Borderlands 2

By Yusuf M.
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Grand Master

Yusuf M. Veteran

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235751858.png

Developer: Gearbox Software
Publisher: 2K Games
Engine: Modified Unreal Engine 3
Release Date: NA: September 18, 2012
Genre: First-person Shooter

Description:

Borderlands 2 is a science fiction?based first-person shooter with role-playing-elements and the sequel to 2009's Borderlands. It is currently under development by Gearbox Software for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms. On 22nd February 2012, 2K Games confirmed the release date of September 18, 2012 in North America and internationally on September 21, 2012. [Source]


Story:


Setting
Five years have passed since the events of Borderlands, when the four vault hunters exposed the secrets of the Eridian Vault. A man called Handsome Jack has taken credit for the vault hunters' actions and claimed the wealth of the Vault, allowing him to take over the Hyperion Corporation and effectively gain dominion over Pandora. Promising to clean the lawless planet up, Handsome Jack embarks on a campaign to exterminate Pandora's existing colonist population and industrialize the planet. The main symbol of Handsome Jack's rule is a massive supply base built in the shape of an "H" on Pandora's moon. The base is always visible, and can deploy Hyperion forces to any point on Pandora.

Plot
Borderlands 2 begins with the player fighting to the death to win a priceless cache of loot in a gladiatorial tournament run by Handsome Jack for his personal amusement. The player succeeds and gains notoriety, but Handsome Jack sees this as a threat to his popularity with the people. At the tournament's end he denies the reward and leaves the player for dead in a tundra. The mysterious Guardian Angel from the first game then contacts the player and explains that Handsome Jack must be killed, directing the player to rescue the four original vault hunters from Hyperion's clutches to accomplish this.

Characters
Like the first game, there are four playable characters in the game, though the characters are all new. The first new character is Salvador, nicknamed "Gunzerker" who resembles Brick from the first game in abilities, but also can dual-wield any combination of guns. The second character is a siren named Maya, similar to Lilith from the first game, but with unknown abilities. The other two characters are a soldier-like character called Axton and an assassin-like character called Zero. Not much is known about them at this time apart from their names and looks.. Non-playable characters Guardian Angel and Claptrap return to aid the player during quests. The four characters from the first game, Roland, Lilith, Brick, and Mordecai, all return in the form of non-player characters that the new characters will encounter on Pandora or in various missions. [Source]


Gameplay:


Borderlands 2 builds upon the gameplay elements introduced in its predecessor. It is a first-person shooter that includes character-building elements found in role-playing games, leading Gearbox to call the game a "role-playing shooter". At the start of the game, players select one of four new characters, each with a unique special skill and with proficiencies with certain weapons. From then on, players take on quests assigned through non-player characters or from bounty boards, each typically rewarding the player with experience points, money, and sometimes a reward item. Players earn experience by killing foes and completing in-game challenges (such as getting a certain number of kills using a specific type of weapon). As they gain levels from experience growth, players can then allocate skill points into a skill tree that features three distinct specializations of the base character.


Returning gameplay features from the first game will include the unique, cartoon-esque cel-shading graphic style, 3-branch skill trees, class-mods, and four-player online cooperative modes. New features include a more expansive and customizable weapons system, reworked four-seat drift-able vehicles and vehicle physics elements, and dynamic quest systems. For example, taking too much time to save a friend in a quest may result in their death and the failure of the quest, which will affect the story as the player progresses. Technically, the game world will be all connected, rather than loadable levels for each region, allowing accurate viewing of the entire world from a given point rather than the first game's premade "Skybox".

In addition, the AI system has been reworked for the game. Non-enemies will populate the game world more often and will travel around different locations depending on the time. Enemy AI will encourage teamwork, such as flanking, as well as taking cover when wounded, though lower level enemies like Psychos will still embrace the mentality of, "Wow that's a gun! I want my face in front of it," according to Gearbox VP Steve Gibson. Shooting enemies will stun or cripple them depending on where they are shot. For a change, enemies will be intelligent enough to climb and traverse difficult terrain to pursue the player. Enemies will also be able to interact with each other. For example, certain enemies can heal their teammates, boost their shields for defense, or use them as shields to protect themselves. [Source]


PC-specific features:


From: http://www.borderlands2.com/loveletter

  • FOV slider
  • 100% mouse-usable menus/mouse wheel scrolling
  • Remappable keybindings for keyboard/mouse
  • PC-specific UI
  • Native multiplayer matchmaking
  • Push-to-talk
  • Logitech keyboard support
  • LAN support (including offline mode)
  • Control pad support
  • Integrated v-sync option
  • Support for higher resolutions
  • Mouse smoothing options (can be disabled completely)
  • Cloud save support
  • Achievement support
  • Friends list support
  • No port forwarding required

 


Links:



Screenshots:


borderlands-2-20111219023747842.jpg
borderlands-2-20120103104554644.jpg


Videos:



 

  • Brandon H, Emily_June and Charisma
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Lovell

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I'm hopping they make the unique skill a bit better, been able to drop a turret every 2 mins was a bit pointless, the guns were also ridiculous 1 minute the SMG would be OP and the Rifles would be underpowered and useless and then towards the end the rifles were OP and SMGs and snipers became useless.

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Grand Master

Charisma Veteran

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I'm hopping they make the unique skill a bit better, been able to drop a turret every 2 mins was a bit pointless, the guns were also ridiculous 1 minute the SMG would be OP and the Rifles would be underpowered and useless and then towards the end the rifles were OP and SMGs and snipers became useless.

I don't know about the last part--I played as the siren, and she was a hard character to start--I played co-op with a Roland and he was much tougher at the beginning. I kept dying. However, as we got above level 25 or 30, things became more even, and now I would say she (and her SMGs, combined with her skill bonuses) far outdo the soldier. There are so many factors that contribute to the effectiveness of the weapons--plus, the difference in how the characters start out and develop is all part of the fun.

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Grand Master

Yusuf M. Veteran

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I really hope they add an FOV option that sticks. In Borderlands, you need to edit a file to change the FOV and it resets if you start the game again or enter a vehicle in co-op mode.

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Grand Master

Jeston Veteran

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More info about the Siren, Commando, and Assassin:

Maya (Siren) - http://pc.ign.com/articles/121/1219322p1.html

Axton (Commando) - http://pc.ign.com/articles/121/1219370p1.html

Zer0 (Assassin) - http://pc.ign.com/articles/121/1219414p1.html

And in case you missed the Gunzerker info from a couple months ago:

Salvador (Gunzerker) - http://pc.ign.com/articles/121/1215312p1.html

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  • 3 weeks later...
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paxa

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man...the love letter....oh man i've been laughing my arse off with it....and i've been playing it again and i would like to get my hands on a helfire or cobalt volcano for sh** and giggles...but i can't seem to get my hands on either of them

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  • 4 weeks later...
Grand Master

Jeston Veteran

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...

Some of the game's special edition premiums?which the studio had put up to a suggestion box last year?also were revealed. There will be two tiers of special editions. The "Deluxe Vault Hunters Edition" at $99, gets a Marcus Kincaid bobble head. He's the weapons supplier with the lothario accent who narrates the first game. The second, an "Ultimate Loot Chest Edition" ($149) delivers you a stylized Borderlands loot chest with all the goodies packed inside. It doesn't open up with hydraulics?it's more like a jewelry box, but it matches a community suggestion as best it could. More goodies and premiums in both editions will be announced later.

xlarge.jpg

Via Kotaku

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