Half-Ass Gaming Reviews: Borderlands 2

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Diablo may have invented the hack, slash, and loot genre, but it’s the Borderlands series that branches it out into the shooter realm. The second title follows a new band of Vault Hunters on their way to amass unimaginable wealth. Much like anything in life, things are never that easy. They are ambushed on the train by a man named, Handsome Jack. He expertly leaves them for dead in a high-speed exploding metal casket. It’s good for the Vault Hunters that it wouldn’t be much of a game if they died in the intro, huh?

Revenge and protection is what leads the story forward. The lovable  likable  err… tolerable Claptrap returns from the first game. He leads the players to Sanctuary which is home to the remaining civilians and bandits that don’t want to be murdered by, Handsome Jack. This incredibly witty asshole aims to destroy sanctuary and kill everyone inside… including you. It’s a simple story of course, but the laughs on the way to the ending make up for it. Borderlands 2, never takes its self seriously, and it remains a better game for it overall. The action is rarely stopped by a cut-scene; the player is constantly engaged and informed of a new situation.

An absolutely zany cast of characters brings life to the world of Pandora. Every single person the player encounters is out of their gourd. The psychotic jabbering of each of the quest givers keeps the hilarity to the highest level. Claptrap sputters around Sanctuary annoying the citizens, Handsome Jack pops up on the radio and insults you, and vendors keep you informed about important facts regarding their owners. The voices of the insane are always in your ear, so you will never be alone in your adventures.

The beautiful cel-shaded world of Pandora is at your disposal. Much like the first game in the series, Borderlands 2, employs multiple hub locations for the player to explore. Teleportation consoles and vehicles make getting from place to place a breeze. Players will discover new locations all the time, and engage in combat with the wildlife and bandits scattered around. Prepare for a wasteland that is teeming with life, but shattered by combat and war.

Be prepared to embark on many quests and invest in the typical shoot-and-loot gameplay. Get ready to raffle off bullets into the armored bodies of your enemies. The more badass the monster; the better a chance you will have at earning loot. Tactics don’t necessarily come into heavy play here in Borderlands 2, the one thing to know is when to back up. Players won’t generally want to run-and-gun unless there are low levels to destroy. It’s almost certain that every equal or greater level enemy will devastate health and shield in seconds.

That’s kind of the point of these types of games though. It’s to keep the player on their toes and stop them from sleepwalking to victory. While you don’t necessarily have to use your brain to survive, it keeps the adrenaline pumping to know that the ruffians are always on top of you. The swarm mechanic is heavily in play on Pandora. Enemies will move hard and heavy against the Vault Hunters, and keep players from developing stationary positions.

You’ll notice that this is even truer when playing cooperatively. The most punishing enemies will come out in droves, and your crew will need to apply as much pressure as possible to not be swarmed. Each new location looks considerably different from the next, but the monsters and bandits aren’t nearly as varied. Encounters with enemies will be very similar for the start of the game. In fact, for a game that says it will have millions of weapons… you get a lot of terrible or similar weapons early on.

This doesn’t necessarily deplete the fun but it does make for a slow and uneventful start. It’s not until the unlocking of talents that your character feels some semblance of power. That or you somehow find the strongest gun for your level extremely early. It’s actually a little disheartening how frequently you’ll find “junk” weapons. A good majority of my time was spent just selling trash weapons instead of swapping to something more useful. It’s also pretty depressing that you still find better upgrades from vending machines and shops.

The game is significantly more fun once your character has reached their stride. Blazing away at creatures for their treasures can instantly suck away your life. When this is combined with friends, the fun seems endless. That’s something that will probably be a must as well, that you are certain that you are playing with friends. Borderlands 2 takes no consideration of loot sharing, whatever loot drops in front of you can be grabbed by any player. So if you’re not playing with someone you’re familiar with, you are going to get ninja looted a ton.

Let’s take into account that this title has tons to do in it. The amount of content for simply collecting skins, Eridium ore, and earning Badass rank is a daunting task. Borderlands 2 also lavishes the players in side-missions that pop-up rather frequently. Sure assortments of these are impulse fetch quests, but a majority of them are littered with hilarious pop-culture references.  My only issue with quests is that some will require you to backtrack through an area you’ve been through. It’s weird that you can spend 30 to 40 minutes in an area, only to find out that a quest wants you to send you back in to do it again.

Borderlands 2 is a big time hit, but the changes from the first one are almost purely aesthetic. There is more content, more guns, but everything seems very familiar from the first run. That doesn’t make it a bad thing, because Borderlands is a love it or hate it game. If you’re into the kill and loot genre, this is a champion above many others. Borderlands 2 receives a B+ from Half-Ass Gaming, the treasure offered in Pandora is well worth the trip.