Borderlands 2 is an
action role-playing first-person shooter video game, developed by
Gearbox Software and published by
2K Games on September 18, 2012. It is the second game in the
Borderlands series and the sequel to 2009's
Borderlands. The game was released for the
Microsoft Windows,
PlayStation 3,
Xbox 360 and
OS X platforms. It was ported to the
PlayStation Vita on May 13, 2014, and released for
Linux on September 30, 2014.
[1]
As with the first game,
Borderlands 2 allows players to
complete a campaign consisting of central quests and optional
side-missions as one of four treasure seekers, "Vault Hunters", on the
planet Pandora. Key gameplay features from the original game, such as
online collaborative campaign gameplay; randomly generated loot, such as
weapons and shields; and character-building elements commonly found in
role-playing video games are in
Borderlands 2.
The game was well received by critics and was a financial success, selling 8.5 million copies.
Downloadable content
for the game has been released, including new characters and
storylines. The Game of the Year Edition of the game was released in
October 8, 2013 in the U.S. and October 11 internationally, including
all the previous downloadable and upgrade packs except for the new
campaign.
[3][4][5] A PlayStation Vita version was released in May 2014, and was developed by
Iron Galaxy Studios in collaboration with Gearbox.
[6]
Gameplay
Borderlands 2 's gameplay is similar to
its predecessor,
with a focus on the completion of missions and the collection of
randomly-generated "loot" (such as weapons, shields, and other items)
with various rarities, statistics, and elemental effects. Four new
playable character classes were available on-launch, each with their own
unique abilities and
skill trees: Axton, "the Commando", can summon a
turret
to provide offensive support. Maya, "the Siren", can "phaselock"
enemies by trapping them in a sphere of energy for a few seconds. Zer0,
"the
Assassin", can temporarily become invisible and spawn a hologram
decoy
to distract enemies; a melee attack delivered in this state provides
bonus damage. Salvador, "the Gunzerker", can use his titular ability to
temporarily dual-wield weapons.
New gameplay elements added to
Borderlands 2 include a trading
system during multiplayer play, slag—a substance that increases damage
to targets that are covered in it, new "E-Tech" weaponry, Eridium bars—a
new currency for purchasing storage upgrades and other premium items,
and the "Secret Stash"—a small storage area for
transferring items between characters.
Increased character customization options were also made available,
with collectable items unlocking different character skins, head
designs, and vehicle color schemes. A major addition to the game is the
"Badass Rank" system; points are awarded for completing various in-game
challenges, which in turn award tokens that can be redeemed to increase
the player's base stats. These stat improvements apply to all of a
single player's characters.
Similarly to the original, completing the main story campaign unlocks "True Vault Hunter Mode", a
New Game Plus
which increases the difficulty of the game by making enemies stronger,
accordingly improves the probability of finding rare and higher-quality
items, and allows the player's character to reach level 50.
Plot
Setting
Five years have passed since the events of
Borderlands, when
the four Vault Hunters, Roland, Mordecai, Lilith, and Brick were guided
by a mysterious entity known as "The Guardian Angel" on the planet of
Pandora to the Vault, a mysterious alien structure that was rumored to
hold ancient and exotic technology and riches. Instead, these Vault
Hunters were confronted by an alien abomination known as "The Destroyer"
inside the Vault. After defeating The Destroyer, a valuable mineral
called "Eridium" started flourishing through Pandora's crust. Handsome
Jack, the president of the Hyperion Corporation, secures this new
resource and makes use of it to attempt to "bring peace" to the planet.
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 galaxy, drawing a
new group of Vault Hunters to the planet in search of it.
