i never got into these. I know they are good, and in fact I bought the Vita version and loved it --- but still don't play it. I dunno why.
Way Too Late Borderlands 2 review
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 On 08/27/2014 at 08:50 PM by rejo1479 See More From This User » |
I didn't have much exposure to the first Borderlands game. Aside from hearing "It's got mad LEWTZ!" I didn't know anything about the game. It was released about a year before I got back into gaming, so I missed the fervor that occurs on any game's release. However, the sequel was released nearly 2 years ago. And I was around to hear about it. I actually got fairly excited and hoped to play it with an old friend of mine. However, with varying schedules, it quickly fell to the wayside.
When the game became one of the PS Plus selections in December of last year, it opened up the game for several other friends. This time, I was able to play more than the first couple of hours in co-op, which is how I wanted to experience the game.
And holy hell, was it worth the wait.
I'd heard and read reviews that talked about the silliness of the game. How it seemed to revel in the over the top violence and sometimes trashy humor that flowed throughout the game. I'd heard that Handsome Jack was one of the better villains in gaming. What I wasn't prepared for was the story.
I applaud the internet for not spoiling one of the most interesting stories I'd played in a very long time. I won't spoil anything for those that haven't yet played the game, but once the extent of Handsome Jack's villainy was shown, I stood up and clapped. Seriously.
Bits and pieces of information were doled out over the course of the game via the ECHO recordings. We learned about the various vault hunter's back stories and why they were on Pandora. ECHO recordings also covered some of the history of the inhabitants and how Handsome Jack ruined their lives.
While the loot system was fun and it was very rewarding to explore the world to find Vault Hunter symbols; while I laughed at the wide variety of lines given to various mooks in the world and shook my head at some of the concepts (Innuendobot 5000, for one); while the story's core took an unexpected turn for dour, it wasn't a just one of these that catapulted Borderlands 2 into my must-play recommendations. It was all of them.
Gearbox was able to smash all of these together into a lengthy and engrossing game in a very astounding way. Even more astounding is that the game encourages multiple playthroughs, not just in a new game plus type mode, but as one of the 6 available characters--each with their own powers and combat abilities. AND there are several pieces of DLC that can add between a couple hours to about 10 hours of additional gameplay.
Borderlands 2 is how a developer can do a great job at making a video game. Great story, gameplay that makes co-op and single player outings viable and a devotion to providing dlc that provides a large amount of content--not just a single mission.
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