I’ll be the first to admit that I have truly fallen in love with Gearbox’s BORDERLANDS 2. This is equally impressive as while I did enjoy the first BORDERLANDS I did grow tired of it mid way into the game and I really didn’t care of the majority of the DLC, which lead to my skeptism towards the sequel which I’m glad I completely ignored and picked it up. Speaking of which shouts out to Getgamesgo.com for letting me pick up BorderLands 2 + the first DLC for a steal (25% off) where my old faithful, Greenmangaming.com was having site issues and basically won’t allow anyone to purchase it for the better part of the day.
Before I go any further I can’t stress enough that this is not a review of the game. We don’t do reviews of games around these parts since there’s only 100+ websites that cover that scene. What we do is speak about the game or likes / dislikes, etc.. Now like my fellow editors here I am mainly a PC gamer so almost 85% games played are done so on a top of the line PC with all the bells and whistles; Nvidia GTX 680, 16GB of DDR3, Solid State Drives, basically I play it with it looking as good as possible. PhysX is a must for this game , if you got an Nvidia card make sure you have the latest drivers to get full advantage if you’re gaming on the PC. AMD fans fear not as you can also enable the PhysX function via unofficial means. Check the net, it’s out there.
Got it? Good, let’s going on shall we.
Borderlands 2 takes place 5 years after the events of Borderlands which was when the previous vault hunters finally gained access to the “Vault”. However not knowing what they actually found they were pretty much disappointed on not finding riches as they originally thought…. or did they? Unbeknownst to them they actually exposed the planet of Pandora to the most valuable treasure of all, Eridian. However a low-life named “Handsome Jack” has taken upon himself to take credit for the release of the Eridian, self proclaimed himself the owner of the “Vault” and has taken over the Hyperion Corporation. That ain’t good for the Pandora, not one bit. Oh did I mention that “Handsome Jack” will be trying his best to get you killed by either bribing others to do his dirty work or by deploying his massive forces to wipe you off the face of Pandora. What’s he up too? Well vault hunter, that’s what you’re there to find out!
Borderlands 2 introduces us to 4 characters; Axton the Commando, Zer0 the Assassin, Maya the Siren (similar to Lilith from Borderlands) and Salvador the Gunzerker that has a HYPER obsession with guns.
Gameplay-wise Borderlands 2 plays exactly like Borderlands however it seems that Gearbox has tweaked the formula. Combat feels tighter and has that “Oh-shit” factor especially early on. Speaking of guns, this game has millions BAZILLIONS of them, I’m not kidding. The combination of guns found in this game will make even the NRA smile. Even better is that these massive amount of guns are warranted since many enemies in the game have a counter which forces you to adapt. For example if you’re against enemies that have shields you can swap to a shock elemental gun to first take own the shields and then switch to a fire elemental gun to take them down or if you’re up against a mech then you’ll be happy to know that a corrosive elemental gun will make short work of them.
With 4 different classes to play everyone is sure to find a style that suits them so there’s fun for everyone. But you aren’t limited to
set abilities or a play-style, nope. This is a RPG at heart and here you get to define your character. You choose the weapons, your skill sets and attributes that your character possesses. You tweak em’ to your hearts content and when you’re either decided that you screwed up or you want to try something else you can reset em’ to create a completely different build.
The enemies are also colorful, they all aren’t just swaps of other characters. Not only are they fun to fight against (especially when the majority of them say something totally random) but they’re interesting. From the bandits, soldiers, and mechs. Also seems like Gearbox has ramped up the AI to make things interesting. Wounded enemies try to escape imminent death while others while try to help escape by charging at you or flanking you. It’s things like this that truly liven up the game and makes it stand out rather than being another first person shooter set in an apocalyptic environment.
You’ll even see the return of the original characters from Borderlands in NPC form; Roland, Brick, Lilith and Mordecai. No word if they would be playable in a future DLC.
But where the game truly shines is it’s Co-Op! While you can and should play this game as a single player, this game cries to be played with you and 3 of your friends. While other games simply toss C0-Op into the game as an extra feature that only allows you to do a few levels that aren’t story specific at all, Borderlands 2 allows you to play the entire game in tandem with friends. And if you’re playing Borderlands 2 on a console then you get an added function; Split-screen Co-Op. Console gamers will be able to Co-Op on a single console via a split-screen mode that allows two players to go at it or via online four players in either a horizontal or vertical view. Not only is it more fun playing Co-Op but you also get more experience points, the enemies are tougher and better loot drops. It’s a win / win for everyone.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a-UsyryG7c[/youtube]Borderlands 2 is a masterpiece from Gearbox, one that definitely erases the disaster that was Duke Nukem Forever and clearly shows that given the time Gearbox can put out the hits as they definitely aren’t a one trick pony studio. I am 99% satisfied with Borderlands 2.
What I didn’t like? The floaty jumps! What the heck is up with the floaty jumps. Jumping seems to be like you’re hovering for several seconds, something I really dislike. Not just in this game but in all games, unless it’s a platformer. I hate it Virtua Fighter and I hate it here. But other than that I love Borderlands 2.
Borderlands 2 GOTY? Perhaps but there’s still tons of great games coming out in 2012 but Borderlands 2 is definitely in the running.
Should you get Borderlands 2? Well if you like maddening non-stop action, a huge weapon selection, a insane companion (Claptrap) and endless Co-Op with friends then Borderlands 2 is a no brainer. Who shouldn’t get Borderlands 2, anyone who doesn’t like fun. Get it, load in and kick “Handsome Jack’s” ass!
“Pandora’s Changed. Are you ready?”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCWJUSulnro[/youtube]
