Borderlands 2
Tags: revenge, satire

Plot synopsis:
=== 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, who are betrayed by Jack and left for dead in a frozen wasteland. The Vault Hunters 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.
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 ask 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 plan is to open Pandora's second Vault and unleash The Warrior, a powerful lava, eridium, and rock creature controlled by whomever releases it; he uses 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; an enraged 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 Hunters 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 cuts 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-protagonists 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. 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, Mad Moxxi, and the insane archaeologist Patricia Tannis join new faces such as the cyborg Sir Hammerlock and Scooter's sister Ellie as quest giving characters.

Review: The first borderlands was a fun and unique game when it came out, but I will never go back to it after I played this game.
The game play is pretty much the same, but this time it feels much more fluent.
The characters each have their own personality, but I really got annoyed with Scooter and Claptrap this time around.
I like that they changed the designs of the guns, much more variety than the first game.
The music is also really good, I especially love the song "Ice", every time I hear it I start getting pumped up.
The graphics are better, they look much more clear, but it also has some load in times and the frame rate tends to drop at some points in the game.
There is some glitches as well, some of them even screwed up a mission, I had to restart the game.
The levelling up system is extremely fun and feels really rewarding.
So far this is the only game I got this year and I'm glad I did get it.
I did find the second play through mode made things much, much harder, it actually got me angry but the game is too good for me to be put off.August 20, 2013.
Update It's been a long time coming that I wanted to update this review.
I've been playing the hell out of this game the last week.
The true vault hunter mode just frustrated me with the one shot and I'm done garbage.
The Assassin obviously wasn't the best character to try and get to level 50, well I made it to level 42.
Any way, the Mechromancer just makes the game much more enjoyable, the deathtrap destroys everything, she is a much better class.
That and I've found much better loot this time around.
I realized the only difficulty this game offers is enemies that one shot you, it's just plain annoying.
2012 was a pretty crappy year for video games, so this easily takes game of the year for me.
There's six characters to play as, so that's 6 play-throughs worth of replay value.
So this game is on terms with Fallout, for bang for your buck.Highly recommend to anyone that likes shooters or RPG's, very fun..
What Borderlands should have been..
Borderlands 2 builds up on the original game, streamlining some features and improving the overall experience, while keeping the concept behind the original game intact.I'm not a fan of Borderlands.
When it came out, I felt it wasn't such a great single player game, but it had huge potential to be either a classic LAN-party game or an internet competitive one.
If you had a bunch of friends you could LAN with, it was fantastic: funny, challenging and you had many hours of gameplay.
Whether it was the Pokemon variant - farming the content solo and jumping online to pewpew some randoms - or the Diablo variant - farming the content online with other players - the idea was focused on running the same bosses and levels over and over trying to acquire some very rare and special gear, to then reign supreme in duels.
However, not everyone of us had the chance to play the game like that and, if multi-player wasn't an option, you were left with what was a pretty bland FPS-RPG hybrid.Borderlands 2 made noticeable improvements in terms of gameplay and presentation.
Firstly, the game became a ton more humorous.
The original Borderlands still tried to retain a gloomy, somber feel that it never quite achieved.
This time around, every character you talk to is absolutely hilarious.
In terms of the actual game, the addition of a mini-map to replace the first game's clunky waypoint-compass system is a simple yet incredible improvement.
Missions and side-missions are now very easy to pick up and turn in through MMO-style markers on the map, as opposite to Claptrap just telling you someone has a quest for you and you having to spend 30 minutes looking for the quest-giver.
Also in the quest department, even the most banal side-mission now has voice-acting and somewhat of a plot, trivial as it might be.
The general user-interface and inventory system, while keeping the same feel as the original, have also been reworked to a much better design that makes item management and stat weighing very instinctive.Visually, the game also seems to have been slightly improved as well.
Pandora definitely looks much more clear and crisp than before, but the cartoony cel-shading graphics are still there, so it's pretty hard to tell how much better the visuals actually got.
The important thing is that the balance between looks and performance is still very good, so people with low-tier computers can probably still enjoy this one.Now, Borderlands 2 still has a few flaws.The thing that I hated the most about the game was all the senseless running around.
RPGs, inherently, come packed with a lot of traveling.
However, in titles like Fallout 3 or Skyrim, where the distances are far greater, walking for 10 minutes to reach some destination didn't feel like such a chore.
Maybe it was the fast travel system guaranteeing that you only had to walk there once before you could revisit with just a click.
Maybe it had something to do with the atmosphere or landscapes of the game world you're spending so much time running in.
