Borderlands 2 Review

...A horse made of diamonds.

When the first Borderlands came out in 2009 it was a surprisingly different kind of game to many shooter fans. The focus on the millions of possible guns, the addictive co-op play, the unique art style and charm. Everything about the game felt refreshingly different, so much so that most forgave it for it's rather bare bones feeling. When Borderlands 2 was announced, many of us wondered exactly what Gearbox had in store for us. In the end the approach to a second go around on Pandora was simple: improve on every single part of the game, while sticking to the formula of the original. The result is perhaps one of the greatest shooter experiences in quite some time.

Despite all the improvements, Borderlands 2 isn't much different from it's predecessor as far as the core experience goes. This game is still all about hunting down as much loot as you can find, and then filling anything that so much as moves with lead. Guns are still the main focus of the loot you'll encounter. The weapons you'll find are visually impressive, and I can't count how many times the little quirks of a new gun I had found made it feel unique to me. There are millions of possible guns you can find, which sounds daunting at first to a new player, but for the most part each class of gun operates the way it should. It's the stats of the various guns that really make each gun unique, and the possibilities are complex enough that it really does feel like there are millions of weapons to find. However, there are plenty of other bits of loot to hunt down. Ammo, grenade mods, character and vehicle skins, class mods, and relics. You will spend most of your time searching for anything shiny and new.


The game world itself is both familiar, and wonderfully different. The games feel is much the same from the quirky humour to the cel shaded graphics. The places you'll visit won't remind you much of the places that you visited when you last were on Pandora though. The environments you'll visit are much more varied than the vast desert that the majority of the first Borderlands took place in. There are frozen wastes, snowy valleys, grassy hills, and even a wildlife preserve to explore and loot thoroughly. The characters too are much improved time around. They aren't just static quest givers now, they engage in combat at times, and have more fleshed out personalities that are supported by excellent voice acting. Several of the characters, particularly the main villain Handsome Jack, rank among the most memorable of recent memory. In fact, some of the dialogue is so hilarious, it can be disappointing when sections runs over each other on occasion. Nevertheless, it almost feels like a whole new world entirely, but  also a more lively and engaging one.

Nowhere are the improvements in Borderlands 2 more apparent though than the story. Borderlands had an interesting idea for a story at the start, but it never really took off. It never seemed like it was going in any one direction and characters felt rather lifeless and dulled overall. Borderlands 2 fixes this by giving the games narrative a much needed dose of direction. The story isn't anything all that different from the norm, and plenty of the plot points have been hit thousands of times before, but the game still tells a story filled with energy and emotion. In fact the story sometimes dips into territory that puts it at odds with the games humour, sometimes making you feel a bit uncomfortable. There was one section in particular where one of the characters is cracking jokes not half a minute after one of the most emotional moments of the entire game. The writing is outstanding for the most part though, especially in the side quests. While the main story missions are good, the side quests are where the games humour and smart script really shine, even if the quests themselves don't deviate much from the standard "go kill this" and "go get me that" formulas.


Creating a character in Borderlands 2 functions much the same as it did in Borderlands. There are four different characters you can choose for your character, and each has a unique skill they can use in combat. Sirens have the phaselock ability that can lock opponents in place for a few seconds, Gunzerkers have the ability to dual wield any two weapons in the game for a short period of time, Assassins can cloak and unleash a surprise attack, and Commandos can set up a turret that can help support your team. The ability trees this time around add some greater depth to how you can utilize your powers, and how you can build your character. Even within the same skill tree, there are options, and they allow you to really tailor your character to your playstyle. You don't even really need to worry about screwing up your class build because you can respec your class for a hardly noticeable amount of money. This really gives you the freedom to experiment and try things out if your not sure about them.

There is yet another component to building your character though. The Badass Rating system. It is a a list of all kinds of challenges for you to take one while your playing the game. Most revolve around things you'll be doing anyway, such as killing enemies with a certain gun, or killing the same kind of enemy so many times. After you complete a challenge, you'll get Badass points and after you quire enough points, you'll earn a token that can be spent on improving your character with a tiny boost to things such as weapon damage, accuracy, max health, shield capacity, reload speed, and others. These boosts aren't huge, but as you accumulate more tokens and add to your boosts, there is definitely a noticeable benefit to them. The best part is, these boosts are essentially unlimited, and benefit every character you create. You can turn the system off if you don't want the boosts, which is a nice touch too.

The gameplay is excellent all around for the most part. The guns all handle great and feel snappy and are just a lot of fun to use. There is a very good mix of enemies to take on with lots of variety in how they fight, whether it's psychos trying to bash you in the face up close, or a nomad with a huge shield. While there's plenty of canon fodder to take out, there are also plenty of enemies that will give you a good fight, and more than a few that will frustrate you to no end. It makes the game feel challenging without ever making it feel completely overwhelming. This makes firefights feel much more intense than they did in the original. The driving component of the game is still not strong enough though. Aside from a few missions that require it's use, they are largely just a means of transportation. That's a shame because the vehicles could be used to really change the flow of gameplay by throwing in a well designed vehicle based section now and again.

While the game does let you play on your own if you want to, Borderlands 2 is built to be experienced with others. Boss battles can often become a real chore on your own, and having backup can give you that extra support to turn a fight around. The combos and tactics that smart players can use to tackle enemy encounters make the game a lot less frustrating than when you are going it alone. It's also just plain fun to slaughter a horde of bandits with your pals.The second wind system that allows you to be revived by others, or to finish an enemy off to get back up, can't be utilized to it's fullest on your own either, and twice I was forced to bleed out because there were no enemies left to kill. There is a matchmaking system if your in a hurry to get into a group but you'll get the most out of co-op if you can team up with friends, that way you can communicate better and divide loot up properly instead of having everyone rush every piece of loot that drops.

Borderlands 2 is everything a sequel should be. It takes the formula that it's predecessor laid down and refines it, keeping all the things that made us fall in love with the original while simultaneously improving on all the things that needed to be improved. The gameplay is still amazing, but small tweaks have made gunfights downright thrilling at times, smarter writing has really fleshed out the world of Pandora and the people who live there, and the overall presentation gives the game a much more complete feeling. It's too easy to get lost for hours and hours wandering around, blasting through areas of enemies on a search for that next bit of loot, and the game offers enough incentive to keep coming back even without the soon-to-come DLC. Whether your looking for a great shooter game, or your looking for a great game to play with friends, Borderlands 2 delivers a great gaming experience.


Extremely Fluffy
Fluff Choice!

What Borderlands 2 Does Well

+ Perfect co-op title
+ Fun to explore and hunt down new guns and skins
+ Great gameplay mechanics
+ Well written and memorable characters and story
+ Plenty of reasons to keep playing

Where Borderlands 2 Fell Flat

- Single player can be very unfriendly
- Vehicles aren't utilized well
- Dialogue sections sometimes overrun each other

Information
Systems: PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3
Genre: First Person Shooter
Developer: Gearbox
Publisher: 2K Games
Rating: M / PEGI 18



Image sources:
#1 - http://www.saint-ism.com/2012/05/collectors-editions-for-borderlands-2-announced/
#2 - http://daxgamer.com/2012/04/new-borderlands-2-screenshots-released/
#3 - http://i1.cdnds.net/12/28/618x347/gaming_borderlands_2_screenshot_8.jpg
#4 - http://4logpc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/borderlands2-2.png