Story
The opening cutscene introduces the four new Vault Hunters as they
ride a train on Pandora. However, the train is a trap set by Handsome
Jack, and it explodes. The Vault Hunters regain consciousness in a
frozen wasteland and are found by the last remaining Hyperion CL4P-TP
("Claptrap") unit. The Guardian Angel contacts the Vault Hunters and
instructs them to accompany Claptrap to the city of Sanctuary, and to
join the Crimson Raiders, an anti-Hyperion resistance movement, in order
to defeat Handsome Jack. Claptrap and the Vault Hunters are able to
escape the frozen wastes after defeating Captain Flynt, the local bandit
leader, and retaking Claptrap's boat. Along the way, Handsome Jack
taunts the Vault Hunters, while the Guardian Angel offers advice and
comfort.
Upon arriving at the gates of Sanctuary, the Vault Hunters are asked
to rescue Roland, now leader of the Crimson Raiders, who has been
captured by a bounty hunter called the Firehawk. The Vault Hunters meet
the Firehawk, who turns out to be Lilith(an existing and playable
character in Borderlands), whose powers as a siren have been
significantly enhanced by the new supply of eridium. Lilith informs the
Vault Hunters that Roland was actually captured by a group of bandits.
After fighting through the bandits' territory, the Vault Hunters rescue
Roland and return to Sanctuary.
Roland and Lilith learn that the Vault Key is being transported
aboard a Hyperion train, and task the Vault Hunters to retrieve it. To
accomplish the mission, the Vault Hunters enlist the aid of former Vault
Hunter Mordecai, and of Tiny Tina, a psychotic explosives-obsessed
thirteen-year-old. The Vault Hunters derail the train, but instead of
finding the Vault Key, they encounter Wilhelm, a powerful Hyperion
cyborg. After Wilhelm's defeat, the Vault Hunters recover his power
core, which Roland recommends be used as the power source for
Sanctuary's shields. The power core turns out to be a trap; it allows
the Guardian Angel, who is actually working for Jack, to lower the
city's shields and render it vulnerable to a bombardment from the
Hyperion moon satellite. Lilith saves Sanctuary, which was originally a
large spacecraft, by activating its engines and teleporting it away; for
the rest of the game, Sanctuary exists as a flying city in the sky.
Jack's true plan is revealed: to open Pandora's second Vault and
unleash The Warrior, a powerful lava, eridium, and rock creature
controlled by whomever releases it. Additionally, he is forcing Angel to
help him charge the Vault Key more quickly than usual. Angel
communicates with the group in Sanctuary, and despite hostile treatment
from Roland, divulges that the Vault Key is kept with her in a Hyperion
facility. She also shares information about the formidable defenses of
the facility. The Vault Hunters embark upon a series of missions in
order to assemble what is needed to overcome these defenses, including
obtaining an upgrade for Claptrap, visiting the Hyperion city of
Opportunity, and enlisting the aid of Brick, now leader of the Slab clan
of bandits. During the process, Mordecai's pet bird Bloodwing is
captured and killed by Handsome Jack; a grief-stricken Mordecai vows
revenge and joins the other three former Vault Hunters at Sanctuary.
Roland and the Vault Hunters assault the Hyperion compound and meet
Angel, who is not only a real person, but a siren, and Handsome Jack's
daughter. She requests to be killed in order to stop her father from
charging the Vault Key and gaining control of The Warrior. Handsome Jack
sends in waves of security forces in order to protect his daughter, but
ultimately, Roland and the Vault Hunters, with the help of late arrival
Lilith, successfully kill Angel. An enraged Handsome Jack teleports in,
kills Roland, and captures Lilith, whom he forces to resume charging
the Vault Key in Angel's stead. Lilith manages to teleport the Vault
Hunter out of the facility and back to Sanctuary.
Mordecai and Brick decide to learn the location of the second Vault
and confront Handsome Jack and The Warrior. While the Vault Hunters
travel to the Hyperion Information Annex and obtains the Vault's
location, the two steal a Hyperion ship. The Vault Hunters approach on
foot, battling elite Hyperion security forces, while Brick and Mordecai
are shot down but left alive. Ultimately, the Vault Hunters confront,
battle, and defeat Handsome Jack himself but arrive too late to prevent
him from opening the Vault. Handsome Jack summons The Warrior, a
gargantuan dragon-like lava creature, and orders it to kill the Vault
Hunters. After a long battle, the Vault Hunters defeat the Warrior and
execute Handsome Jack in the aftermath.
