by Nick Growall
Staff writer
Fall is upon us, and with it comes a slew of AAA titles for video game enthusiasts. The first of these releases is the highly anticipated space western “Borderlands 2,” released Tuesday, Sept. 18.
For those unfamiliar with the franchise, “Borderlands” is a hybrid of game genres. At its heart, the “Borderlands” series is a first-person shooter, but what makes it stand out from it contemporaries is its addition of character-building elements found in role- playing games leading developer Gearbox to call the game a “role-playing shooter”
A sequel to 2009’s “Borderlands,” which has thus far sold 4.5 million units worldwide, “Borderlands 2” gameplay is similar to its predecessor in that players start by selecting one of four characters, each with proficiencies with certain weapons.
From then on, players take on quests assigned through non-player characters or from bounty boards, each quest typically rewarding the player with experience points, money and sometimes a reward item.
Players earn experience by killing both human and non-human foes and completing in-game challenges. As they gain levels from experience, players can then allocate skill points to a skill tree that features three distinct specializations of the base character.
In terms of story, the events of the game take place five years after the events of “Borderlands” when vault hunters expose the secrets of the Eridian Vault.
A man called Handsome Jack has taken credit for the vault hunters’ actions and claimed the wealth of the Vault, allowing him to take over the powerful Hyperion Corporation.
In doing so, he embarks on a campaign to exterminate Pandora’s existing colonist population and industrialize the planet.
The player gets to choose from one of four new characters to rise up against Handsome Jack and his plans for domination. The characters are gunzerker Salvador, a siren named Maya (who can suspend enemies in midair), the commando Axton (who relies on turrets to decimate his enemies) and the assassin Zer0 (who can make decoys of himself)
The four characters from the first game, Roland, Lilith, Brick and Mordecai, all return as non-playable characters that are encountered on various missions throughout the game.
Some noticeable differences in this sequel will be in the reworked Artificial Intelligence system. According to an interview by Gamespot.com with Gearbox Vice-President Steve Gibson, non-enemies will populate the game world more often and will travel around different locations depending on the time.
Enemy AI will encourage teamwork, such as flanking, as well as taking cover when wounded, though lower level enemies like Psychos will still embrace the mentality of, “Wow, that’s a gun! I want my face in front of it.”
Enemies will also be intelligent enough to climb and traverse difficult terrain to pursue the player, as well as to interact with one another.
Reviews for the game have been positive, with a current score of 91 out of 100 on metacritic.com. Anthony Gale of ign.com stated in his review that gamers should “prepare to level. Prepare to loot. Prepare to get lost in this hilarious, bizarre and wonderful world of Pandora.”
Dan Ryckert of Game Informer magazine calls it “a genre-blending triumph,” praising the attention to detail. “From major bullet points like the story to smaller details like the UI and inventory system, ‘Borderlands 2’ has surpassed my expectations and stands as a prime example of how to knock a sequel out of the park,” Ryckert said.
Much attention was also brought to the multi-player aspect as well, with Nicholas Tan of Game Revolution stating that “as long as you have several friends who can join your party, there’s no way you will be disappointed.”
The game is now available for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms.