Borderlands 2 Game of the Year Edition is a Shooter, Role-Playing (RPG) game for the Windows.

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Overall 9.4    Graphics 8    Sound 8    Addictive 10    Story 8.5    Depth 9.5    Difficulty 7


Wickedly Fun, Wickedly Weird   siksiksikki
   Borderlands 2 was a grungy and in-your-face first person role-playing game with a heavy emphasis on cooperative multiplayer that released in September of 2012. After the commercial success that was Borderlands, Gearbox decided to go bigger, better, and ultimately funnier as they worked on it's sequel which is heavier in plot-content and contained hundreds of thousands more guns than it's predecessor. Combined with an oddly unique love for the community which resulted in constant updates and multiple events that practically anyone could participate in and a plethora of DLC and free goodies- Borderlands 2 is easily one of the greatest and most addictive games I've ever played (with over 100+ hours no less).

GRAPHICS - 8

   Right from the very beginning with the original Borderlands Gearbox traded off realistic and polished graphics that the majority of shooters actively strive for in lieu of a cel-shaded comic book style which favors thick and heavy black lines over minimal cartoonish textures. It's a style that is applied to literally everything in the game, from the characters and monsters to the architecture and landscape. A fantastic move for a developer who doesn't work on Nintendo games- since more animated and exaggerated styles tend to be a little more timeless instead of eventually feeling outdated like graphics that strive to be 'real' due to being stuck in the technology available at the time.

   This time around with the sequel Gearbox added on a number of new visual features that stick out really well on top of the aforementioned cel-shaded modus operandi. A subtle depth-of-field is the main feature noticeable from the onset of the game since you start out in the middle of a blizzard and continue on into a snowy region for awhile before seeing more color aside from white, but it's effective nonetheless making the foreground feel brighter and closer compared to the blurry backdrop of mountains and other regions. Later on as you move in and out of dungeons and through various and unique areas the depth-of-field is combined with a beautiful ambient occlusion system that gives every section of the map a memorable feel that sets them apart from other each other.

   Another notable inclusion that I, personally at least, felt was very refreshing in an open world environment such as Borderland 2 was the ability to actually see other areas. Check it out if you ever find yourself playing Borderlands- While standing in Thousand Cuts I can easily see the huge Hyperion tower that serves as an important location in the plot later on, and while standing on the platforms of that Hyperion tower I can see off to Terramorphous Peak which is the location of a frustration inducing end-game raid boss and- wait, is that? You can even see the frustration inducing end-game raid boss ITSELF from this vantage point!

   Borderlands 2 isn't perfect, of course, though the issues it does have are minute and easy to ignore. A missing texture or two can be seen in locations that players aren't generally meant to see or explore anyways, and you can also find areas where there are holes in the landscape geometry that you can actually fall through if you're really trying your best to look for them.

