and it’s a crying shame.

The aforementioned ‘Queenpin’ Valory is a nice addition to the villain roster though. She looks like a cross between Dame Judi Dench and Bruce Campbell, and through-out the episode she displays just how ruthless she is. She’s certainly no Vasquez or Handsome Jack, but she has potential.

In the introductory paragraph, I made some snide remarks about the delays between episodes, but my impatience isn’t the only issue. As I played through Catch a Ride, I really couldn’t recall what had happened at the end of Atlas Mugged. The characters talked of the ‘Gortys’, and I was baffled. I had to read up on the story to get a grasp on what the hell was going on.

This might end up being a major issue for this series, despite the vague ‘what’s happened so far’ segment at the beginning of each episode. In Telltale’s Game of Thrones, I begin each episode with a clear picture of what’s going on. Tales from the Borderlands is starting to get a little hazy.

As the rest of the series is released and the story grows more convoluted, this will only become more of an issue. I can’t help but assume that the delays in this series are collateral for the prompt release of Game of Thrones episodes. Perhaps I’m too cynical.

Despite the delays, Tales from the Borderlands is still the most promising and enjoyable series Telltale are currently releasing. Atlas Mugged killed the pace in its attempts to add some flavour to the wider narrative, but Catch a Ride gets back to what made the first episode such a triumph: pulpy action, funny dialogue and Loader Bot. Lots and lots of Loader Bot.

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