It’s the relatively common dilemma of the modern world. Well, if you are anything at all like three of my friends and I. Picture this scenario for me, if you will; You and your buddies have decided that, shockingly, the weather is far too poor to venture out to entertain yourselves, and of course that is the sole reason you all agree to stay inside and find a video game to play together. Were the 100mph ice wind not preventing that thrilling jog through the park, or if one had been able to locate a canoe to navigate the streets in the torrential downpour, naturally you would all be one with nature, enjoying the elements in their full glory. Naturally.
As, however, that particular joy has been prevented (plus you’d have to change out of your pyjamas, and that’s just time consuming), you all put your heads together to try to decide which game would suit everyone’s needs. If you buy a co-op game, individually you will not be able to play by yourself when those friends go home, and for some reason, Mr Whiskers the cat seems to be hampered by his lack of opposable thumbs and doesn’t pose a particularly thrilling challenge. If you get an aggressively competitive game, you know that idiot, Rob, will play the game approximately twenty-six hours a day, withering away into a mere shell of his former self purely so he can annihilate you all, and then brag about it to the 400+ friends on Facebook that he has never met.
Thankfully, you will not have to waste any more time, as Borderlands 2 has proudly planted its flag in the middle ground. From the word go, you are immersed into Borderlands world and characters, and you only sink deeper in as the game progresses, right up to its eventual conclusion following approximately a solid week of game play that will require you to stockpile supplies like you are waiting out a zombie apocalypse.
One of my personal favourite aspects of this universe is that instead of a barrage of dull, under-developed characters that are ultimately more annoying than public transport and the Go Compare adverts combined. This is not merely a game, but rather an interactive novel, with characters that are not only visually compelling, but their personalities and characteristics are well depicted, from the gentlemanly Sir Hammerlock, to the particularly insane Tiny Tina. Unlike other games where the breaks in the play are irritating, or you use them to shovel a few handfuls of Wotsits into your mouth for ‘fuel’, the dialogue throughout is witty, intriguing and actually becomes an anticipated facet of the game on its own merit.
Ensuring that I do not give too much away, I can say that the game revolves around six ‘Vault Hunters’, with the DLC packs that I will get to later, trying to murder potentially the greatest villain I have as of yet encountered, known as Handsome Jack. As well as being delightfully evil, the character never tires of sarcastic putdowns or relentless mocking that both entertains, and makes you want to roundhouse kick your television screen in a style reminiscent of Chuck Norris.
For those who have tackled the first in the series, the game play has remained largely the same. For those who haven’t and want to skip straight to Borderlands 2, this is a first person shooter, so get ready to start blowing faces straight off. What separates this game from other first person shooters are the Special Gifts and action skills that make it a joy to play, ranging from Salvador Duel Wielding Guns, to a Floating Death Machine. Prepare to have your mind blown.
The game is fantastic with a solo run through as the levelling system is always at the forefront of your mind and planning what skill would be best to acquire next is essential. The clever and ultimately sadistic designers however have taken full advantage of the players’ childish glee that will kick in when a new weapon drops, and I swear you can hear them laughing when you realise that to take that one with you, you will have to sacrifice another. ‘Pssh!’ I hear you scoff. ‘New is good! New is always better!’ Unfortunately, it is particularly easy to find yourself quite attached to the weapons you acquire as you conquer your foes, and tossing a gun that just moments before was your solitary line of defence standing between four bloodthirsty attackers and your embarrassingly feminine screams of fear, can feel like abandoning your loyal childhood dog at the side of the road. Ultimately though, the bigger, shinier, face-incinerator will win, but you can’t help curse the creators for making you choose in the first place. The game is challenging, although some of the side quests will lull you into a deliciously comforting false sense of security by allowing you to crush your enemies and totally wipe the floor with them. Revel in that feeling, and enjoy it while it lasts, as once you hit the bosses, they shall wipe their backsides with you.
Borderlands 2 really hits all levels of excellent once you get your friends involved and start playing as a team. Whilst the ultimate goal is still the same - beat Handsome Jack into dust using only your fists and suppressed hatred - things are done a little differently... and that doesn’t just mean every so often you have someone to high-five besides your own loneliness. This game is an absolute blast to play with friends, siblings, or that homeless guy that sits outside McDonalds asking for crack burgers. Even though you may want to smack them upside the face after they steal your kills, loot or money. In fact, hang on to everything you have, from your guns to your underwear, and be prepared to pummel your loved ones into the ground (Only metaphorically, mind. Or not. Your choice). Whilst you will have a great time jovially melting faces on your way through the world of Borderlands so you can punch the ‘Handsome’ off Jack, the worst enemy will be your ‘friends’, as everything becomes a competition, and you’ll begin to regret not laughing at Chris when he got smacked in the face with a football in Primary School. Hell, now you will wish you were the one that kicked it. Loot Chests will no longer become a period of deliberating over which weapon can kick the most arse, as instead it becomes a mad dash to grab as much as you can, like a fat kid in a candy store. Fighting enemies becomes a game of blame and self-righteousness, as our team mate suffered by killing bad guys slower than it would take my grandmother to run a 10K marathon. Due to this she gained fewer experience points than my dog did by just walking past us while we played the game. The reason for this is that experience points for each kill is determined by the amount of damage done to the enemy, although different characters have different abilities and are able to cause more delicious catastrophe from the offset. However this just makes the game all the more interesting. It straddles that wondrous fence between competition and co-operation as every moment in combat becomes a frantic dash to screw your friends over, all while praying they don’t leave you behind.
Borderlands 2 should be in your game library if you like RPG’s, first person shooters, competitive/co-operative games and the idea of bashing everything with an axe using a character called ‘Kreig the Psycho’.
I shall leave you with a quote from the game,
“Ignorance and inconsideration may be the better cause of ruin, but they are slow and lacking in spectacle.”
This game has spectacle in spades, and best of all encourages it without losing the substance of the world it has created. Just prepare your snacks in advance.