So after shelling out $60 on the pre-order of Diablo 3, me along with the rest of the world was hesitant to shell out another $60 for another title that looked promising. I don't think I could've taken another heartbreak this year....until I found the pre-order on sale for $35. Jumped on that pretty quickly.
Welp, here's my run-through Borderlands 2! I'll keep this as spoiler free as possible.
Gameplay:
You've seen this before. It worked for the first game, so they added a mini-map on your screen (thank goodness) and you pretty much just wandered around, shot things to death, found nice loots, and progressed through the storyline
Borderlands 2 was not meant to be soloed. The game is much more fun with multiple people in game shooting alongside you. Although, I must warn you; you will die. And with more people in the game lobby, the enemies get more health and become stronger. Sounds like Diablo 3 Inferno?
The good news is that it makes it harder, but not impossible. I appreciated the fact that you couldn't just steamroll everything in the game, but at the same time you weren't stuck at any point because it was frustratingly difficult. And you could actually kill stuff to find decent loot! (okay, Diablo3 bashing is over).
There are four classes again, all whom have pretty unique special abilities and suited individual player's playstyles. In terms of skills, again, there are three skill trees to choose from or to mix and match, making the characters somewhat customizable.
Story:
This is what put the game into an upper echelon for me. Just. Yeah. I don't know how to write this section without spoilers.
Just know that the storyline was thought out very well. Characters were well developed. And....man. I don't think I've had a "hate" towards a video game character since Kefka of Final Fantasy VI.
For non-spoiling plot related stuff, the dialogue was written with such wit, I found myself laughing quite often. And while the game itself was serious, they did a great job in adding humor at the right times.
Items! So Many Items!
Along with the leveling system, something that sets Borderlands apart from other games is the loot system. It's pretty much the Diablo system (not bashing it), where drops are random, and pretty much no two guns are the same. While this is the formula for some grinding, I really didnt' mind it. It gave me something to work for. Also, having a boss after the final boss for some added difficulty made it worth it to try to find nicer loots, rather than just settle for what you have.
Easter Eggs!!!
I'm usually not huge on these, but Borderlands 2 had so many easter eggs, it was impossible to ignore. From a Minecraft level (CREEPERS!) to references to Rocko's Modern Life, from Donkey Kong to a tribute to a fan who passed away from cancer, Borderlands did a great job in adding small details that made the game much more enjoyable.
Final Thoughts
I don't think I would've minded buying this game at full price, but at $35, it was a steal. After the first playthrough, there are two more playthroughs for added difficulty, making the game have an added dimension with each run.
And while I admit, i ran through this game pretty quickly (i think my friends and I beat it in a week or two), to fully enjoy this game, I'm still playing it now, finding new easter eggs and hidden messages that the creators left for us to find.
The creators already have some DLCs planned for the future. And at this point, I'm pretty much just saying "Shut up and take my money"
