It’s hard to believe it was 2009 last time we had a brand new Borderlands game to play. Three years may not seem like such a long wait for a sequel, but in a business like the video game industry, where franchises like Call of Duty and Assassins Creed are released on an annual basis, it comes as a welcome surprise when developers take more than twelve months to put out a sequel.
Even though it was only officially announced last August, it was always a sure bet that we would get a return trip to Borderland‘s territory. Borderlands 2 picks up directly where the last game left off, in the western/steam-punk planet Pandora. The planet has been given an extensive makeover however, both in technical and storytelling terms.
One of the biggest problems with the first Borderlands was the lack of variety in the landscape. Pandora certainly had western influences but that was about it, with gameplay mostly confined to dusty fields and canyons, save for the occasional indoor factory. While Borderlands 2 does still retain most of those tumbleweeds, Pandora is a much bigger place than it was three years ago.
At only about three hours in there is already more location variety than there was in the entirety of the first Borderlands, with icy tundras and lush caverns, which matched with the unique art style of Borderlands 2 makes it easily one of the best looking games you’ll play all year.
The visuals aren’t the only aspect of Borderlands that has gotten a major overhaul though. Anyone who played the first Borderlands would tell you the story was borderline non-existent (see what I did there?). The first game had something to do with a mysterious vault and four bounty hunters (the four playable characters) were in search of.
In Borderlands 2, the effects of the vault having been opened isn’t so much a problem, but who has taken the credit for opening it is. A mysterious man known only as “Handsome Jack” has reaped the benefits of the vault, and along with the Hyperion Corporation holds a steel grip over the planet. It’s up to four new vault hunters, along with the characters from the previous game in cameo appearances, to put a stop to the tyranny.
If any of this sounds heavy-handed it is easily outweighed by the games great, bizarre, and sometimes very dark sense of humor. Claptrap, the comic-relief robot sidekick from the first Borderlands, has a bigger presence here, as his sense of humor seems to have been kicked up a notch. The robot doesn’t get all the punch lines though.
It seems every person living on Pandora has aspirations to be a stand up comedian, including the main villain, who has some of the best lines in the game. If this sounds like a criticism it certainly isn’t, as it’s a welcome change of pace from all of the overly serious first person shooters that plague store shelves.
The fact that most of the changes are cosmetic in Borderlands 2 is a testament to how great the core gameplay already was in the first Borderlands. While there are certainly tweaks here and there and the vehicle controls have received a much needed tune up, the FPS/RPG hybrid gameplay is just as satisfying and addictive as it was before.
Much like the first game, Borderlands 2 is a breath of fresh air in a crowded genre. Blending solid gameplay that is just as fun from the beginning of the game to the rest of the 20+ hours of side missions and a hilarious, warped sense of humor that is unseen in other games of its caliber, Borderlands 2 is easily a must buy. When you have character named “Loggins” who gives you a side mission that is a direct reference to the volleyball scene in Top Gun, you know you have a winner on your hands.