Brick and Mordecai arrive just as Lilith attempts to destroy the
Vault Key. However, she accidentally activates a secret information bank
containing a huge map of the galaxy with several Vaults marked on it.
Lilith remarks that "there ain't no rest for the wicked" before the
screen fades to black.
Characters
Like its predecessor,
Borderlands 2 initially features four
playable characters: Axton the Commando, Maya the Siren, Salvador the
Gunzerker, and Zer0 the Assassin. New to
Borderlands 2 are two additional characters available as
downloadable content: Gaige the Mechromancer and Krieg the Psycho.
The four player characters from the first game, Roland, Lilith, Brick, and Mordecai, all return in the form of
non-player characters that the new characters will encounter on Pandora, or in various missions.
[7]
Other characters like the Guardian Angel and Claptrap return to aid the
player during quests. Characters from the first game such as Scooter
the mechanic, Dr. Zed, Marcus the guns and ammo merchant, and the insane
archaeologist Patricia Tannis join new faces such as the cyborg Sir
Hammerlock and Scooter's sister Ellie as quest giving characters.
Development
Following the unexpected
[8] success of the first
Borderlands, which sold between three
[9] to four-and-a-half million copies since release,
[10] creative director Mike Neumann stated that there was a chance of a
Borderlands 2 being created, adding that the decision "seems like a no-brainer."
[11] On August 2, 2011, the game was officially confirmed and titled as
Borderlands 2, with
Anthony Burch
announced as the writer the next day. The first look at the game was
shown at Gamescom 2011, and an extensive preview was included in the
September edition of
Game Informer magazine, with
Borderlands 2 being the cover story.
[12] Like the first game,
Borderlands 2 was developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games, running on a heavily modified version of
Epic Games'
Unreal Engine 3. The game was released on September 18, 2012 in North America and on September 21, 2012 internationally.
[13][14]
Gearbox revealed that they would be honoring a late fan of the game,
cancer victim Michael John Mamaril, with the addition of an NPC named
after Michael in the sequel. Additionally, Gearbox posted a eulogy to
Mamaril in the voice of the game character, Claptrap.
[15]
Controversy regarding sexism hit a month before the game's scheduled
release after Gearbox designer John Hemingway told Eurogamer: "The
design team was looking at the concept art and thought, you know what,
this is actually the cutest character we've ever had. I want to make,
for the lack of a better term, the girlfriend skill tree. This is, I
love
Borderlands and I want to share it with someone, but they
suck at first-person shooters. Can we make a skill tree that actually
allows them to understand the game and to play the game? That's what our
attempt with the Best Friends Forever skill tree is."
[16]
Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford responded to the controversy
on Twitter, saying "There is no universe where Hemmingway is a sexist -
all the women at Gearbox would beat his and anyone else's ass."
[17] Randy Pitchford also tweeted: "I'm sure Hemmingway is getting
noogied now, but not his fault. A personal anecdote has been twisted and dogpiled on by sensationalists."
[18]
Marketing and release
On August 20, 2012, it was announced that a four issue
Borderlands comic would be released in November 2012 to tie in with
Borderlands 2. The miniseries is to be written by Mikey Neumann and published by
IDW. It tells the story of how the original four Vault Hunters came to be together at the beginning of
Borderlands, filling in their backstory and setting up the events of both games.
[19]
Claptrap also appears as an opponent in the crossover title
Poker Night 2, with players able to unlock new
Borderlands 2 content upon the completion of certain objectives.
