The original Borderlands was an expected hit for both developer Gearbox Software and publisher 2K Games, who released the game to little fanfare in the fall of 2009. But by combining the appeal of first-person shooters (lots of bullets and action) with the intricacies of modern role-playing adventures (completing missions, finding loot), Borderlands quickly grew into a wildly popular shooter, something four great DLC's (highlighted by the massive Secret Army of General Knoxx) and awesome online co-op helped grow.
With the release of Borderlands 2, the big questions (for myself, at least) were in the details. Would Gearbox be able to balance out the classes a bit and not have such a stinker of a final boss, or would the game be too concerned with new mechanics and systems to improve on the shortcomings of the original? Thankfully, Borderlands 2 falls firmly into the first category, improving on just about every aspect of its predecessor, without trying to reinvent the wheel along the way. In other words, be prepared to get lost in Pandora again for a long, long time.
gameplay
In just about every fashion, Borderlands 2 is an improvement on the original – something that shows right away in the game's storytelling. It's certainly not going to win any awards, but the story of Handsome Jack and the rebellion gathering on Pandora certainly gives the actions in the world a lot more weight. Players control one of four new characters, who become involved in the resistance against the Hyperion corporation, which is being led by many familiar faces from the first game. If anything, it's a little odd how much time Borderlands 2 spends defining the characters from the original, who we never really learned much about the first time around (and by construction, fails to characterize the new set of playable characters).
The story definitely has a lot more momentum and cohesion than the first – and yes, has a much better finale than the original – but more importantly, it embraces its eccentricities this time around. Bits of dialogue from the various minor characters are more amusing and much sharper, for the most part - characters like Tiny Tina being the rare exclusion, of course. Claptrap is as funny as ever, and players who played the first to death will be happy to see the presence of known faces like Moxxi and Scooter hanging around home base (another smart decision in the sequel was to bring many of the big characters together in one space, instead of spreading them out across Pandora, making for lots of long, long travels between missions).
Thankfully, Borderlands 2 doesn't try to mess with the formula of what made the first great, instead tweaking and making small change to an already impressive system. Players can still equip four weapon slots, with special slots for shield's and modifiers like relics – and have actually added to it, adding tons of new grenade and class mods for players to pick up and tweak their builds with. Upgrades to ammo and backpack size have been mapped to a new eridium currency system, which – like everything else – is scattered around the world of Pandora, randomly dropping from skag piles or dead Buzzards. The variation in character builds is really impressive, and the ability to respec with a simple visit to the New-U in the local town makes changing character builds on the fly a cakewalk.
Of course, Borderlands is known for one thing: loot, and lots of it. Borderlands 2 certainly doesn't disappoint: the sheer amount of weapons, class mods, and like scattered about Pandora is amazing. Fans of Diablo can relate: there's nothing better than fighting off a pack of rabid enemies, just to pick up that one piece of rare treasure waiting afterward. In Borderlands 2, the millions of procedurally-generated weapons means players never know what they might get – and that's what makes all the game's boss battles so exciting.
For a game of its scale and size (I'd estimate the game world is about three times the size of the original, not including the DLC's), Borderlands 2 does a great job keeping tasks streamlined in the on-screen display used to manage inventory and explore the map. Many of the side quests in Borderlands 2 will have optional bonus objectives, which provides some variety to the game's typical 'go kill stuff and complete this task' form of missions – though I will say Borderlands 2 does a better job integrating these missions into the main storyline. It's still unclear at times where certain waypoints are on the undetailed map, but it's nothing compared to the hours I spent in the original trying to find silly locations on the map. The same streamlined feeling goes into the multiplayer construction, which seamlessly lets players host or join games quickly, and without game-stopping stutters or frame rate changes.
graphics
I loved the cel-shaded look to the original Borderlands, which is maintained and enhanced in the sequel with new enemy and world designs. The most noticeable change is in the game's color palette, which is much more vibrant and varied than the drab areas spread about the original. Of course, the weapons and their reloading animations are still a highlight, giving every gun it's own sleek style and form of operation, but doesn't really show us anything that feels a lot different than what we saw in the original. Even with all the bullets and enemies flying around in four-player online co-op, the framerate generally tends to hold up, except in the most heated moments of action, where the sheer amount of animations, colors and text flooding the screen can cause the occasional stutter.
sound
Like the graphics, the sound of Borderlands 2 is similar, but enhanced, from the original. There is a lot more dialogue this time around, although it can be argued how effective the actual jokes and words coming out the character's mouths are. Sure, many of them say a few entertaining things, but there's no personality in the character's voices beyond the lines, which leaves them feeling flat at one-dimensional (even for video game characters). Of course, there is a new soundtrack, which seems to be a little more electronica/dubstep heavy than the first, specifically in boss battles. Gun sounds are also all very similar, and at times, I found myself turning down the volume to avoid the repetitive, blaring sounds of weapon fire, which drowns out the soundtrack a little too often for my tastes.
replay value
Finishing the game (while completing some, but not all of the side missions) takes about 20-30 hours. Completing the game unlocks True Vault Hunter mode (the equivalent of New Game +). There's also some hidden optional bosses throughout the game, too, like Saturn and Terramorpheus - an enemy designed to be fought by four players at level 50 (the current level cap), and definitely the game's biggest challenge thus far. And if three playthroughs - a 2.5 option opens up after the second completion, with every enemy in the game being scaled to the player's level - with multiple character classes isn't enough, Borderlands 2 is going to receive a similar DLC treatment to the original, with four packs being released through June of 2013, which promise to add even more content to a game stuffed with side missions and easter eggs to unearth (including hidden homages to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Minecraft, among many, many others).
bottom line
Instead of trying to create something dramatically new and different from what made the game so popular, Borderlands 2 feels like a natural progression of the ideas, systems, and plot from the first game. Some might fault it for playing it a little safe, but the tweaks and additions across the board make it even more fun to play and rewarding than the original. One of the best releases of the year, and one of the most addicting games I've ever played, regardless of genre.
Review by: Randy Dankievitch
Posted: 12/10/2012
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Gameplay:
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9.0 |
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Graphics:
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9.0 |
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Sound:
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7.5 |
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Replay Value:
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10 |
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Bottom Line:
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9.0 |
