Borderlands 2 Preview

The flood of news for Gearbox Software’s sequel to the loot-heavy FPS/RPG Borderlands has slowed down to a trickle in the last months, but that hasn’t stopped Computer and Videogames from writing a new preview for us to read:

The whole world is now streamed from the disc, so no more loading pauses, and you can go anywhere you can see. Previously you’d only see a ‘skybox’ texture of distant landscapes, and had to endure a loading break as you moved between regions. Not anymore.

Visually, the stylised ‘cel-shaded’ visuals are the same, but overall it’s a much better looking game, with more dramatic natural architecture and imaginative character design. For example, the enemy who has a midget strapped to a shield on his chest – you can shoot the tethers to free the midget, and he’ll temporarily fight on your side to get revenge on his captor.

It’s clear that the game’s sense of humour hasn’t been lost, although the risible Claptrap robots are back. The community inexplicably loves them, but we can’t say we’re massively overjoyed to see their return.

One of the biggest complaints about the original was the shonky car handling. This has been addressed, and you’re now able to traverse Pandora in vehicles with responsive controls and the ability to drift around corners. In other words, it’ll be fun.