SOUND - 8

   The music in Borderlands was very hit-and-miss for me. The opening theme song was fine enough, but with such big boots to fill with Cage The Elephant's "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked" prefacing the previous game, it fell kind of short- though the opening cinematic itself was great. The combat music felt like combat music with no real frills or thrills, and the same goes for a majority of the other background tracks in the game.   The voice acting is where this game really shines- and when I say shine, I mean like the good 'ol sun in the center of solar system. The original Borderlands didn't exactly have a convincing or elaborate plot- and I'll talk more about that later- so the characters didn't really have much to say outside of their combat dialogue. With Borderlands 2 engaging story-line, however, the original four characters were given prominent roles and they use them well. Our 6 possible protagonists in this one, unfortunately, get the Borderlands 1 treatment and are likewise restricted to combat dialogue, but are at least given unique reactions to some of the games situations.   Of all the cast, however, the antagonist- Handsome Jack- stands above the rest. Never have I encountered a villain I've loved so much, and his voice follows every nuance of his crazy personality perfectly. When he's joking, he makes you want to kill him, and when he's angry, you almost feel a little scared for what might happen next.  Other than Jack there are a crazy number of other characters with zany and well acted voices that I just couldn't take the time to name- though I'll at least give some spotlight to Tiny Tina who is voiced by Ashly Burch from the popular youtube series "Hey Ash, whatcha playin'?"ADDICTIVENESS - 10   Never have I ever played a game as addicting as Borderlands 2. Sure, Borderlands was great and all, but the sheer amount of content in Borderlands 2 has me still discovering new things to do and interesting encounters to- well- encounter. With over 100+ hours in the game that I've logged so far, I still haven't seen everything this game has to offer and I'm beginning to get the feeling I never will. There's a lot to talk about here, so I'll try my best to break it down into the basics.   Characters- There are 6 characters you can possibly play as, 2 of which are DLC, and every character has 3 skill trees. Every skill tree has about 10 possible skills, and the majority of these skills have multiple levels. In short, there are about a hundred ways just to BUILD a character, let alone play them. While some of the characters are BASICALLY designed for specific weapons in mind, Gearbox knew that a player might want to- say- run around with rocket launchers as Zer0, and they made sure there are plausible ways to build Zer0 so you can do just that. And with the addition of Bad A** Tokens, which are minute bonuses to character attributes like reload time or melee damage that stack up to big changes, there's likely never to be a character you make that is the same as someone else's unless you're following a specific build.   Weapons- Weapons are the cornerstone of Borderlands. "Well, of course it is, weapons are always important in a first-person shooter." Well, that is very true, but even more so in Borderlands where there are thousands- heck, thousands OF thousands, of possible weapon combinations. You may get a shotgun with exploding rounds that you also throw a copy of like a grenade when you reload. You might get a sniper rifle that shoots a three round burst that ricochets between enemies or off of walls when you're scoped in. You might just get yourself a nuclear rocket launcher that explodes into 3-5 smaller nukes upon detonation- combined with the possible character builds this already presents hundreds of play-through possibilities   Co-operation- Borderlands games can be solo'd, sure, but they are at their heart cooperative titles. Whether it's split-screen or online, playing with friends provides an alternative to many fights in the game, but the enemies do get bonuses while other players are in the campaign as well. You're a sniper, one friend's rolling with a shotgun, another provides a pinning offensive with an assault rifle, and your good friend Wild Bill is reeking havoc with a rocket launcher. Or if you're more like me and my friends, everyone's got their trusty sniper rifle and you're picking everyone off like fish in a barrel- there is NEVER a dull moment when you're duking it out with your best buds while taking out hordes of bandits, psycho's and Hyperion Loaders.   New Game+- Are you done with the game? You saved the day from Handsome Jack and Hyperion? Nope. Do it again on True Vault Hunter Mode where the enemies are tougher but the loot is so much sweeter. Did you take down Jack once again and Pandora is at your feet? Nope, do it again on Ultimate Vault Hunter mode with even TOUGHER enemies and SWEETER loot- and on top of that you can also now collect Seraph Crystals from Ultimate Raid Bosses to truly max out your character to OP8 (which are 8 levels ABOVE the max level. A weird system, but unique and fun!)STORY - 8   The original Borderlands was very light on story- It was very cut and dry: You're adventurers, there's a vault with treasure, and some seemingly mystical pretty lady telling you where it is. The DLC for the original were fun, but overall contributed nothing but a couple characters into the Borderlands canon and interestingly enough the plot for the first game was retroactively made more interesting by Borderlands 2, which explained the former's events in what is meant to be it's true context. Borderlands 2 is where Gearbox really showed off their story-telling chops.   The game opens up with an unfortunate and unintended scuffle between the new Vault Hunters and the global powerhouse Hyperion ends with the protagonist(s) face down in the snow and left for dead before being rescued by everyone's favorite robot: R2- wait, no,  CL4P-TP aka Clap Trap! With a bounty on your head from Hyperion's head-of-command, Handsome Jack, and the mysterious beauty Angel speaking words of wisdom and guidance into your ears you'll head out on your way to meet new enemies, old friends, and find out a conspiracy that reaches back far and deep as you search over the torn world of Pandora in search of a way out of this messy situation and maybe even a Vault full of ancient alien treasure.   Borderlands 2 is full of twists, turns and enough story that you might as well throw away that copy of The Fault In Our Stars you've been reading. Every single inch of this game is riddled with interesting dialogue and uniquely odd/oddly unique quests ranging from a guy who wants you to shoot him in the face (aptly named Face McShooty) to a mission in which Handsome Jack will ACTUALLY PAY YOU TO KILL YOURSELF (warning: in game suicide only). And, for those interested, Gearbox even has a metric buttload of references to memetic subjects like double rainbows or phrases like "u mad bro?" If those aren't your thing, then you can take solace in enemies like Rakkman and or Donkey Mong.DEPTH - 9   I've already mentioned a plethora of features that can keep you playing this game from character creation to the seemingly infinite combinations of weapons. The story itself feels like a good 6-7 hour trek when you're doing nothing BUT the main quest, and side missions and exploration can add well over 20 extra hours on top of that. Combine that with the multiple difficulties and the DLC and you've got yourself an action packed adventure that makes Skyrim look like a middle school student's short story by comparison.DIFFICULTY - 7

