Borderlands 2 Preview

While it seems that we will have to wait for a while for some hands-on impressions for the title, the latest write-up about Gearbox’s hands-off demo for Borderlands 2 comes from Eurogamer, which appears to have good things to say about the game’s improvements compared to its predecessor.

Once the bandits are put to rest, we come upon our first boss battle with the Nomad. Adorned in red leather, he resembles a cross between a Tusken Raider from Star Wars and one of Hostel’s torturers. Holding up his shield, he reveals a terrified half-naked midget chained to it. Considering the impracticality of maneuvering such defense I’m reminded of what Gearbox creative director Mikey Neumann said when presenting the first Borderlands at E3 a couple years back; “Realism can eat s**t and die.” Borderlands 2 appears to be the natural progression of that philosophy.

Shooting the chains releases the midget, who turns on his captor and repeatedly stabs him while we pump the nomad full of lead. During the fight we get to see the Gunzerker’s special ability: a dual wielding barrage of bullets.

While it’s nice to have variety, neither dual wielding nor extra-power boosts are innovative, but they’re fun inclusions nonetheless. More promising is that the Gunzerker can dual-wield any two weapons, including rocket launchers. I almost find myself criticising that being a strong badass shouldn’t have any bearing on your firearm’s strength, but then I remember what Neumann said about realism and realise I’m over-thinking it.

Crossing through a lush green field, we come upon an outpost at a dam run by Hyperion Corporation. Hyperion was once a mining company but has since changed their focus to creating war machines. Their outpost’s technicolour flags and bloody red rafters make this the most colourful post-apocalypse since Enslaved.