Vault hunters, it’s up to you to stop Borderlands 2’s interesting and newly introduced villain, Handsome Jack. This trailer mainly focuses on who the main antagonist of Borderlands 2 is. It also made me let out a good hearty chuckle, which is a good sign as I haven’t laughed at a trailer in… well, I can’t remember the last time.
Jack definitely seems to be less of a cardboard cut-out than the last villains of the first game. Standing up to any boss in Borderlands was pretty much like going up against a rock that usually shot back at you. Sometimes they were tough, but they left much to be desired. Gearbox hopes to answer some of my villainous woes with Jack; so far so good it seems.
The bad news is that there has also been quite a hubbub about a new mode that was referred to as “girlfriend mode.” It was cleared up later by Gearbox’s lead designer John Hemingway that it was to be stated that it is actually a “BFF skill tree,” which will make the game easier for players unaccustomed to first person shooters.
Hemingway described the BFF skill tree as follows:
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.
I can understand the wording may have been off, but it’s not as big of a deal as it’s been blown out to be. He cleared it up and even Gearbox co-founder, Randy Pitchford, stepped in on Twitter to clear it up that “there is no universe where Hemingway is sexist,” and “Borderlands 2 does NOT have a girlfriend mode.”
That being said, it sounds like a great mode to get inexperienced players a chance to get in some Borderlands 2 fun with their buddies. I know a few people I’d like to play with, but they’re not so good with first-person shooter games. I guess Gearbox thought of everything to reel in new fans!
You and your less skilled friends can all pick up Borderlands 2 on September 18th, 2012 for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.
via Game Rant
Gearbox Software has found a way to escape censorship inside of certain parts of the world that strongly despise violence in video games. But Borderlands 2 isn’t going to be knocking down any of its violence, in fact, it appears to just going just as all-out as ever.
It has been announced today by Gearbox that Borderlands 2 will sport a new feature for anyone who dislikes the violence as well. The ability to toggle on and off the gore. Although they haven’t stated if there’s a full spectrum of options entailed by this or not. I guess we’ll find out on release. This is definitely not a bad thing, seeing as how everyone can get the exact same experience no matter where they live in the world.
They seemed to have found a sort of loophole in the system in regards to violence. Not everyone everywhere can enjoy watching all of the psycho’s blow up into pieces, if they so wish.
Borderlands 2’s release date is coming up shortly on September 18th, 2012 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.
via Game Rant
Here’s a pile of delicious news for Borderlands fans! Gearbox has announced a couple of things in the past little while that have gotten me even more excited for Borderlands 2. Such as the campaign length, which is apparently 58 hours long. Whether this is just drawn out by collecting everything possible or any other strange little obstacles that could forcing you to take your time isn’t clear, as it was done by those working on a game guide. But that’s no reason to be worried in my books. Gearbox did a great job with the original Borderlands in terms of length and replay value. I felt the need to jump through multiple times with different characters to see what I was missing in terms of gameplay and loved every second of it.
Steve Gibson, Gearbox’s VP of Marketing, said that playing Borderlands 2 is to be seen more of a hobby opposed to just blasting through the experience for players.
We look at it as a hobby, and that isn’t even counting the new Badass Points system and how that’ll affect every character you do. We want it to feel like you get more for your money. We’re happy for people to pay their money once and feel that they get ongoing value.
Gearbox has also stated that the game is officially finished. It’s ready to prepare for being tested and to undergo the certification process. During this process the game is heavily checked to kink out any bugs, ensuring it’s ready for release. They’ve said they’re busy developing downloadable content for the game now. This includes the announced Mecromancer content. The content will be free of charge for anyone who is part of the Premiere Club, and is set to release anywhere between 60 to 90 days after the release of the main game. Anyone can join said club by pre-ordering the game at specific retailers.
This additional time grants them a chance to possibly develop ports of the game for other systems. Randy Pitchford has already stated his eagerness to put Borderlands 2 on the Vita, and made several positive notes about the Wii U as a console. But for everyone else on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, Borderlands 2 comes out on September 18th, 2012.
Gearbox’s own Randy Pitchford revealed that you’ll be able to mod Borderlands 2, but you’ll have to do it without an official toolkit. I’m not sure what this means for the modding community preparing itself for Borderlands 2. I’ve never gotten into the modding aspect of PC gaming, but I do enjoy to indulge in everyone else’s creativity. Modding can be a great way to extend a games lifespan so it’s strange to hear that they won’t be including a SDK. They didn’t with the original game, but I guess it has shortened the development length as Pitchford insinuated here:
The best thing we could do for the community was get to work on Borderlands 2. Imagine if we’d spend a year working on an SDK for BL2.
The community picked apart the original Borderlands to its core and modded like that, so I’m sure they could do it again. I never tried to install mods for Borderlands but maybe I’ll try to give it a shot as I have it on Steam from a sale. Maybe it creates a stranger way to install them for me, who is used to installing mods the way Valve games allow because of their SDK’s.
Pitchford also commented his enthusiasm for trying to get Borderlands 2 on the Vita:
One of the things I wish Sony would do is get behind Borderlands, because I’d love to see a Vita version of the game. We’re too busy to develop it ourselves. But I know there are a lot of talented developers who could take our code, our source and our content and perhaps create something like that.
Borderlands has gathered a large enough audience and the Vita even allows for downloadable content, which is sure to come. Even a release set after they’re done with Borderlands 2 on consoles would be good with me. Them handing their code off to someone else could be an iffy move. Game ports aren’t always the greatest. I feel as if it’d be a smart business move though, but I’m not sure how those things come to be.
Borderlands 2 is set to be released on September 18th, 2012.
via VG247
Hope you kept that Borderlands save file of yours! Because Borderlands 2 will be offering free in-game goodies for those who have still have them. You’ll apparently be receiving all of the items shown in the image included according to the official Gearbox blog post.
This is the kind of fan-service I love to see. Not some downloadable content that costs a buck or something and adds something as minuscule as a new face for your avatar or a different weapon. Free in-game swag for those who purchased the previous games and played them. A tip of the hat to you, Gearbox, for doing something considerate (even small) for your fan base.
via Kotaku
