Jeremy Gallen's Game Reviews

Bowling for Pandora

The year 2009 saw the release of 2K Games and Gearbox Software’s Borderlands, which received critical acclaim for its hybrid first-person shooter/RPG gameplay, ultimately leading towards a Game of the Year Edition. Three years later came the game’s first sequel, Borderlands 2, which itself would receive a GOTY version, in keeping in tune with major well-received video game releases, alongside a port two years afterward to the PlayStation Vita, and other platforms such as the Nintendo Switch. The game itself provides an experience on par with its predecessor.

The action-based first-person shooter/RPG gameplay of the first Borderlands sequel largely resembles that of its predecessor, with the player able to wield a variety of weapons that consume different types of ammunition, the player able to restock their supply at vending machines if they have the money, and able to equip a shield that takes damage until it runs out of energy and the player’s character’s health receives damage instead. Fortunately, if the player’s character runs out of health, they have the opportunity for a few seconds to score a kill, in which case the player’s character revives with partial health and shield energy.

If the player does die, however, they revive at the last checkpoint at the cost of less than a tenth of their current money with damaged foes restored to total health, a generous price to pay for death compared to other RPGs such as the Dragon Quest games that take half the player’s money, and other Japanese RPGs that take the player back to the title screen or forces them to sit through all the unskippable company screens over and over. There isn’t much to complain about except the frequency of death and skewed difficulty curve, but otherwise, the gameplay helps the sequel.

Control, however, is more of mixed quality. While the central and side mission objectives are clear, getting lost is no problem, and helpful maps can prevent players from becoming lost, there are some hiccups with the Steam version that include the game not loading correctly, the lack of a suspend save, and the potential inventory space problems (though players can expend Eridium to expand the maximum number of items they can carry in Sanctuary). Ultimately, the developers could have spent extra effort to make the sequel more user-friendly.

Theodore Roosevelt revived as a cyborg

The writing in Borderlands 2 is generally solid, with the player controlling one of many different Vault Hunters on the planet Pandora, the original game’s setting, alongside the always-clear storyline objectives, despite some minor grammatical errors and the narrative feeling forced down the player’s throat, given the unskippable text.

As seems to be the case with most Western RPGs, the soundtrack leaves something to desire, being barely noticeable throughout the game, but some good tracks are present, and the voicework and sound effects are above average for the genre.

Borderlands 2 utilizes a cel-shaded visual style like its predecessor that looks pleasant for the most part despite some bland textures and dithering of scenery that tends to occur immediately after the player loads their game or revives at a checkpoint.

Finally, the sequel will last players a while, its main storyline taking around forty-eight hours to complete. However, the endless array of sidequests and achievements can boost playing time beyond that amount.

Overall, Borderlands 2 is a solid sequel that hits most of the right notes. The looter/shooter gameplay is just as enjoyable as it was in its predecessor, the narrative is superb, the visuals are beautiful, and plenty of lasting appeal exists. However, it leaves room for improvement regarding its control (notably the absence of a suspend save) and unmemorable soundtrack. Regardless, those who enjoyed the original game will likely enjoy its first sequel, and I would gladly continue to play new installments of this franchise.

This review is based on multiple playthroughs of different console versions, most recently the Steam version as Zer0.