Borderlands 2 is big, comrades. Not Skyrim-big or even Amalur-big, but sizeable enough to swallow a weekend and still have room for a couple of sick days.
"The last one was giant," Gearbox's vice-president of marketing Steve Gibson told Digital Spy earlier this month. "This one is more gianter. If you do core missions, ignoring side missions, you could probably plough through it in 20 to 30 hours in one playthrough. If you do side missions, you're looking to get close to doubling that.
You won't need to have played Borderlands or its DLC packs to get going with Borderlands 2, Gibson added, though naturally you'll enjoy it more if you're steeped in Borderlands lore. "When you guys play the full Borderlands 2, we worked really hard to reintroduce all of the characters. It's a standalone game. But if you did play the first one, you will certainly see a lot of things that would be even funnier to you.
"Like, Moxxi and her husbands. There are just a couple of lines in there where she references her husbands, so if you'd played [Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot], you'd understand. If you just play Borderlands 2, you'd probably be like, 'Man, this lady's just a hussy'."
Borderlands was one of 2009's riskiest prospects, a new shooter IP sporting an unusual art style. Analyst Michael Pachter opined at the time that it had been "sent to die".
"The way we felt was that three years ago, when we did Borderlands, we stuck our neck out pretty far," Gibson recalled. "We did what was seen as a bizarre blending of genres, a bizarre art style and a bizarre sense of humour.
"We thought we could either churn out a sequel in a year or two, or we could be crazy all over again - stick out our necks again. That was the decision at Gearbox. People loved the game and rewarded us by purchasing the game.
"We didn't just want to do a wimpy sequel. We wanted to do a full, ambitious, giant sequel, and part of that is the new feeling of experience, and that happens with new character classes."
Borderlands 2 is a better RPG than Borderlands for at least eight reasons. Fun additional facts: the game riffs on Metal Gear Solid and has a less "desolate" feel than its predecessor.
17 comments so far...
msbhvn on 23 Apr '12 said:
I'm sorry, "more gianter"? How do you get to be Marketing VP talking like such a complete moron?
BTW, the "sent to die" link is broken.
OXM ETboy on 23 Apr '12 said:
Fixxored.
I believe he's being ironic with "more gianter". This is a game that has "bajillions"/"bazillions" of guns, remember.
msbhvn on 23 Apr '12 said:
kthxbye.
Decent_Jam on 23 Apr '12 said:
Still interested in this but only on the fringe of actually passing my hand over my wallet for it - any in-depths planned for the near future Mr ET?
OXM ETboy on 23 Apr '12 said:
I've yet to lay hands on it, but Matt's pretty keen. Looks like there's tonnes to chew on, so we may well do something a bit more extended and elaborate, coverage-wise. Any thoughts or wishes?
SidTheSloth on 23 Apr '12 said:
I have sat on the sidelines of Borderlands like a frustrated badger (whatever that means) watching while everyone seems to be having fun wondering why my invite got lost in the post
Seriously, i've never played the original despite my friends all telling me how great it is. The ones who aren't obsessed with CoD are all PC gamers so they all play it together and it's for this reason they say it's excellent, and that single player it's quite boring in comparison to other RPG's.
Does playing alone/with randoms kill the experience? It's not like i need any incentive to get involved with another series etc but this one has always appealed and like a fat lass looking through a cake shop window (or a bezza staring into Greggs) i keep looking at it on amazon before remembering that i have no friends so i'm not allowed to enjoy it - will the sequel be any different?
msbhvn on 23 Apr '12 said:
I played the main game and Zombie Island on my own and really enjoyed it. The Mad Moxxi DLC sucks gorilla balls and turned me off the other two. As long as you're not expecting great things from the story, you'll have fun. Get the Classics version of the GOTY edition to get the DLC on a disc rather than download tokens.
SidTheSloth on 23 Apr '12 said:
I still think i'll put off the first one for now but it's reassuring that if my willpower breaks and i run out of other games to play (HA!) that it's ok to be a billy and play it alone!
Everything i hear about the sequel sounds impressive though, it's the co-op friendly stigma that puts me off - annoying because again, all i'll hear is how amazing it is from the ever so smug PC gits i talk to. Hopefully the graphics will be amazing so they have to upgrade just to play it, should bring them down a peg or two (ignoring the fact the 360 probably wouldn't be able to run it in this eventuality!)
Bezza89 on 23 Apr '12 said:
I've been rabbiting about Borderlands in the OXM nights thread for ages! I am itching to play it with someone but it's brilliant on your own too, there's no cutscenes but the story is given sort of bioshock style in radio form. Get it! Get it! Get it! Get it! Get it! Get it! Get it!
Or don't. I will be getting BL2 though too, so Ed, how big are the areas? Still massive?
golliwoza on 23 Apr '12 said:
I am the opposite to Sid. I have it on PC and no friends to play it with, I am shunned by my fellow xbox friends who all have it.
I do find the original boring solo, some of the quests can be fairly repetitive and tiresome. However the co-op is some of the best co-op I have seen in my short time while playing on the console version and I know that I will not make the same mistake again, so when Borderlands 2 rears its head I am down for getting the 360 version.
SidTheSloth on 23 Apr '12 said:
Yeah but i've started to ignore your posts on the grounds that they make me hungry with all the references to pastry/baked goods!
See, you say it's brilliant, msbhvn enjoyed it, Golli says it's boring...? It's also an old game now so standalone can it really hack it against the witchers and dogmas of this world? Co-op does indeed intrigue, but i think i'm going to wait anyway!
EDIT: Don't know why i added dragons dogma in there, all based on matt's videos, but it could turn out to stink in the long run!
golliwoza on 23 Apr '12 said:
I say some parts can be boring but this is from the person who really enjoyed Kane and Lynch 2. One mans treasure is another mans trash.
Clanger67 on 23 Apr '12 said:
Hey i will back you up there though Golli.,i liked both the Kane and Lynch.Still got them to be fair.Still got Borderlands GOTY,wished i could try it in co-op as i didn't rate all the single player.
SidTheSloth on 23 Apr '12 said:
Almost skyrim-esque!
Leave the arrow to the knee ones alone though!
You are talking to a dynasty warriors fan too remember, i know all about shite game guilty pleasures!
Bezza89 on 23 Apr '12 said:
It can be boring, moxxi especially, but I've played through twice before and am finding the game as fun as before. Just need some extra players, used to play with my CoD friends, I'll ask them.
If you find yourself in a drought though, you know what to get
Like you'll complete something.
SidTheSloth on 23 Apr '12 said:
Soooo true, my afternoon of witcher has turned into trials and OXM
I am such an easily distracted los...
>runs off after spotting something shiny<
Decent_Jam on 23 Apr '12 said:
I think with more coverage I'd be tempted.
Right now I have Borderlands in my head as a comparison in terms of attitude, albeit the style being quite different with the distinct art style and all.
I don't suppose we know if there will be a demo?
I still have countless games to play so god knows why I'm asking about new ones but hey!
I reckon we could get a decent OXM co-op crew together, obviously Bezza's in for one