Borderlands 2 Previews

We have rounded up a couple of new previews for Gearbox Software’s loot-driven FPS/RPG Borderlands 2, which is slated for a September release on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The Sixth Axis goes hands-on with it:

The gazzilion gun combinations in the game are supplied by eight different gun manufacturers and I found every single weapon I picked up behaved differently. Yes, it really does seem like there are a gazillion guns, I must have used thirty or forty during the short time I had with the game. One of the guns has a rather neat secondary feature after emptying the clip you can throw the gun itself and it will explode like a grenade.

Sadly there appears to be no way to create your own weapons, something I felt was missing in the original game, but you will find yourself swapping between weapons very regularly rather than picking up one gun and using it all the time.

In a nice tweak to the combat system, enemies now react differently depending on where your shots land, making it possible to cripple or stun an enemy by targeting their limbs. Who, what and where you shoot can give you a real tactical advantage in a fight.

While Ve3tro‘s piece seems to be based on a hands-off demon:

There were quite a lot of different enemy types in the two levels being demonstrated. Creatures have shields that are linked to active powers. Getting rid of the shield will make it possible to kill them. But it’s also a way to stop them from using powers, such as the invisibility cloak that the Stalker uses.

Some enemies can even evolve into new variations and it should amuse anyone that dabbled in Pokemon. A common Thresher Maw will evolve into the ferocious Baddass Pyre Thresher. It’s possible to even take out such a ferocious creature by looking out for weak points. Each type of monster will have some sort of weak spot that players need to focus on.

It’s enjoyable to try and find out more about each creature and their attack patterns. This is the sort of idea that makes Borderlands 2 more than the typical shooting experience.