Game Review: Borderlands 2

Platform: Playstation 3 / Xbox 360 / PC

Price Range: £34.94 - £45

Age Rating: 18

Genre: Adventure / Shoot&Loot

Design:

Lock and load Vault hunters because Borderlands 2 has hit the shelves today. From the very first level Borderlands 2 starts as it means to go on with you choosing one of four characters to play as, these being Assassin, Siren, Gunzerker and Commando each with their own skillset and upgrades top this off with action and enemies around every corner, more guns than you can shake a Claptrap at and almost never ending loot. Your main objective is to find a mysterious new vault that has been found by the Hyperion Corporation in their attempts to mine a new kind of alien mineral that is now all across Pandora since you squashed the alien at the end of the previous title, but just like in the first game you are not alone, the ever present and hilarious Claptrap is also around to give you a hand along with some new faces and some familiar ones too. It's obvious from the outset that humour is what makes this game run, one liners now and again from Claptrap and cutscenes devoted to his torture can be amusing or tedious depending on how you play the game. With plenty of missions and side missions to keep you entertained it should stretch to about 40 hours of gameplay, however this could be longer if you choose to go for every mission and every piece of treasure in the game. Customisation hits players screens this time around but it's not really anything to get over excited about however it does add a nice personal touch to your character along with the Badass Rank which allows you to add specific upgrades as you level up.

Gameplay:

The style of gameplay doesn't really differ from the first game of the series and the objectives are made clear to you as you progress, kill bosses and bad guys for loot, level up to become stronger and try to achieve your ultimate goal of finding the new vault. It's essentially a shoot 'em up game with a huge amount of treasure and weaponry added in. You will find that as you travel through the world and meet new people they will always have some kind of mission or side quest for you to take part in, some of these being greatly beneficial, others not so much. Levelling up in Borderlands 2 depends on how you play your game, if you are  one of these people who enjoys running around and knifing enemies until they die then go right ahead but you will find that your progression is somewhat slower than someone who mixes up their gameplay with different guns and explosives, the game rewards this with grenade modifications and gun specific perks for example guns that increase in accuracy when they are fired or have a high critical hit ratio are not uncommon, neither are guns with elemental effects, there really is something for every Vault hunter in this much anticipated sequel.

Presentation:

2K Games have stuck to the comic book style graphics that made the first Borderlands a huge hit but because of this you may encounter a few glitches and graphical hitches along the way such as falling through solid objects or a character's face not forming quickly enough but it's really nothing to cause major concern and can be easily looked past. Menu systems seem a bit clunky at times and are slightly confusing to start with. Sometimes too much information is displayed on the screen at once for it all to be taken in. Similarly when listening to voice recordings which can be found through the world if you begin talking to somebody else then the recording cuts off and you potentially miss a key story point, so chat to people at your own pace. The voice acting really adds to how Borderlands 2 presents itself and with the loveable Claptrap making his valiant return you can be sure of a good few laughs along the way 'they're coming out the wall sphincters!' is a personal favourite.

Summary:

If you liked Borderlands and you want to go through it all again with new guns, characters and abilities then get this game. if you have never played a Borderlands game before then there is no shame in starting here it doesn't really carry on from the previous game apart from a few character mentions here and there but if you can look past that as well as the slightly poor customisation and the graphical glitches from time to time then you will find yourself playing a game that is difficult to put down.

Ratings:

Design: 9.7

Gameplay: 9.5

Presentation: 9.4

Overall: 9.5