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Borderlands 2
PC (Steam)
I Punch the Initiative
4.5/5 stars
Borderlands is one of my all-time favorite first-person shooters - it offered a great combination of action, humor, a multitude of guns and visual style unlike anything else out there. Sure, it had its share of problems, but I was more than happy to overlook the flaws because of the experience it provided. Of course a sequel was announced - and my anticipation for this was off the charts. There have been several improvements made to the game - some overt, some less so but the final project reminds me why I still like the original Borderlands so much and why this franchise remains one of my favorites.
Presentation: That cell-shaded style is back and looks better than ever. More vibrant and crisp than the original game (though still not perfect when magnifying things) it's still a nice step up from the first trip to Pandora. The areas have a lot better variety now - the browns have been replaced by a wider variety (especially when the DLCs come into play) - from frozen tundras to a chemical wasteland to a gleaming cityscape - all this and more makes for some very dynamic and interesting settings.
Beyond the areas, characters - both in the terms of the main, supporting, NPCs and enemies have a lot more variety as well. You can now customize your look and even your head via in-game drops and unlocks or even buy some if you so desire. The NPCs have a much better variety from look and sound - while they still utter the same things, at least now they have a lot wider repertoire now. I loved the main antagonist, Handsome Jack, a great arrogant prick of a guy voiced by Dameon Clarke (great TV and voice-over veteran). But I absolutely got the biggest kick out of Tiny Tina - an Ebonics-spouting pre-teen with a predication for explosives - props to Ashly Burch for owning the role. You also have the annoying yet hilarious ClapTrap and for those who get the DLC (totally worth it) the over-the-top, pro-wrestling inspired Mr. Torgue - a wonder unto himself. The game still sounds great - the vocal work is amazing - the guns sound better and the soundtrack works well.
Unlike the first game where you barely heard from your own characters, this time around things are a bit different. The original stars of the first game (that would be Mordecai, Brick, Lilith and Roland) now appear as in-game characters with actual personality (yes, even Brick). And your own playable characters - via some well-placed recordings - are given a voice and their own mini-histories so as to not appear as mute witnesses to this adventure. It's a nice touch.
Story: Guess what - everything that happened in the original game - the killing, the enemies, the vault - oh, it was all a plot by Handsome Jack (CEO of the Hyperion Corporation) to seed the planet with Eridium - and make himself filthy rich in the process. The "Guardian Angel" - his own daughter, a Siren he has twisted to suit his purposes. And now that he has succeeded, he wants things to stay that way. The opening appears to follow the original Borderlands - until your transport is destroyed and you realize Jack wants to kill all the new vault hunters in order to retain his iron grip on Pandora. But you survive and meet ClapTrap (the last one) and go on a mission of redemption/revenge.
The characters classes are similar to the original, but not carbon copies. Axton, the soldier this time around, is an ex-Dahl Corporation commando, is not on his own, having been kicked out for his disregard of the rules. He has turrets - through they are much more robust and dynamic than Roland. Maya, the Siren, has escaped from a cult-like Church - her talent is to freeze enemies - very useful. Salvador is a short, gun-loving maniac - he can dual-wield any weapons for his special talent and (as my chose character) is simply nuts. Zer0 is a haiku-spouting... something man, alien, cyborg? Who knows - he is the most mysterious character and his talent is fooling the enemy. Additional DLC characters include Krieg, a Psycho who loves smashing in heads as shooting guns and Gaige, a self-proclaimed Mechromancer who can summon a powerful robot to attack and can blast enemies to bits by building anarchy. Each has their own set of upgrades - much like the original game you can go for power or healing, stealth or accuracy - but you can't have it all, so choose carefully.
The game features a great many main quests and an abundance of side quests - not to mention the great DLC packs - and, believe me, you will not be bored. The story is excellent, thanks to the villain, Jack, along with many other memorable characters - even the bosses are much better this time around. Overall, it feels much more fleshed out and exciting than the original game.
Gameplay: The main gameplay is very similar to the original - guns, shield, health - you kill enemies, gain XP, unlock abilities. You still have grenade mods and relics, the variety of weapons are the same (pistol, rocket launcher, sniper rifle, machine gun, assault rifle) though there have been tweaks to the manufacturers. The game also introduces perks - which unlock based on various things - using a certain weapon, killing certain types of enemies, opening chests, using elemental weapons and even finding hidden vault symbols - it all adds up to being able to unlock some fun abilities - extra health, better accuracy, more damage - the percentages are small, but with enough of them, it can make a difference.
One thing that changed is that Orange rarity weapons (the best kind) now only come from boss drops or, very rarely, from enemies. Each boss has a weapon attached to it that can be dropped - but in order to get it, you will most likely have to fight it a lot (farming/grinding) and, unless you are high level, you can expect the weapon to become useless after a few levels anyway. Borderlands 2 offsets this by introducing the Gold Box - by utilizing Shift Codes (delivered through various means) you can unlock keys that will open the Gold Box, which provides Purple weapons galore (though the variety can sometimes be spotty - grenade mods for everyone!). I kind of wish they had made getting orange weapons a bit easier, but it was most likely a ploy to keep the hardcore gamers coming back for more.
As said before, the manufactures have been tweaked, so guns vary widely from power (yet inaccurate and slow) Bandit to Tediore, which lets you reload by tossing your current (unloaded) weapon as an explosive projectile. The variety is even greater this time around (12 billion combination or so? whatever it's a lot). Shields have also been changed - though I'm bummed there is not longer a regenerative property - they make up for it with even more options from shields that damage attackers to ones that explode when expended to ones that absorb bullets or drop shield boosters - once again, a nice variety abounds. But even with all this - it's still a gamble and getting a decent weapon is a crapshoot if you don't grind away at bosses or open Gold Boxes. It tends to make things less exciting than the original game in this department - even with the greater variety.
Replayability: Great - with six characters to pick from, lots of levels to gain and, for those so inclined, loot to grind for - you can go back to this over and over and over again. Throw in multiplayer and you could play this indefinitely - or at least until the servers get severed.
Overall: I loved it - better in almost every aspect than the original. Some of the "improvements" may not have been needed or changed, but overall Gearbox has proven they know how to present a sequel.
Presentation: 4/5
Story: 4.5/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Replayability: 5/5
Overall (not an average): 4.5/5
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