Story
Taking place just 5 years after the original game, the planet of Pandora has seen better days. Handsome Jack, the new president of the Hyperion Corporation, has been traversing all over the place, taking it over for the simple purpose of gaining more power. With the original Vault Hunters taking their fight to Jack, the player steps into the shoes of one of 5 new Vault Hunters (4 main & 1 DLC), who’ve been lured to Pandora by the vault, and Handsome Jack’s hollow promises of wealth & fame. Along their journey, the player uncovers more of Jack’s plot, and affect the lives of many individuals on Pandora.
The story has now become one of the game’s strengths. Whereas the story in the original game set out a basic guideline, Borderlands 2's story is much more fleshed out, and you know what’s going on right (At least what you’re given) from the beginning. I really cannot reveal anything from this game’s story, as there are many twists & turns the player will come across, many of which will completely surprise you.
Settings
The world of Pandora has been greatly fleshed out in Borderlands 2. Gone is the constant theme of barren wastelands (Although there’s still areas like this, just nowhere near as many), and instead we’re given new places to explore! There’s icy coastlines & tundras, lush highlands, and a stylized city modeled after the Hyperion ideas of order, conformity, and cleanliness. These are just a tiny pinch of the many places you travel to, and they’re in a sense characters as well. The graphics have also brought more realism into the areas, but I’ll save that for later.
One important area in Borderlands 2 is Sanctuary. The last stronghold of the resistance (More on this in the “characters” section of this review), the town acts as a Hub for the player to go to gain missions & complete them, restock on health & ammo, etc. The town, despite the hope that the resistance & player brings, has a constant aura of dread & despair coming from the numerous NPCs. Physically, things aren’t that much better, as Sanctuary bears the scars from previous attacks by Hyperion. Things take a turn for the worst about 1/4 to ½ way through the game, but I can’t spoil it for you. Suffice it to say, it completely change the way the town looks.
Characters
Characterization has been greatly improved from the original Borderlands. Although most of the NPCs still aren’t given much, we have characters from the previous game, along with individuals introduced in this game, that are full of character.
For starters, we have the returning cast from B1. There’s Marcus (Who seems to have become more greedy than last time) Scooter (Who’s still a car & engine nut, as well as a perv lacking some brain cells), Mad Moxxi (She’s cleaned up her act somewhat...emphasis on somewhat), Dr Zed (He’s still bonkers), Patricia Tannis (Who’s become more bonkers, if you can believe it), Angel (She has a bigger stake in the story, and to reveal any more would be a crime), and Claptrap (He’s the only robot of his kind left, due to Handsome Jack eliminating the rest, and has become considerably crazy). It’s great to see this cast comeback, as they had some impact on the original story, and they also bring in some familiar elements from the previous game.
In addition to the NPCs that have come back, the original classes you played in Borderlands 1 have returned as NPCs in their own right. Brick still acts like the musclebound brute that likes blowing stuff up, Lilith is the femme fatale, Roland is the no-nonsense leader, and Mordecai still has the loner/killer vibe to him. However, with what’s happened between the two games, they’ve changed. Brick became a bandit king (SMALL SPOILER!!), Lilith dated Roland for some time, and took on a alias to fight the bandits, Roland has become more no-nonsense, enough to the point that it’s startling, and Mordecai has stayed relatively the same, save for the fact that he’s more prone to anger this time around. They’re still familiar to those that player the first game, yet they’ve changed enough so they feel a little different when you encounter them.
Now we turn our attention to the new characters. For starters, there’s Scooter’s sister Ellie. She’s a rather massive girl (She describes herself as a 300-pound girl with a kick ass rack), and like her brother, knows how to work on vehicles & unleash beatdowns. Encountered about 3/4ths into the game, The Sheriff is a woman that nobody messes with, especially since she has total control over the town she lives in, and has ties to Handsome Jack (I’ll leave that up to you). There are also a host of other characters, and while they might not last long, it feels like they have more weight in the game. However, there’s two particular characters that I like very much, and deserve spaces of their own.
