Borderlands 2 Review

Hello everyone. Merry Christmas!

Today I thought it would be a proper day to review the game that just keeps on giving, Borderlands 2.

The game that quite literally has a  bajillion different guns, various types of enemies and environments that never look the same. A class based FPS RPG that gives you endless hours of enjoyment and guns to loot, Borderlands 2 is far different from any FPS we have seen on the market. If you didn't find this under your Christmas tree it may be a good idea to ask for this one for a birthday or even go out and buy it next week. Trust me it is worth every penny.

Let's begin.

Story

5 years have passed since the events of the first Borderlands. The first 4 vault hunters have spread out and have started to rebel against Hyperion and it's new boss, Handsome Jack. Handsome Jack has taken over Pandora and is ruling it with an iron fist. Hyperion has suddenly gained this huge interest in Pandora because of a new element  known as "Eridum" has appeared seemingly out of nowhere after The Destroyer(spoiler) was defeated, the new element is worth millions. Handsome Jack is using his new found power in Hyperion to dig for the element and to also open the 2nd Vault that is rumored to be bigger then the first Vault found on Pandora.

Now 4 new Vault Hunters have come to Pandora to find what it contains but also to stop Handsome Jack from opening the Vault.

Presentation

Borderlands 2 looks amazing. The game has received a bit more polish than the last Borderlands but I still say that the sequel looks better than the original.

Pandora has a mix of a western yet futuristic feel and a Mad Max theme to it, the default music playing in most areas will have acoustic guitars playing in the background and will have areas looking like it's out of a western film, yet also having this future like environment with high tech equipment and enemies. While also using make shift like vehicles such as the Bandit Technical to make your way through the wide open areas of Pandora.

For those of you who want a bit more realism in your graphics, this isn't the game for you. Borderlands 2 has this comic book like presentation, but don't mistake that for being nice and innocent, the game is very gruesome and very violent. It's far from innocent.

Gameplay

Borderlands 2 is an FPS game but with the elements of a class based RPG. Each class has it's own unique abilities and perks to be used in the battlefield and to help your friends when you play co-op with them.

Borderlands 2 has an almost infinite amount of weapons for you to use, each one with it's own unique stats, abilities and even elemental effect. Borderlands 2 weapons can do elemental damage to opponents and will have different effects on different aspects of the enemies defenses.

Electric elemental weapons will be more effective against shields but will do terrible damage to the enemies themselves. Fire based weapons will have a terrible effect on shields but be more effective against flesh. This adds a tactical feel to the game but it also adds a huge fun factor, what's better than setting opponents on fire with a 12 shot revolver?

The combat is fast paced and very addictive, you'll either be fighting off endless amounts of the blood thirsty enemies of Pandora or you'll be revolting against Handsome Jack's army of robots armed to the teeth with many weapons from Hyperion. The flow of the combat has never been smoother in any video game I've ever played, and with a game as big as Borderlands 2 that's saying something. I never saw a cut in the frame rate with all the bullets, fire, acid etc. even on the Xbox 360.

Of course an RPG game would not be complete without side quests,I cannot tell you how many side-quests there are, there are so many side-quests with the game alone, add in the new DLC packs and you're looking at an insane amount of side-quests to accomplish and earn loot for, god knows how many hours of gameplay.

It's a game that strongly focuses on scavenging, unlike in other games where you would scavenge due to necessity to proceed through the game, in Borderlands 2 it's both a necessity and a very fun and addicting element to the game that gives you a great sense of reward for putting in the extra time to search the environment for some rare loot.


Verdict
Borderlands 2 is a game worth every single penny you pay for. You will play Borderlands 2 for hours and hours looting every chest, clearing out bandit hideouts, facing giant monsters and destroying countless enemies with an infinite ammount of weapons at your disposal.

If you haven't played this game yet you really need to play it now.

Borderlands 2 gets the well deserved 9/10

Reason for the Rating

The few things that make Borderlands 2 not as perfect as I've described it is a few things. Side missions sometimes have the offering of two rewards if you bring the specific quest item to a specific person, you can't change your mind once you press A or X. You'll be stuck with the choice you made and it may not turn out to be as good as you expected it to be, depending on what the task was.

Another thing that I found ridiculous is the respawn system. There's nothing wrong with where you respawn and how you respawn it's what the respawn takes away from you once you complete the process. The respawn system charges you cash, depending on how much money you have the more it will charge you for the respawn.

If you find yourself taking on an overwhelming enemy or group of enemies and can't seem to get through the challenge, you may loose your entire cash supply, not being able to buy ammo, new shields or grenade mods etc.

Think out your fights and battles before pulling the trigger.