Borderlands 2 Review

Borderlands 2 successfully continues the series, immersing players into the imaginative, hilarious, cell-shaded world of Pandora. With excellent user-friendly online playability, and a bazillion new guns to plow your way through enemy hordes on the hunt for Handsome Jack; Borderlands 2 marks one of the most enjoyable RPG experiences of the year.

Background:

Borderlands 2 launches players into Pandora – the world of insane bloodthirsty bandits, futuristic alien technology, cut-throat interplanetary organisations, a mysterious vault, and diverse terrain from snow-covered outposts to deserts. The game offers a unique cell-shaded, online role playing shooter experience matched only by the previous title. Players will find themselves battling through countless maps and enemies, ultimately trying to stop the evil (yet witty) Handsome Jack. A sense of whacky humour is maintained throughout the game as a number of strange and interesting characters are encountered.

Players are able to choose from four different characters and an additional one if they pre-ordered the game or purchased the premier club content. These classes are roughly the same as those found in the previous title, and cater for a variety of play styles from sniping to close quarter combat. Skill points can be allocated in three individual trees for each character, allowing players to greatly enhance their combat abilities. A skill redistribution option has also been included in the game, allowing players to re-allocate skill points at any time. This has been highly welcome in other titles such as Kingdoms of Amalur, and relieves some of the pressure from early game skill point spending.

Borderlands 2 allows players to choose from four different characters. 

The most notable character change has been with the sniper class, which is now classified as an assassin and features a new cloaking/decoy skill. This is a nice addition to the game but unfortunately means that players will not be able to use the bloodwing ability from Borderlands 1. The tank class - now known as a gunzerker - has also changed notably. Players will now be able to duel wield guns and deal massive amounts of damage for short periods of time. This is extremely enjoyable and essentially enhances the tank class from the first game. Unfortunately the soldier and siren skills are very similar to the first game, but do allow some new and improved upgrades to be obtained from their respective skill trees.

The first few chapters of the game may seem rather linear, however this feels like a great way to begin the game, providing players with some introductory background storyline while pitting them against enemies of similar skill levels. The ability to free-roam is given later on, and thankfully the fast travel network is operable from near the start of the game, and can be used to quickly travel between visited areas to complete quests. In addition to the main quest there are 109 optional side missions of varying difficulty to complete, providing players with around 40+ hours of gameplay. There is also a challenging new game plus mode with different types of enemies, guns, and equipment. And if that’s not enough there’s also a huge number of unique challenges which can be completed throughout the game, offering extra depth and encouraging players to use different types of weapons and fully explore areas to earn badass points. One notable example is the inclusion of hidden vault symbols spread throughout the majority of areas in Pandora. These challenges augment the game well, and provide an extra sense of satisfaction as well as being transferable to other characters.

There are various areas to explore on Pandora with aesthetic and varying terrain. Some areas also allows players to travel be vehicle, and feature a new style of bandit vehicle which can seat up to four people. The Catch-A-Ride stations are well-placed, and easily let players teleport to the passenger seats of other vehicles. Furthermore; vehicles, like character, can be customised with various unlockable skins found throughout the game. At times it feels as though some areas are relatively empty, and lack main quests or even side quests but are instead filled with other optional challenges. This is a shame as some areas could have been utilized a lot more, and may seem as though developers tried to go for quantity over quality.

Gameplay:

One of the core components of Borderlands which makes it different is the inclusion of thousands of unique weapons and equipment, which can be bought, looted, or traded online. Some of the weapons will have surprising effects; for example a gun that can be thrown as an explosive whilst reloading, or a grenade which teleports to its destination. Players will not be disappointed with the wealth of weapons which can be found in Borderlands 2, and it seems Gearbox have put a huge amount of effort into the detailed weapon design found in this title. However players may be disappointed by the weapon chest loot compared to the previous title, as it seems common weapons are much more frequent whilst rare weapons are more difficult to find.

Borderlands 2 has thousands of different unique guns. 

Gameplay offers fast paced and enjoyable firefights with various types of enemies and bosses. However gameplay may become rather easy after a while, especially if players level up slightly too high by completing side quests and then return to the main story. This can make segments of the storyline overly easy and therefore less enjoyable, but is rectified by the inclusion of a new game plus mode. The menus and HUD are displayed neatly and the inventory is made very clear, however may become slightly cramped whilst playing in split-screen co-op. Excess weapons can be quickly sold to merchants, and the inclusion of a ‘buy-back’ option in the shops is very welcome. Furthermore the maps are visually pleasing and concise, and the start menu allows players to quickly manage matches, join friends, or switch between characters. The D-pad mapping also allows for quick transition of weapons during combat, however the application of diagonal mapping may have been useful for players with over 4 primary choice weapons.

The HUD and mini-map are displayed neatly in-game. 

Online gameplay has never been easier, and allows players to easily jump-in and out of games with friends. Lobbies are automatically set to allow friends to join, or can be changed in-game to public matches via the start menu. Matchmaking is relatively lag-free for players of the same region, however slight delays may prove frustrating during combat, for example when trying to snipe. Online players can also be frustrating by persistently activating fast-travel points or progressing storyline missions alone before you can reach them. Thankfully the host can easily remove players if they wish, however it would have been nice to have the option of allowing only the host to activate fast-travel points. Ultimately the online gameplay is extremely satisfying in Borderlands 2 and offers players with an increased challenge to complete [preferably] with their friends.

SCORE: 9/10

+ Excellent user-friendly online gameplay.
+ Great class choice and character customisation.
+ Thousands of weapons and equipment to choose from. 
+Long storyline with multiple side-quests available. 

- Gameplay becomes relatively easy after a while, and difficulty could have been increased.