Borderlands 2 Previews

With the exclusion of GameInformer and its exclusive coverage, PAX Prime is the second time we get the chance to read impressions on Gearbox’s Borderlands 2, and we come away with a few hands-off previews, like this piece from The Escapist, that argues that Borderlands 2 is “bigger, better, and bad-ass-ier”:

Having a clear vision from the start has really helped development. “We had a bit of an identity crisis in the first game,” Kester admitted. He said that the shooter mechanics and RPG-style random loot were always solid, but there was something missing in Borderlands – until the art changed and the game coalesced into something that clearly resonated with gamers.

Now that that is out of the way, Kester said the team could focus on making it all work better. Narrative will play a bigger role in Borderlands 2 with a completely overhauled mission system. “We really want to drive home a story through missions that keep you engaged rather than ‘Go here and pick this up, go here and pick this up,'” said Kester, referring to how the missions sometimes felt in the first game. “Whatever it is you’re doing [in the sequel] actually has importance and is driving the plot forward.”

The demonstration played through such a mission with the player battling mining robots converted into warmachines by Handsome Jack, all to rescue “a friend.” Upon reaching the dam, the friend is revealed to be Roland – the soldier from Borderlands – which is a nice way for players to feel there is a continuity while still providing that variety. None of the characters from the first game will be playable in the sequel, but they might just show up as NPCs.

The Escapist also comes with word that this time Gearbox is dedicating proper attention to the PC port so that it “won’t suck”, though they come away with nothing concrete to back it up:

“We had some digs on the usability on the PC side because it was designed on the console,” Kester told me at PAX Prime today. “We’re making sure [on Borderlands 2] that it works great for the mouse and keyboard style.

“Whatever [platform] you’re on, we want the game to be as awesome as it can be.”

GotGame is convinced that people who enjoyed the first title will like Borderlands 2:

The first thing one will notice when watching the play-through is we’re still on Pandora, but five years after where the first game left off. Since we’ve last visited the planet, a bit has changed. In Borderlands 2, Handsome Jack has crowned himself Dictator of Pandora after claiming credit for finding the Vault and slaying the Destroyer. The world also has a new sense of darkness as Jack blocked out the light with a base on the moon. The first environment we saw was snow-covered, so it appears that the weather may be affected by the moon base as well.

The enemies take damage specific to where it is inflicted on them and you’ll notice them limping or favoring areas that have been wounded. Of course, what fun is wounding the baddies if you can’t do it with some new weaponry. All of the favorite gun manufactures are back, but they come bearing some improvements. For example, every gun from Vladof comes with a gatling attachment. Even the pistols. You’ll be pumping round after round into anyone who gets close. Added to the mix in Borderlands 2 are guns from the Bandits, who now create their own weapons out of scraps of metal. There’s also a new type of gun called the TDR, which is unique in that rather than reloading you simply chuck it at your enemy. Don’t worry, you get multiple ones so you don’t just lose it completely.

If you’re not into guns and prefer to run things over, vehicles are back with 4-person incarnations. The physics have also changed a bit and the shocks and reactionary motion of the vehicles have been improved as well, though running over enemies no longer kills them instantly. You’ll have to back up a few times to make sure they’re dead.

And finally, Platform Nation offers a brief piece on the presentation:

We saw some of the new environments in Borderlands 2; no longer is the game’s color palette just different shades of brown. Now there are all sorts of colors and sceneries, some that were lush in green grass, others were white from the falling snow. Yes, falling snow! This is a much needed, and welcomed improvement.

I was also able to see some brand new enemy types. Bullymong was one of those said types. They jumped huge distances and heights, I witnessed them throwing things around the environment, such as rocks and cars. They were pretty sweet. Mechs also made an appearance in what I saw. Kind of bland in what I saw them doing, but still, it’s a new enemy which is a win for me. One thing, though, that I saw with the enemies that was new was the fact they no longer acted half retarded. They moved around, took cover, worked as a team, even climbed up to you if you were trying to hide from them up high.