   The difficulty in Borderlands 2 can be hard to pin due to all the factors that may or may no be involved. From the perspective of a single player adventure on, say, normal difficulty it's pretty straightforward and acts like a rather traditional rpg. You fight enemies on your level in a specific area, and they may or may not get more and more difficult the closer you get to the next  boss. Attempting to move further than these areas, or other offshoots generally meant for side-quests, will have players pitted against tougher and more difficult enemies until they level up to the appropriate strength necessary to take them on. A skilled or knowledgeable player can generally ignore these ancient rules of adventuring and run headlong through the quests until they end up fighting things that will probably kill you in one shot.   Adding in other players to the mix will have the game remixing and buffing enemies so that they are prepared for multiple targets of different strengths however, and this can sometimes get pretty messy and doesn't feel too balanced if you're rolling with a team of less than 4 members, but as long as you keep your head down and your shields up you shouldn't have too many real issues. Keep your wits about you and experiment with weapon and elemental types to play on the natural weaknesses of your enemy and you should be able to solo even True Vault Hunter mode.   OVERALL Borderlands 2 could arguably be the most enjoyable game I've ever played. It's been awhile since I've had a game that has offered me a challenge, a great story, a fun mayhem filled experience, and barrels upon barrels of laughter all in one sleek and smooth cel-shaded package. Though I've stopped playing it without experiencing 2 or 3 of the games many DLC, I would highly recommend this title to anyone and everyone regardless of their preferences towards playing with others or not- if you want a good time, look no further than Borderlands 2. (I'd highly advise the purchase of the Game of the Year edition, just saying.)
  Graphics 8   Sound 8   Addictive 10   Story 8   Depth 9   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 5/5     Submitted: 05-30-15     Review Replies: 0


Boderbones Episode II: Attack of the Loaders   TheFadedWarrior
TOOT TOOT! WELCOME TO THE REVIEW EXPRESS, PLEASE BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELTS, BEVERAGES WILL BE SERVED IN THE DIIIINING CAAARRRRR!!!!

Borderlands 2 is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Borderlands (surprise, surprise!). It was developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. The original Borderlands revolved mostly around co-op, and so does Borderlands 2, but this game is still great in single-player. There were many mechanic changes that made this friendlier for solo players. For example, better enemy scaling and the ability to move while crippled. I am here today to review Borderlands 2 Game of the Year Edition for PC, which comes bundled with most of the game's DLC.

Graphics - 8

Borderlands 2 is cel-shaded, meaning that most textures are less realistic and have black outlines. Here is Borderlands 2 with cel-shading, and here it is without. You can notice that the game looks like a cartoon or an old 3D Playstation 2 game without cel-shading. Most people would agree that the game looks a lot better with the black outlines.

 

With the art style of the game in mind, Borderlands 2 looks very good. Most of the textures look nice. However, for reasons I do not know, there are many textures that seem to be low resolution and blurry, as well as other textures not "fitting" the object correctly. Due to these flaws, I have to give the graphics an 8.

Sound - 8

Borderlands 2 has great environmental music and sound effects. Each type of gun makes different noises based on the manufacturer, barrel, body, grip, sight, and stock. There is just such a large variety of high quality sounds in this game. The soundtrack is also great. There aren't any songs you'll get caught in your head, but they really build the game's atmosphere. Some of my favorites are Flamerock Refuge from Tiny Tina's DLC and the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve theme.