First off is Handsome Jack, the president of Hyperion. He me just say that he’s the ultimate asshole: he’s killed men, women, children, exploited Pandora’s resources, and has done ungodly things. Hell, in the opening to the game, he blows up the train you’re on, and continues to taunt you after you’ve survived & attacked his property all over the place. Yeah, this guy is a asshole to the 10th degree, and you want to beat the shit out of him the moment you find out some of the things he’s done! However, in some warped, sick, twisted way, he’s likeable & hilarious. All throughout the game, he taunts you in one manner or another. A lot of the time they’ll make you cringe, but other times they’ll make you laugh. Example:
“Just bought a pony made of diamond, because I’m rich/I’m rackin’ my brain trying to think of a name for that diamond pony I bought. I was gonna call it “Piss-For-Brains” in honor of you, but that just feels immature. Maybe...“Butt Stallion”? Nah, that’s even worse. Tell you what, I’ll give it some more thought.”
The other character I really like, is Tiny Tina. Tiny Tina is...well...Iiiiiii...Uh....just look at the link below to see why:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeqYf70fC2E
Gameplay
Just like the first game, Borderlands 2 is a straight up action game that parallels B1. We’ve still got the run & gun, the guns themselves, the driving with vehicles, and the light RPG elements. However, there have been an incredible amount of changes.
For starters are new the classes. Despite sharing similar themes with the previous classes, these new one have been given more depth & abilities. They are the:
Salvador the Gunzerker (Heavy Ranged Offense)
Maya the Siren (“Spellcasting” & Control)
Axton the Commando (Offense & Defense)
Zer0 the Assassin (Melee & Ranged Offense/Stealth)
Gaige the Mechromancer (Summoning & Ranged Offense/Limited Melee) (DLC Character)
These classes also have new abilities. Salvador can gunzerk, brandishing two guns (Any two guns, by the way), Maya can phaselock a single target, taking that target out of the fight, Axton can deploy a turret the shoots 360 degrees, and gets upgraded over time, Zero can enter a cloaked mode, gaining increased damage & stealth, while Gaige can summon Deathtrap, a giant floating robot that takes out enemies. The characters also have increased skill options: whereas the original classes had 7 skills in 3 trees, the new classes have 11 skills in 3 trees. Because of the expanded skill options, this allows for more variability & flexibility when it comes to play-styles.
If I can make a complaint about the classes, it would be towards Zer0. Style wise, he’s a badass. Dressed in a black ninja-like outfit, he wears a helmet that completely conceals his face, and speaks almost completely in haiku. Mechanically, he’s still a badass. He can become a master sniper, or a silent melee warrior, shifting in & out of visibility. The problem with Zer0 is twofold: he really can’t do ranged & melee at the same time well (You really have to stick with either or), and he feels very out of place (Much like the Witch Doctor from Diablo 3. Probably should have talked about that in the review). I’m about halfway through Zer0, and I should have him through his first run-through in a few days.
The guns in Borderlands 2 have also received a bit of a makeover, both physically & mechanically. For example, here’s a look at a Vladov machinegun from the original game:
Now here’s a Vladov machinegun from this game:
As I stated in my Borderlands review, you really couldn’t tell the difference between the manufactures as far as physical looks are concerned. Within this game, the physical looks have been redesigned for each company, given the guns more character & flavor. The mechanics of each manufacturer (Some of them, at least) have also been redesigned as well, adding yet more character. These changes include:
Jakobs: Fires as fast as you pull the trigger (Still keeps the high damage theme from B1)
Tediore: Instead of reloading, the gun is thrown away & explodes like a grenade (Still keeps the fast reload speeds from B1)
Vladof: High Fire Rates
Torgue: Fires Explosive Rounds
Dahl: Burst Fire While Zoomed In (Still keeps the Recoil Reduction them from B1)
Hyperion: Increased Accuracy while the trigger is held down
Maliwan: All Guns have Elemental Properties (Fire, Acid, Electricity, Slag)
Bandit: High Magazine Capacity
As you can tell, there’s 3 companies missing (S&S Munitions, Atlas, Eiridian). Atlas is gone because of the previous Vault Hunters in the original game, S&S Munitions have been replaced by the Bandit “Company”, and the Eiridian weapons have been replaced by E-Tech guns (Spread across most of the companies, E-Tech weapons have varied abilities at the cost of increased ammo consumption. Unlike the original Eiridian guns, E-Tech weapons don’t have infinite/regenerating ammo).
