When I first played Borderlands for the XBox 360, I was hooked. It was the perfect combination of shell-shaded graphics, FPS gameplay, and RPG elements. Character classes were unique and the looting system was downright addicting. I quickly beat the campaign and succeeded to purchase every DLC for Borderlands immediately following each’s respective release date. Like the original, the DLCs offered a unique playing experience that literally occupied hours of my time.
Upon my completion of the campaign and all 4 DLCs, I recall saying one thing. I said, “I can’t wait for Borderlands 2.” Now, it appears the long wait is almost over. Developer 2K has heeded the public outcry for a sequel and will bless the gaming community with the release of Borderlands 2 sometime next year.
The question at hand is will it exceed the original in popularity and quality of gameplay? This leads me to my predictions for Borderlands 2. Please note that my predictions are based solely on information contained within a recent edition of Game Informer Magazine, which featured Borderlands 2 as its central topic.
The story of Borderlands 2 seems somewhat basic, somewhat familiar. The original Borderlands ended with the gang of 4 treasure hunters (Brick, Lilith, Mordecai, Roland) stopping an alien threat from invading the wasted planet of Pandora and the Hyperion Corporation. Borderlands 2 picks up the story shortly thereafter, when a rich, audacious gentleman by the name of Handsome Jack takes credit for the treasure hunter’s actions and quickly rises to power within the Hyperion Corporation. After promising to rid Pandora of its “seedy underbelly,” Handsome Jack attempts to purge Pandora of every individual currently outside the corporate umbrella, including innocent civilians and the original band of treasure hunters. As the protagonist, you are expected to strap on your ammo belt and stop this power-hungry dictator from recognizing his vision of a tyrannical utopia.
Surprisingly, it appears as though Borderlands 2 will not feature the original band of treasure hunters as playable characters. Rather, they will appear in predetermined areas of the campaign as NPCs (perhaps as quest givers or sources or story-related information?). Players will adopt the roles of newly-introduced characters, only one of which has been announced. I’ll discuss this character further on.
For now, I’ll dive into the meat of this article with a heap of personal, educated predictions.
#1: IMPROVED GRAPHICAL QUALITY AND PURPOSE
This sounds like a no-brainer. Of course a sequel will have superior graphical quality when compared to its original. This does not mean that 2K will abandon its favored method of shell-shading graphics. Indeed, it seems as though 2K is content to stick with this animation style, seeing as all artwork released for Borderlands 2 is shell-shaded. These graphics, however, will undoubtedly be sharper and more pleasing to the eye.
Despite any new styles of animation, it appears as though graphics will play a more intricate role in Borderlands 2. Apparently, “characters are now fully animated and inhabit their world.” This statement by 2K seems to hint that the studio will place greater focus on NPC animations and perhaps even voice acting. Text-based quests could give way to auditory conversations between the player’s character and the NPCs. It’s been said that there will be even less focus on cut scenes in Borderlands 2, which means 2K will have to rely more heavily on in-game graphics to propel the story and plot.
2K has also said that players will gain a greater sense of back story concerning the original 4 treasure hunters. This could mean that the re-introduction of each original treasure hunter within Borderlands 2 will come with an in-depth conversation/epic explaining that treasure hunter’s life and motives for pursuing the Eridian Vault on Pandora. This is exciting considering that not a lot of information was released within the first Borderlands that explained exactly why your character was involved in the hunt for treasure in the first place. There was a great deal of internet speculation and fan-fiction surrounding the back story of each character, but nothing substantial or overly-intriguing. It sounds as though Borderlands 2 will fix this issue by weaving an engaging story connecting the playable characters to the original 4 treasure hunters, the Hyperion Corporation, and Handsome Jack.
#2 MORE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
2K has announced the return of several important characters from the original Borderlands, including the bombastic gun salesman, Marcus, and the comedic automaton, Claptrap. Chief among these returning characters is the enigmatic entity known as the Guardian Angel. This character, who served simply as a guide for the treasure hunters, will undoubtedly help propel players through the story, providing information about the Hyperion Corporation and the wiles of Handsome Jack. Exactly who, or what, the Guardian Angel is will likely be revealed in this installment of Borderlands.
It seems as though 2K has big plans for Claptrap too. The latest DLC for Borderlands, Robolution, depicted Claptrap as a mechanical dictator, attempting to rid Pandora of its human element. However, in Borderlands 2, it seems as though Claptrap has regained a semblance of sanity, blaming Hyperion for his brief departure from rationality. Claptrap may very well serve as a support character in Borderlands 2, teaming up with your character and the treasure hunters in an attempt to overthrow or restore order to the Hyperion Corporation.