[20]
A 4.6 GB portion of
Borderlands 2 became available for pre-load through Steam on September 14, 2012,
[21]
allowing customers to download encrypted game files to their computer
before the game was released. When the game was released, customers were
able to unlock the files on their hard drives and play the game
immediately, without having to wait for the whole game to download.
Borderlands 2 was also available for download on the PlayStation Network on its release date for retail price.
[22]
Patches
Since its release, several PC patches have been published to address
technical issues and improve overall gameplay. On November 13, 2012,
patch 1.2.0
[23]
was released to fix, several game issues such as the infinite golden
key glitch. The most significant of these is the overpowered "The Bee"
shield which was given reduced capabilities and effectiveness.
[24] An upcoming patch will add a
colorblind mode to the game.
[25]
Aspyr handles porting
Borderlands 2 patches for the Mac and has stated there will be a delay on synchronizng new patches from Gearbox Software.
[26]
When the versions are out of sync, Mac users will be unable to join or
host games with PC players until both games are on the same version.
Golden Keys
Golden Keys are part of Gearbox's SHiFT rewards program. Codes are
released on various social media sites that can be redeemed in the
Borderlands 2
main menu for Golden Keys. These open the special Golden Chest that is
located in the travel station in Sanctuary. When opened, the chest
randomly produces rare equipment of the redeeming player's level.
[27]
Downloadable content
Season one
Four major packs of
downloadable content (DLC) and multiple smaller pieces of content have been made available for
Borderlands 2. The
Borderlands 2 Season Pass
allows users who purchase it to access the first four major DLC packs
at a reduced cost compared to purchasing them separately as soon as they
become available. Also available are two additional character classes
(Gaige the Mechromancer and Krieg the Psycho), an additional arena known
as the
Creature Slaughter Dome, the
Ultimate Vault Hunter Pack
which raises the level cap and multiple heads and skins for character
customization. A "Game of the Year Edition" containing the main game,
all four major DLC packs, the two character packs, and the first
Ultimate Vault Hunter Pack was released on October 8, 2013.
[28]
Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty
Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty is the first
post-release downloadable content pack and includes new campaign
content. The content was released on October 16, 2012.
[29]
The storyline takes place in a vast desert that used to be an ocean.
Captain Scarlett, a Sand Pirate captain, works with the player to search
for Captain Blade's Lost Treasure of the Sands, whilst repeatedly
informing the player that she will eventually betray them. It also
introduces new raid bosses like "Hyperius the Invincible" and a new
hovering vehicle, the Sandskiff, which can only be driven in the DLC
areas.
The pack received mixed reviews. IGN called it "a good add-on that
doesn't quite live up to expectations", criticising the large number of
fetch quests and enemies very similar to the ones found in standard
Borderlands 2.
[30] However Kotaku called it 'new and exciting', praising the story and the new vehicle.
[31]
Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage
Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage is the second downloadable content pack and was released on November 20, 2012.
[32]
The campaign's plot is centered around a new Vault discovered in
Pandora buried in the center of the "Badass Crater of Badassitude"
[33]
that will only open "once the champion of Pandora feeds it the blood of
the ultimate coward". To find this "champion", Mr. Torgue, spokesman
(revealed in the Wattle Gobbler DLC) of the Torgue weapons manufacturer,
sets up a tournament in which the player character can compete. It
features appearances by Tiny Tina and Mad Moxxi. The new areas also
feature a new weapons vending machine, which sells high-end Torgue
weapons exclusively and use a new currency called Torgue Tokens.
[33] The characters and storyline of
Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage bear a strong resemblance to those found in
World Championship Wrestling, and Mr. Torgue in particular has been interpreted as an homage to wrestler
"Macho Man" Randy Savage.
[34][35]
The pack received positive to mixed reviews.
Joystiq
reported the pack's quest to be unexciting and in some cases "downright
weak". However it praised the character of Mr. Torgue, referring to him
as "interesting and breathtaking".