I think that the real beauty of the sound in Borderlands 2 is the voice acting. Almost all the voice actors did an excellent job, especially Handsome Jack (voiced by Dameon Clarke, known for voice acting Cell from DBZ). He really puts passion into his voice acting. When Handsome Jack is pissed, you know he's pissed. I would provide links to show what I'm talking about, but the only quotes I could find were uh... not exactly appropriate for Vizzed. With the music being great for ambiance or building atmosphere, as well as the voice acting being immaculate, I have to give the sound an 8. I would rate higher but most of the songs are rather dull, there's just a few good ones hidden in there.Gameplay / Addictiveness - 10The Borderlands games are all shooters, with the exception of Tales from the Borderlands. Compared to games like Halo and Call of Duty, Borderlands games are extremely aggressive. There's really only one character that snipes and isn't in-your-face, but he can still be played as one of the best in-your-face characters if you don't like sniping.When you "die," you don't actually die. You will go into "Fight For Your Life" mode. You can shoot your guns and crawl at a slow pace. Killing an enemy while in Fight For Your Life mode (also known as "crippled" or "FFYL") will bring you back to life. However, if you are unable to kill an enemy, your friends can revive you provided they are still alive, or had existed in the first place!Something that I've noticed about me is that I love any games with lots of loot. Diablo 3, Terraria, and Skyrim are all games I love that have loot. I also like RPGs where you can level up and feel like an absolute monster of destruction. With 87 bazillion guns and almost as many shields/grenades/other stuff, as well as having RPG elements of leveling up and getting new skills and abilities, Borderlands 2 is both of these. Loot and leveling up give the player a sense of progress. They did such a good job with the item system and skill trees that you can just feel your character getting stronger and stronger. I cannot speak for all gamers, but progress and new items and growing stronger give such satisfaction to many gamers that it becomes extra addictive.The idea of having 4 base classes and 2 DLC classes really adds to the addictiveness. When you get tired of one character, you could try all the other characters until you find the one that suits you the most. All of this adds up to make Borderlands 2 Game of the Year Edition an extremely addictive game for many players.Story - 9

The story of this game follows the events of Borderlands and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. At the end of the first Borderlands game, there are vaults that open and contain treasures of all sorts. From these vaults, the company Hyperion becomes unimaginably rich by collecting what's inside the vaults. In Borderlands 2 you learn that Handsome Jack, owner of Hyperion, plans to destroy Pandora, a bandit-ridden planet, and take control of the galaxy. He has discovered a vault that, instead of treasure, contains an ancient alien warrior, fittingly named "The Warrior." Your goal is to stop him from controlling the Warrior by destroying his catalyst that is charging the vault key.Throughout the game's main campaign there are funny moments, sad moments, badass moments, and just plain weird moments. The story itself is very interesting and filled with plot twists. I think it is very well written and definitely rates a 9.Depth - 10Borderlands 2 is one of the longest games I have ever played, and that was even before I bought and played the DLC campaigns. The main campaign alone takes about 30 hours, straight through. But with Borderlands 2 being an RPG, there are tons of sidequests. There are 129 missions in the base game and about 260 including all the DLC. These aren't quick 5 minute missions, some of these will take you an hour to complete. According to howlongtobeat.com, if you were to do all the sidequests, that takes about 106 hours if you didn't mess around and just did each quest after another.But the beautiful thing about Borderlands is that you have 3 playthrough modes and 6 classes. Each of the 6 classes is vastly different and provides a brand new gameplay experience. Krieg is all about running up to enemies and cutting them (and killing yourself), but when you're done with him you can have a completely different experience and play as Maya and focus less on tanking and more on pulling enemies together and corroding them. There are 72+8 levels with all the DLC and 50 without the DLC. Also, when you beat the game the first time as a character, you unlock True Vault Hunter mode which introduces stronger enemies, better loot, and new quests. Beat True Vault Hunter Mode and you will unlock Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, which also changes the game balance to be very difficult.So, yeah, Borderlands 2 is huge. Borderlands 2 Game of the Year Edition? Massive. tenouttatenDifficulty - 7Now, the difficulty of Borderlands 2 definitely depends on how you're playing. Not how good you're playing, but the methods you use to kill enemies. Each of the 6 characters has 3 skill trees. Some skill trees suck and will make the game harder. Some characters suck and will make the game harder. Some characters just put the game on easy mode, no matter your level or playthrough *cough*krieg*cough*.It also depends a lot on your loot. You don't need the perfect loot to survive, but you aren't going to do anything if you're level 16 and still using a level 10 pistol. Also, if you're playing as Maya and your class mod and skills are going towards fire-based combats, you're going to need fire weapons to do anything.Overall, though, I think it's a medium-difficulty game and just requires a little to get used to. The game is also a lot easier with more players. Enemies get stronger with more players, sure, but 4x the people = 4x the damage. And in solo mode your only method of reviving is by killing an enemy, while in multiplayer your buddies can revive you. Difficulty gets a 7.DLCThe Game of the Year Edition comes with two characters, plus four new campaigns. I will give a quick review of the campaigns since, after all, this is a review of the DLC version of the game.Tiny Tina's Attack on Dragon Keep - The three other DLC's were outsourced to 2K Australia, so this DLC is by default the more "genuine" feeling. And honestly, this DLC is the best ****ing DLC ever made, and honestly I think it's better than the main campaign of Borderlands 2. It is so good.