Whatever the case, there are many instances in Borderlands 2 that you have to run all the way to the end of a map, complete a quest and then run all the way back to the entrance of the zone.
Multiply this a few times per side-mission and I can assure you: it gets old really fast.
The simple way to fix this was to add an instant recall item, like the hearthstone in World of Warcraft or the town portal in Diablo 2.
Alas, no such device in Pandora.My second problem is that a lot of the side-missions just seem to not belong there.
The mechanic is pretty much constant throughout the game: you complete a few story missions and you unlock a batch of side-missions.
Some of them are even fun, like a whodunit-type scenario or a couple that reference movies and games in pretty hilarious ways.
However, towards the end of the game, the narrative is pretty climatic, you know a plot-twist is about to hit you in the face and suddenly a bunch of side-missions markers pop up on your map.
I'm all for content and playtime, but cramping a bunch of random secondary missions just because?
It doesn't feel right and it seems like a very cheap way of extending the playtime clock.
Naturally, don't be surprised if towards the end of the game you start disregarding them.
The rewards aren't significant, they add nothing to the story and they get repetitive and boring after a few hours.
I would've liked to see, maybe, a lengthier story and less random side-quests.The third one is a pretty common problem nowadays: DLC.
Gearbox announced before the release of the game that there was going to be a fifth playable class as a DLC.
Going off the previous game, we can guess there's gonna be a ton of DLC content as well.
As is, Borderlands 2 feels a tiny bit empty.
It could've been more and I can't help but wonder: how much better would've this game been if all that content they're ripping out on release to get an extra buck later would've been there from the start?
At the very least, the DLC-only playable character rose some eyebrows among loyal Borderlands fans.To sum it up, Borderlands 2 is what the first Borderlands should have been: a polished, extremely funny RPFPS.
Nevertheless, the focus of the game is still on the grind/itemization/online play combo.
If you have 3 bros you can constantly play with, it's gonna be ten times better.
Exclusively as a single-player game, it's not the best game ever but it's definitely entertaining and more robust than its predecessor..
Don't be a bullymong, love your Borderlands 2.
Ike of the Rehash Critics: Borderlands was a breakthrough in gaming with fast acting shooter action and unique graphics.
As a first person shooter Borderlands offered more depth than any other platform with intricate skill trees, endless weapon combinations, and simple yet admirable character customization.
In single player mode there won't be as much action, survival, killer guns, competition, smack talk, and fun.
So pull up your big girl pants and join someone.Action: Endless, challenging, and engrossing.
There may be a long silence amongst your friends during intense battles, so refrain from resorting to your single player cussing at the video game.Graphics: Gearbox continues with cel-shading and ups the anti on big bad guy design and difficulty.
The beasties of Pandora, although not vast, add a higher level of difficulty.New and/or Improved: You will experience more guns, larger territories (vertically and horizontally), enhanced villains, new characters, new talent trees, crazy creatures, the capability of hiding old missions you don't want, and character transferable skill points (i.e. add 1% to shield recharge rate, max health, etc).Most disappointing: Here it is in a nutshell: Maps are tricky with multiple levels and poor direction, some talent trees don't have a whole lot of variety, and the story is not as engrossing as the first.In summation Borderlands 2 met and exceeded 98% of my expectations.
I am still playing the second play through and have not maxed out my love for this one.
BUY BUY BUY, didn't play the first Borderlands BUY BUY BUY.
This game is as flawless as it gets..
My favourite game of all time!!.
This game is amazing, and a must get.
There is enough content to entertain you for hours, especially with the dlc.
I have put like a 1000 hours into this game across multiple playthroughs, characters and platforms.
The story is great, one of the best villains in gaming history, and very distinctive graphics (cell shading or something I think it's called).
The characters are so memorable, and the gameplay is amazing.
Due to the abundance of guns, mods, shields etc and enemy types and locations.
This game is up there as my favourite of all time alongside bioshock and I keep coming back to it.
You don't need to play borderlands 1 before hand, as it's a new story.
GET THIS GAME!!!.
This is without a doubt the best game I've ever had the pleasure to play.
From witty writing, to the fun gameplay to the customisability!
This game is perfect.
One of my favorite games ever.
Borderlands 2 is easily one of the best games I have ever played, ever.
It takes what the first Borderlands was (a fun shooter with a lot of guns but not much plot) and turns it into an incredibly fun RPG shooter with a great plot and some surprisingly emotional parts.
It builds off of what plot points there were in the first game, and brings back old characters (even the original Vault Hunters!) as likable companions.
Of course, just a great plot would not make this a Borderlands game.
Let's talk guns.