[36]
Kotaku found it less entertaining than the previous DLC, criticising
the repetitive side quests, but ultimately stated that it was "still an
entertaining experience that I'm happy to sink more hours into the game
for".
[37]
However, Vincent Ingenito of IGN stated that "everything you love about
Borderlands 2 is here in abundance", praising the "breakneck pace" of
the action and length of the campaign.
[38]
Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt
Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt is the third downloadable
campaign add on and was released on January 15, 2013. The title,
screenshots, and details were leaked on December 14, 2012.
[39][40]
It chronicles side character Sir Hammerlock going on a quest to find
rare animals of Pandora and his battle with evil witch doctor Nakayama,
who is attempting to create a clone of Handsome Jack.
The pack received mixed reviews. IGN found it to be the "weakest add-on Gearbox has put on the table for
Borderlands 2
thus far", criticising unfunny dialogue and the new enemy the Witch
Doctor, noting that it is "exhausting to the point you're better off
saving time and ammunition by running away". They ultimately gave the
pack 6.9/10.
[41]
David Hinkle of Joystiq found the pack to have "dashed expectations",
heavily criticising Nakayama and the quest design. However conversely,
Hinkle praised the Witch Doctors, noting that "aren't unfairly tough,
making them perfect for those late-game battles".
[42]
Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep
Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep was the fourth piece of
downloadable content and final part to be released free for Season Pass
holders. It was released for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 users on June 25,
2013.
[43]
The gameplay revolves around Lilith, Mordecai, Brick, and Tiny Tina playing
Bunkers and Badasses, a
tabletop role-playing game parody to
Dungeons & Dragons.
[citation needed] The player is dropped into the
Bunkers and Badasses
world, and as the player progresses through the game, Tiny Tina, as the
Game Master, narrates the story; sometimes deciding to modify the game
world to add in a boss, new enemy or new NPC (ex. Butt Stallion the
diamond horse). The world is fantasy-themed, with skeletons, orcs,
treants (similar to
J. R. R. Tolkien's
Ents) and dragons featuring as enemies.
[44]
Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep was met with considerable
praise and acclaim from multiple gaming websites and journalists such as
IGN.com's Vince Ingenito, who gave the expansion a 9.2 out of 10,
stating that it was " Amazing" and praising its use of the fantasy
elements in its narrative, humorous references to the source material,
and sheer amount of content, but stated that there was not a good
variety of loot to be had from fighting the endgame bosses.
[45] Despite this minor issue with the pack, IGN.com scored it much higher than the previous entry,
Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt.
Despite the acclaim surrounding the pack, there have been mixed reviews
as well, such as the review written by Christian Donlan for
Eurogamer.net, giving the expansion a 7 out of 10, one point lower than
their review of
Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt, stating that
"Without spoiling anything: does it work? Not entirely. But it is,
unsurprisingly, just the kind of trick one of those special long-running
TV shows might try to pull now and then – a bit of heavy-handed
schmaltz to break up the glib anarchy, a lunge at tonal variation to
bring depth to some increasingly harshly delineated cast members."
Despite the mixed feelings towards the narrative and themes of the pack,
Donlan's review also praised the humor and entertainment value of the
pack, stating that "New U stations now babble about necromancy, loot
chests can hide mimics and often come with many-sided dice stuck on top,
there's a really great joke about punching stuff, and you're carried
through it all by that endless ebb and flow between shooting things and
picking over their corpses. Is Dragon's Keep fun but lacking
surprises?".
[46]
Season two
T.K. Baha's Bloody Harvest
Gearbox planned to release three "Headhunter Packs" by the end of 2013. The first was called
T.K. Baha's Bloody Harvest, bringing back the character last seen in
Borderlands 's
Zombie Island of Dr. Ned
DLC. Zombie T.K. Baha will send players to fight Jaques O'Lantern, a
giant pumpkin boss who will give new character customizations as a
reward for being beaten. It was released on October 22, 2013.
