It’s been a while since we last saw Rhys and Fiona in action in Tales from The Borderlands; Episode 2: Atlas Mugged. Much too long in fact, in all honesty, but Episode 3: Catch A Ride more than makes up for it with its action-packed opening which sets the bar at a height that it never dips below.

Honestly, this Episode is one of the funniest gaming experiences I’ve ever had. Each amazing character is set up fantastically, and each one adds something to the story. Within the opening minutes, all of the major players from the previous two Episodes are brought together in a scene that is both hilarious and exciting. However, this did raise an issue; due to the length of time between episodes, I had completely forgotten the events of the previous two episodes, and so I had to look things up online to refresh my memory.

If I was forced to pick out one aspect of Tales From The Borderlands that stands out above the rest, I’d say it’s the masterful way that Telltale have utilised the humour found in the main Borderlands games. Telltales have got it down to a fine art; Gortys, the new robotic character, fills the void left by the exclusion of Claptrap. A particularly funny moment with Gortys involves a dead body and the robot’s inability to understand the concept of death. I won’t spoil it for you, but it had me giggling for a few minutes, even after the story had moved on.

Unfortunately, there’s still little in the way of story progression. Events move onwards, but at a pace so slow that, at the end of Catch A Ride, you’ll likely say to yourself “Oh, that’s it?” It really is unfortunate, but it comes with the territory of Telltale’s episodic format. However, what Catch A Ride lacks in quantity, t more than makes up for in quality. The dialogue is expertly-written and acted out, which is a lesson in comedy that many other developers could learn from.

Thought, one little thing that bothered me were the little stutters in between scenes (a problem that plagues games from Telltale). They were jarring, taking away from an otherwise great episode. Often these little stutters were long enough for me to fear the game had crashed, as everything onscreen freezes momentarily whilst the audio continues to play. Honestly, though, it’s something that could easily be fixed, but for now it is very easily ignored; especially now you know that it doesn’t mean you’re going to have to restart your console. Wait a moment, and you’ll be right back in the action.

The best moments come at the beginning and end of the Episode. Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say that Catch A Ride appears to be the episode that ties together the earlier and later episodes, which is disappointing as it has the makings of the typical greatness that Telltale usually achieves. Still, it is a very enjoyable experience at the halfway-point for Tales From The Borderlands, and things seem to be just getting even better from the previous two episodes. It’s going to be interesting to see where Telltale takes it from here and I can’t wait to find out.

• Episode One: Zero Sum Review
• Episode Two: Atlas Mugged Review

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