No two guns are the same, but for the most part, they will lay waste to all of your enemies-and you're going to have no shortage of enemies on Pandora.
Everything you're going to be fighting ranges from common bandits to midgets with shotguns to Suicide Psychos to every dangerous animal you can imagine.
Unfortunately, no game is without its flaws-which there are a few of here.
Fast travel points are few and far between, so there might be some missions where you'll find yourself repeating minor boss battles over and over again, unless you run through the mission all in one go.
Also, I have had a few problems with the game deleting my Badass Rankings from time to time, but it's nothing terribly serious.
All in all, Borderlands 2 is easily one of the best games ever, period.
If you have the money and something to play the game on, you have no excuse to be reading my review and not buying the game.
Take the hint, and buy the crap out of Borderlands 2 before nuclear war happens, or something else takes away your ability to play this beautiful game..
Having Fun But There Are Some Annoyances.
I never played the first Borderlands so I'm going into this one blindly.
So far I'm having a lot of fun.
I love a good first person shooter, especially one that makes you think and form strategies.
I love shooting with sniper rifles and I've found a good one and am so far sticking with it along with a good machine gun.
I'm early on in the game, just made it to Santuary, but I must say there are a few things that the game could have improved on.
At one point I fell into a crevice between two structures and got stuck and couldn't get out and had to quit the game and start the mission way back at the quick travel point.
The save system is all screwed up because when you die, you regenerate at the last save point, but if you quit the game and start again you regenerate all the way back at the area's quick travel point, which is a real pain because you then have to fight your way through all the regenerated enemies that you've already killed in order to get back to where you left off.
Considering how long some of the missions are probably going to be, using "world's greatest minion" as an example, I can imagine this getting very frustrating.
The "fight for you life" mode is also completely annoying.
I've managed to save my life a few times by killing something while in fight for life but even then you only come back with a little bit of life left and if nothing is around to kill you just have to wait it out and die.
So far there's no way to give yourself any health unless you stumble upon a health needle and these so far have been far and few between, and they can't be saved to use in emergencies but can only be consumed on the spot when picking them up or buying them.
I wonder if this will change as the game goes on.
Besides these flaws the game is pretty addicting and I'm glad I traded in my copy of Dead Island (one of the worst games I've ever attempted to play) to get Borderlands 2 at a cheap price.PART TWOWell into the game now and there are quite a few annoyances that subtract from what could be a perfect game.
Firstly the missions are so long and drawn out.
I'm trying to save Roland now and I've been at it for two days.
It's very hard to create a strategy because even though you slowly get an understanding of what types of weapons work best on what types of enemies, the weapons you need aren't readily available.
You might be lucky enough to stumble upon the perfect weapon that works well against a giant shield, but if not, you are going to find yourself spending hours trying to defeat the shielded boss as swarms of enemies fire at you until you just might want to throw the controller at the screen.
It's cool that there are so many weapons available but it's also overwhelming.
I mean, you can spend hours in your inventory trying to figure out what you want to sell, what you want to keep in your safe and what you want to equip, only to then stumble upon another chest of weapons that you might not even be able to pick up if you are equipped to the max: then you have to decide what you want to drop if anything.
The action is very fast paced which means you're very likely to get overwhelmed by multiple enemies, making you die, costing you money and sending you back to the last checkpoint.
I have a feeling this wouldn't be a problem if you are playing with a friend or two, but in a single player campaign some of these areas can be almost impossible to complete without dying a dozen times and this is very, very frustrating, especially since you lose a good chunk of money every time you die.
Anyway, I'm at the end of the saving Roland mission (I hope) and am trying to kill that thing with the shield and must have died twenty times already, even though I'm using weapons that are suppose to work well against shields, so thought I'd take a break and express my frustration here.Also, I'm finding the music really repetitive.PART THREEAaaaahhhhhh!!!!
Thought maybe if I did a few side missions I'd get some better weapons or something.
After battling a couple of hours through dozens of enemies and finally figuring out how to get to the top of the ship while battling more enemies all along and of course dying several times, I tried to make my way back to get my loot and absolutely could not find a path to get back to the starting point of the mission.
After another hour of driving around in the clunky vehicle crashing into things and getting attacked by more enemies and dying a dozen more times I started screaming and cursing and turned the system off before I kicked it to pieces.
What is wrong with game developers these days.
This game has such great graphics, such a wonderful fighting system, so many unique weapons, but trying to get through a single side mission is like wading through sludge.
I just want to get back to the start point already!!
I don't want to fight a thousand more guys.
I want to get to the start point and save the stupid progress already.