[47]
The Horrible Hunger of the Ravenous Wattle Gobbler
The second Headhunter Pack was released on November 26, 2013 . It is a parody of
The Hunger Games and
Thanksgiving day in which players have to compete in a tournament organised by Mr. Torgue and defeat a giant turkey monster.
[48][49]
How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day
The third additional "Headhunter Pack" was released on December 17,
which is about finding Marcus's missing gun shipment train while saving
the ex-bandit town of Gingerton from the evil snowman Tinder Snowflake.
Gearbox would also like to continue producing new Headhunter Packs in
2014, but an official announcement will depend on the financial success
of the three packs released in 2013.
[50]
Mad Moxxi and the Wedding Day Massacre
The fourth Headhunter Pack was released on February 11, 2014. It is
about Mad Moxxi's plan to have two Goliaths, one from the Zafords and
one from the Hodunks, to marry and end the war between their families. A
spin on the
Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet, it also features new weather effects and some new enemies.
Sir Hammerlock vs. the Son of Crawmerax
The fifth, and final Headhunter Pack was released on April 15, 2014.
In the DLC, Sir Hammerlock, Brick, Mordecai, and Lilith are on a
vacation on Wam Bam Island, but soon “a monstrously large beast kidnaps
the scholarly hunter and pulls him underground,” the announcement reads.
”Fortunately, Crazy Earl and Mordecai are on hand to help recover the
mustached colleague, provided you do a few favors for them first.” The
DLC culminates in a battle against Crawmerax Jr., the son of the great
crab worm from the original game's The Secret Armory of General Knoxx
add-on, who's seeking vengeance on Roland, Lilith, Brick and Mordecai.
The plot then introduces Sparky Flynt, son of the boss character Captain
Flynt who, along with five other people whose family and friends have
been killed by the six new Vault Hunters and seek revenge. Before they
can even be introduced in person, separate allies of the Vault Hunters
kill (or in Salvador's case, arrange the death of) the five would-be
assassins, before Sparky is killed by the Vault Hunters themselves.
Other content
Premiere Club: Mechromancer Pack
The
Premiere Club was a pre-order bonus that comes with golden
guns, a relic, a golden key and early access to a fifth playable class,
the Mechromancer. The golden key can be redeemed in game to open a
special, golden chest that includes rare guns, shields, or mods. On
October 9, 2012, it became publicly available as a downloadable content
pack. As of October 17, it was renamed as the
Mechromancer Pack.
The Mechromancer, later revealed to be named Gaige, was first revealed at PAX East 2012
[51] and planned as post-release downloadable content for October 16, 2012, but was released on all platforms a week earlier.
[52]
Psycho and Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack
On March 23, 2013 Gearbox announced two new downloadable content packs for
Borderlands 2, only one of which is part of the Season Pass. The first pack is called the
Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack.
It adds a level cap raise from 50 to 61 and a new game mode called the
Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode. This is a third playthrough mode that
supersedes playthrough 2.5 and scales all enemies to level 50-61. It
became available on April 2, 2013. It comes as a free download for all
players who purchased the Season Pass.
[53][54]
The second pack, the
Psycho Pack, contains a sixth playable character for
Borderlands 2 - a Psycho named Krieg. Psychos are psychotic enemies fought during the main
Borderlands 2
campaign. He is a primarily melee focused character with an action
skill called "Buzz Axe Rampage", which boosts his melee damage and
causes him to regain health whenever he kills an enemy. It was released
on May 14, 2013 and is not included in the Season Pass.
[53][54]
Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack 2: Digistruct Peak Challenge
Released on September 3, 2013,
[55] the DLC increases the level cap from 61 to 72 and introduces the
Digistruct Peak Challenge,
a new map where Patricia Tannis will let players fight high-level
enemies (which can be over-leveled to "impossible") to earn new loot. A
free update prior to DLC's release has added additional backpack, ammo
and bank slots, to be purchased from the black market. This is not
included in the Season Pass.
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