There’s also been a new damage type added, and that’s Slag. Slag works a little different from the other damage types: when an enemy is affected by Slag, they take double damage from non-Slag weapons. This damage type can be found across the weapon companies (Save for Torgue & Jakobs), and adds a new strategic element to combat.
The only thing that really hasn’t changed much is the driving. Although there are some more driving-oriented side quests, the vehicles haven’t been fleshed out. If I have one other complaint about the vehicles is that they seem to bounce off certain physical objects more so than in the original game.
A major addition to the gameplay is Badass Rank. Acting as a reward system, Badass Rank allows the player to gain rewards by completing challenges scattered all over the land. By increasing your Badass Rank, you gain Badass Tokens that let you put them into stats that increase over time (Gun Damage, Increased Accuracy, etc). These bonuses affect all your characters, and are infinite, allowing you to gain bonuses over & over. So as not to be overpowering, the bonuses you get from the Badass Tokens decrease overtime.
Another addition to Borderlands 2 is the Quick Change system. Acting like a improved version of the New-U Stations in the original Borderlands, the Quick Change machines allow you to reset your skill points, change your name, and stylize your character. Stylizing your character has been overhauled: instead of just picking colors, you now have multiple heads to choose from, as well as skin colors that affect the entire character. Some of these heads & skins are found as loot, but other you acquire through challenges, and special ones can be obtained if you have a saved file from the original game. I haven’t used the Quick Change system much, but it’s definitely welcome.
We’re also introduced to a new currency; Eridium. Although it’s rare, Eridium allows you to increase how much ammo you hold, how big you stash is (Quick note: your maximum inventory space is 27 slots instead of the maximum inventory in B1, making it harder to bring along a big arsenal), and how big your bank is (A storage container that lets you hold space weapons, shields, etc). Despite being rare, Eridium isn’t so rare that you hardly find it, and you can increase things slowly over time. Eridium is also needed to gain access to rare, after game bosses, when you find their lairs. Unfortunately, if you die, you need to use Eridium again to get back inside. If you’re low on Eridium before you go in, you’re making a mistake.
Perhaps one of the most important additions is Claptrap’s Secret Stash (It’s not all that secret, but I’ll leave that one up to you). This addition allows you to store items, and let’s your other characters grab said items from the stash to use. The only downside to the stash is that there’s exactly four slots, and makes deciding what items go into the stash somewhat challenging.
Graphics & Sounds
Running off of the Unreal 3 engine, Borderlands 2 looks fundamentally similar to B1. It still has the original game’s color scheme, but it doesn’t have as much of the previous game’s cel-shaded look, and appears a little more streamlined & smooth. Because of this, the various environments feel more believe in addition to looking more believable (Even the city of Opportunity, despite being over the top, looks like something that might exist in our world).
The sound system hasn’t been advanced much when compare to the original game, but that’s not necessarily bad. It sound very much like B1, but it includes new music, new sound effects for the enemies & guns, and even brings back some familiar voices actors to reprise their originals roles in the first game.
Overall & Rating
Borderlands 2 blows the original game out of the water, and sends it hurtling into space. Despite having the driving still underdeveloped & a little wonky sometimes, everything positive about the first game has been ramped up past 11, and the bad things have been thrown into the garbage. There’s a better story & characters, expanded world, improved gameplay, and it maintains the same graphics & sound system that gave the original Borderlands it’s iconic look & feel. Kudos to Gearbox for pumping out a damn good game!
Borderlands 2 gets a 9.5 out of 10.
See you all later this week, when we’ll take a look at one of the unholiest Christmas specials ever to be made. Until then, stay Otaku!
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