Basically, Tiny Tina, crazy 13-year-old, invites the vault hunters from the first Borderlands game to play a game of Bunkers & Badasses. The older vault hunters are playing as the playable Borderlands 2 vault hunters in an imaginary roleplaying world that Tina creates as the game goes on. The happy town of Flamerock Refuge is being attacked by skeletons and wizards and all this cool fantasy medieval stuff, so you gotta go kill the sorcerer that's causing all this. I can't say more without spoiling it, but you should definitely at least get this DLC if you just have the base Borderlands 2 game.

Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt - Sir Hammerlock (Hunter, Scholar, Gentleman) has called you over to his favorite hunting spot to help him catch the biggest monster of all. There are huge footsteps everywhere. You discover that some awkward scientist seems to be cloning someone, but who? And why are all these tribal savage warriors attacking you? While still fun, this is probably the worst DLC of the bunch and definitely the shortest (seriously the campaign is like 4 quests).

Torgue's Campaign of Carnage - WELCOME TO THE BADASS CRATER OF BADASSITUDE, VAULT HUNTER!! I'M TORGUE, AND I'M HERE TO ASK YOU ONE QUESTION, AND ONE QUESTION ONLY... EXPLOSIONS? THERE HAS BEEN A VAULT SIGHTED IN THE BADASS CRATER OF BADASSITUDE. WE AT THE TORGUE CORPORATION SINCERELY BELIEVE THAT IS F****** AWESOME! IT'S SO AWESOME THAT WE'RE GONNA SET UP A TOURNAMENT TO FIND THIS "NUMBER ONE BADASS"!

So yeah you gotta kill other badasses to rise to the rank of number one badass. The number one badass gets to open the vault and stuff. It's a very funny DLC and it's really fun. Probably my second favorite, behind Tiny Tina's Attack on Dragon Keep, of course.

Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty - This DLC is really creepy, but it's also pretty fun. You hear the legend of Captain Blade's Lost Treasure of the Sands, so you go and try to find it and stuff. Yup. There's also a pirate queen that helps you and a Leviathan that may or may not be guarding the treasure. Kind of a boring story but the gameplay is nice except for THOSE ****ING WORMS THAT KILL YOU IN ONE HIT.

Overall, I think the DLC is definitely worth a purchase. If you own Borderlands 2 already without the DLC, it is probably cheaper to just buy the Game of the Year Edition instead of all the DLC separately. It goes on sale a lot.Overall - 9.5Borderlands 2 is probably my favorite shooter of all time, and a strong contender for my favorite video game in general. From all the hundreds of games I've ever played, picking this game to be my favorite is saying quite a lot. It's all subjective, but I do think that no matter who you are or what your interests are, you can admit that Borderlands 2 is an excellently made game. Great graphics, music, and an enthralling story. On top of that, Borderlands 2 is a very fun shooter for any "aggressive" players. Overall I give it a near-perfect 9.5.Thanks for reading the review, feel free to criticize, blah blah blah.Interested in more Borderlands? Read here!Borderlands 1 Review

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  Graphics 8   Sound 8   Addictive 10   Story 9   Depth 10   Difficulty 7
      Review Rating: 3/5     Submitted: 07-05-16     Review Replies: 1

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