Borderlands - New Reviews for The Zombie Island of Doctor Ned

Gamespot and Shaqnews have reviewed the new DLC for Borderlands. All of these reviews are based on the console versions of the game. The PC version has not been released yet.

Gamespot gave it a 8.5/10. They really liked the additional content. One thing they did not like was that the difficulty was based on the story progression instead of the character's level. Aside from that complaint they were very pleased with the game:

As you blast your way through quests and mow down hordes of the undead, you'll be treated to the steady stream of loot you've come to expect from Borderlands. To get loot and face enemies commensurate with your level, it's important to keep the following in mind: The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned scales everything according to your progress through the main story of Borderlands, not according to your character's level. So before you head to Jakob's Cove, take stock of your situation. If the enemies and the level of your current main story quest are about on par with your character's level, then you'll find a good challenge and good loot on the Zombie Island. If you've been spending time leveling but not advancing the story (that is, by doing lots of side quests or playing cooperatively with someone at a different point in the story than you), you may be overleveled for your current story progress. This could make Zombie Island too easy and make your loot haul unsatisfying. You'll get the most out of it if your character level is on par with your story progress, but, of course, once you complete Zombie Island and go back to your campaign, you'll likely be a bit overleveled. Still, it's better to tackle this content straight on and be overleveled when you return to the main game. Aside from getting more bang for your buck, you'll get to experience boss battles and set-piece battles as you were meant to.

Shaqnews did not score the review. They enjoyed the humor and style of the DLC. Their largest complaint wasn't from what was changed, but what had remained the same like larger enemies getting stuck in corners and the level cap remaining unchanged. In the end they felt these were small annoyances compared to what the addictional content had to offer:

It also delivers a new story, unsurprisingly centered around zombies and littered with references to everything from Pumpkinhead to Scooby Doo. And the new dialog, be it the warnings against zombie contact that loop over the town's announcement system or Claptrap's various quips, are easily the game's most entertaining offerings.

Of course, if you didn't enjoy Borderlands or were hoping for something radically different here, then you're bound to be disappointed. The structure and mechanics remain mostly unchanged--travel to the waypoint and kill anything on the way.