In less than 2 months after its release in October 2009, Borderlands sold over 2 million copies. Why? Because it was the perfect blend of what gamers wanted. An open world to explore littered with creative enemies, countless guns to use, interesting characters, and humor throughout it all. We didn’t know what to expect when Borderlands 2 was revealed. How do you improve on a game that was so close to the peak of perfection? Borderlands 2 answers that question in the games first few minutes.
Borderlands was, and still is hailed as a great game, but it did have its weak points. One of the biggest complains was the utter lack of story. You are a Vault Hunter on a planet named Pandora. Now, go do side quests until the end of the game. The sequel gave us an amazing retake on that. Within seconds of starting Borderlands 2, you know exactly what the point of your journey is.
You are a new Vault Hunter, come to Pandora to find the new rumored Vault. Upon landing on the planet, however, you are nearly killed by the Hyperion Cooperation’s President, Handsome Jack. You then set off on a quest to overthrow the madman, and save the people of Pandora from the horrors about to be unleashed by him, (Handsome Jack). And along the way they even explain elements of the first game, opening your eyes to what really happened the first time you visited Pandora.
The characters stay more or less the same as the first game in the sense that they only talk when they’re taunting random enemies. However, the new team of four plays very differently from the Vault Hunters of old.You can choose from Zer0, the assassin and master of up close/long range combat, Axton, the commando with the powerhouse turret for support, Maya, the siren with the ability to control the flow of the battle field or play the medic, and Salvador, the gunzerker who focuses on pointing his guns at anything that moves and mowing them down. Each gives the game a completely different feel, and only in co-op do you see how well the characters play off of each other.
The game also boosts a long list of improvements and updates to some of the old systems. The menus are new and improved for streamline weapon/shield checking and swapping, easy quest selecting, and a new system for the in game challenges. Upon completing any of the challenges, ranging from killing a certain number of enemies, to discovering hidden symbols around the world, you are given badass points. These points level up your badass rank, and whenever it levels fully, you get a point to spend on permanent stat boosts that carry across all your characters and games. It gives a second layer of game play that I found to be very addictive.
Borderlands 2 immerses you in the world of Pandora the second you start the game, and gives you a crazy amount of guns to protect yourself with. From the creative ways to blast through enemies to the humor that inhabits every line of dialogue, it delivers everything it promised gamers, and then some. If you haven’t bought it, I recommend getting it immediately. If you already have it, I’d say it’s time to get back to it because this is a game that should not be missed or neglected. It should be held close and have sweet nothings whispered into its ear before you tear across its open world, blazing everything in your path.
Gamenomics & Comicology 