4/5 Fireballs

Advertisements for “Borderlands 2” promise two things: dubstep and “87 bazillion guns.”

While dubstep seems like a far more realistic expectation, this game actually provides far more weapons than wubs. All this is set to a soundtrack that’s really more like industrial Southern electronica than dubstep. Call it false advertising, but it’s probably for the best that they showed a little musical restraint.

Set on the newly colonized planet of Pandora, the comic-book-style shooter puts you in the shoes of a “Vault Hunter,” an intergalactic fortune-seeker. Unfortunately, the planet is in the grip of the Hyperion Corporation, whose space station nearly eclipses the moon and whose maniacal CEO, Handsome Jack, is also after the fabled vault.

There are four classes of Vault Hunters to choose from, each with his or her own special abilities and upgrades. The Commando can throw down an automated turret to assist him, the Siren can freeze enemies in a bubble, the Assassin can turn invisible while creating a hologram decoy of himself and the Gunzerker can wield one weapon in each hand. By upgrading these abilities, the characters gain secondary effects, like health or even ammo regeneration.

The real draw, though, is the guns — all 87 bazillion of them. They’re divided into fairly standard classes of pistols, SMGs, shotguns, combat rifles and rocket launchers. From there, they are further divided by manufacturers. Jakobs guns usually do high damage, while Bandit guns hold much more ammo. Tediore guns don’t reload — you simply throw the gun away, it explodes and you find a new copy of it teleported into your hand. The eight manufacturers then have completely unique stats from weapon to weapon, the rarity being gauged by a color-coding system. There are electricity-shooting rifles, long-range shotguns and even missile-firing machine guns. Those come just a couple hours in.

You’ll really need all that firepower, too. The action can be pretty brutal. Enemies are a lot smarter than they were in the first game and they won’t hesitate to chase you out of cover. Your character can also seem a little fragile, especially during earlier levels. Luckily, even after you lose all your health, you have a chance to earn a “Second Wind” by taking out an enemy while you’re down. Plus, this challenge is offset greatly by cooperative play.

Up to four players online — or two on the couch — can play with one another, which makes the enemies a little bit tougher. However, you’ll quickly find that four guns are better than one. Many of the class abilities are made to complement multiple players: The Siren’s Phaselock can halt a powerful enemy while players focus their fire on it from behind the shield of the Commando’s turret.

Players can also mount up together in vehicles. The vehicle action is a welcome change, but it lacks the variety of the gunplay and sometimes feels like filler, even at its most fun. The game’s mission structure also tends to separate story from gameplay, to its detriment. The creators at Gearbox Software clearly put a lot of time into creating the world, but too much time is spent communicating with characters by radio for you to build any real connection with them. I found the game funneling me toward the action, even if I’d rather just spend more time with the spastically cheerful robot or the redneck mechanic.

Even in the oversaturated field of first-person shooters, there really isn’t any other game like “Borderlands 2” in look or in feel other than the original. The improvements to enemy AI and weapon variety are minor, but fans of the first will enjoy the wider scope and new classes. As long as you’re up for a challenge or have a few buddies, you’ll probably find more than a little treasure on your trip to Pandora.

Published on September 23, 2012 at 10:35 pm

Contact Isaac: ikdavis@syr.edu