Marcus will probably revise his role as gun salesman and narrator for the Borderlands saga. I am still unsure as to whether or not Marcus will adopt a more developed role in the overall story.
#3 THE GUNZERKER
The first new class 2K has released to the public takes the form of the Gunzerker. This gun-crazy class takes the form of a bearded man known as Salvador, whose obvious love of chaos is depicted in his character construct. This class will introduce players to the ability to duel wield guns, allowing them to combine any two styles or designs of gun they come across during their trek across Pandora. This means that duel wielding an SMG alongside a rocket launcher is no longer impossible.
This class will undoubtedly comprise the more offensive style of the playable classes. It may be overshadowed in the departments of health and fortitude by a larger, tougher class (much akin to Brick’s class in the original Borderlands), but the Gunzerker will undoubtedly take its position at the front lines of combat.
#4 NEW CLASSES
In addition to the Gunzerker, I believe 2K will probably introduce several new classes unique to Borderlands 2. Considering the game supports 4-player co-op, there will probably be 4 new classes, just as in the original Borderlands. There will probably be offensive classes, like the Gunzerker, in addition to classes specializing in elements and defensive/support capabilities. Personally, I’m hoping for a class specializing in an engineering/crafting skill tree, allowing players to construct new weapons or robotic minions on the fly.
#5 NEW ELEMENTS
Borderlands contained four elements – lightning, fire, corrosive, explosive – built into the firepower of several different guns. 2K has promised the addition of at least one new element known as Eridium, which will enhance the effect of other elements rather than just causing extra damage. Will there be other elements as well? Personally, I’m rooting for an ice element which will allow players to freeze or slow approaching enemies, leaving them vulnerable to being shattered by following explosions or impact. Seeing as at least a portion of Borderlands 2 will take place in the tundras of Pandora, an ice element certainly sounds feasible. On that note…
#6 NEW ENVIRONMENTS
2K has mentioned that the tundra will be among Borderlands 2‘s lineup of new and exciting environments. Probably my chief compliant with the original Borderlands was that environments looked somewhat drab, consisting solely of desert-like locations surrounding steamwork towns and establishments. Possible new environments for Borderlands 2 include the tundra, mountains, sewers, jungles, and even space-themed levels. In my opinion, the more lush the environments the better. There’s nothing that says a conflicted wasteland can’t look good in addition to being filled with fast-pace action. Artwork released for Borderlands 2 seems to hint at an extended color palette, so the possibilities are technically limitless.
#7 GREATER AI
Borderlands contained a lot of enemies who enjoyed running directly at your character, abandoning cover to stand out in the open and unleash hell. There was nothing wrong with this, seeing as Borderlands favored sheer force over intelligence. However, Borderlands 2 hints at a level of increased AI, promising that enemies will favor strategy just as much as they will offense. This could substantially increase the difficulty of Borderlands 2, perhaps even paving the way for multiple difficulty settings. Will enemies in Borderlands 2 be more akin to those in Rage, favoring the safety of cover and teamwork to blindly throwing themselves at your character? My guess is no. While enemies will likely possess a more keen sense of combat, Borderlands has always excelled in chaos, which could be lessened by the introduction of a cover system. Either way, though, combat in Borderlands 2 will likely take on a completely different feel than that of its predecessor.
#8 MORE CUSTOMIZATION
This is the kicker. While Borderlands possessed enough character customization to make gameplay interesting, much more could have been done in terms of skill points and abilities. It seems as though Borderlands 2 will fix that issue. Characters will still have skill trees, but more focus will be given to synergy. Artifacts introduced in Borderlands will also serve a greater purpose, providing additional skill perks and abilities as opposed to simply boosting stats.
I doubt Borderlands 2 will allow players to shape the appearance of their character beyond changing the color of their hair or clothes, but this is certainly a possibility. Conversely, greater differentiation between the skill trees and abilities of separate character classes is a much greater possibility.
VERDICT
Borderlands 2 has its work cut out for it. In order to exceed its predecessor in terms of overall quality, Borderlands 2 will need to tweak elements of character development, environment, story, AI, combat and, most importantly, customization. However, it appears Borderlands 2 is well on its way to accomplishing all of this and more. Information concerning Borderlands 2 is still in its infant stage; more information will undoubtedly be released in the months to come. As we learn more about Borderlands 2, we will likely gain a better understanding about the game’s potential success as a sequel.
Personally, I have great faith in Borderlands 2. I will post more subject matter concerning this game in the months to come as more information is released. Stay tuned!
vg shambler 