[Video Game Review] Borderlands 2
Game Summary: Five years have passed since the events of Borderlands, when four Vault Hunters, Roland, Lilith, Mordecai, and Brick were guided by a mysterious entity known as "The Guardian Angel" to the Vault and confronted an alien abomination known as "The Destroyer." After defeating The Destroyer, a valuable mineral called "Eridium" started flourishing through Pandora's crust. Handsome Jack, a member of the Hyperion Corporation, secures this new resource and makes use of it to take over the corporation. Now, Handsome Jack rules over the inhabitants of Pandora with an iron fist from his massive satellite built in the shape of an "H", always visible in the sky in front of Pandora's moon. Meanwhile, rumors of an even larger Vault hidden on Pandora spread across the universe, drawing a new group of Vault Hunters to the planet in search for it.
Developer - Gearbox Software
Publisher - 2K Games
Platforms - Microsoft Windows, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, OS X
Genres - First-Person Shooter, Action Role-Playing
Modes - Single-Player, Multi-Player, Co-Op
Review: by Anthony
I was very excited for this game to come out after playing Borderlands and enjoying it through multiple times in both single-player and online multi-player.
What I Liked:
Two words: Replay Value. With all of the DLC, which is just as fun the main missions, and the different weapons, shields, and weapon mods, this game could be played over and over, and each play through could have a different feel. That’s just playing by yourself. To add to the replay value, there is a lot of variety found in Character Skill Tree. Placement of each skill point can result in major differences in your character build.
There are new Vault Hunters you get to choose and level up while exploring Pandora. There’s Salvador, a “gunzerker” whose ability allows him to dual-wield any combination of guns. His skill tree involves the ability to throw multiple grenades and regenerate health and ammunition. Maya, a siren, has the ability to Phaselock which allows her to suspend and immobilize enemies in the air, and her skill tree involves the game’s different element types (fire, electricity, corrosion, explosions, and slag). My personal favorite is Axton, a commando who has a deployable turret capable of cutting down multiple enemies in seconds. His skill tree involves upgrades to the turret such as rockets, extra gun barrels, and even a nuclear warhead option. Finally, there is Zero, a deadly assassin capable of creating a decoy of himself then turning invisible and delivering critical hits on enemies. His skill tree involves increasing his sniping abilities or his Deception ability.
This sequel also improved upon many of the major flaws, and some of the minor annoyances that you might not have even noticed, in the original, such as walking over/toward ammo and money to instantly pick it up rather than holding the use button to pick up those items.
The villain, Handsome Jack, is such a great character. His sick and twisted sense of humor only ramps up as you progress through the game and learn more of his back story, making this game great and enjoyable.
This “loot and shoot” game is best played with online co-op with 4 players. The game adapts, making the enemies a bit harder and the loot even sweeter!
The cell shading graphics are colorful, and the NPC voices are great. They deliver some of the game’s best quotes. Gearbox Software is doing a fantastic job listening to fan feedback, and they’ve already added additional characters to go along with DLC Missions.
What I Didn’t Like:
I’m really hard pressed to think of something about this game that I didn’t like, and the only thing I can come up with is a bit nit-picky. When playing online co-op with friends, if you’re a few levels below them in experience, the difficulty gap can be quite daunting.
Summary
If you’re a fan of FPS games, this is a must buy! Whether you play solo or online with friends, Borderlands 2 will bring hours of enjoyment, lootin’ and shootin’ all across Pandora.
You can purchase Borderlands 2 from Amazon here:
Related articles
