Just like every other year, this fall will be loaded with blockbuster releases, most of which are sequels such as Halo 4, Assassin’s Creed III, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Each of these games will continue to be over-hyped, release an unnecessary amount of trailers, and offer merchandiser-specific pre-order bonuses. Being someone that fits the poor college student stereotype, I only have so much money for gaming and I’ve already decided where that money is going: Borderlands 2.
The original Borderlands featured millions of gun-variants, ridiculous enemies, insanely addictive co-op play, and a one-wheeled, painfully talkative, dancing robot named “Claptrap.” This fall’s installment will have even more guns, more outrageous enemies, will somehow be more addictive, and will contain a plethora of bad-joke-spewing Claptraps for everyone to love to hate. Developer Gearbox Software has looked back at the weak points and missing pieces of Borderlands and done their best to fix them all. Each class is more over-the-top than the original four classes. There’s actually a story now as well as an actual villain; who would have thought? The new focus on story should give the game added depth, and with no actual cutscenes, gameplay will not be interrupted.
There were several different weapons manufacturers in the first game, but none of them were noticeably different. In Borderlands 2, however, there are even more manufacturers and each one is distinct in both how they play and how they look. For Example, Tediores are cheap and when you run out of ammo you throw them, they explode, and a new gun appears in your hand. Vladof weapons all have a ridiculously high rate of fire and mini-gun-style revolving barrels.
Borderlands 2 will be bigger and more colorful, taking players to more varied environments, and will produce more moments for you to feel like an absolute badass. The first Borderlands gave me some of my favorite all-time gaming experiences and I expect its sequel to do the same.
Despite its gloriousness, I did not decide on Borderlands 2 immediately. I have been a Call of Duty fan since I received the original game for Christmas back when it first launched in 2003, so I had to give Black Ops 2 some serious thought. Although the Call of Duty franchise has still been experiencing record sales, it has also become increasingly bland and predictable ever since the first Modern Warfare (there are now three). Treyarch plans on ending this cycle by bringing significant changes to both the multiplayer and campaign of the upcoming Black Ops 2. The campaign will feature various points of the story where players select one of several missions. What isn’t chosen can be revisited, but missions not originally chosen won’t play into the story unless played during a new campaign. New “Strike” missions will be played differently than the rest: players can select to play first-person as a soldier like normal, pilot a drone the entire time, take a strategic role from a chopper and give orders, or alternate between all three. For the first time in a long time, there will be replayability to the campaign in a Call of Duty game. Much has yet to be revealed about the multiplayer experience in Black Ops 2, but there will be a third tier to perks when specific perks are paired up.
So, why don’t I plan on letting this game get to my wallet? First off, I’m not yet sold on the changes. I am simply glad that something significant is finally being done to address the problems of the series, but I’m just not sure if the right changes have been made. Also, the story is too real to me. I’m sure that you never thought you’d hear the words “too real” associated with “Call of Duty” ever, but hear me out. In real-life, our military is increasing its reliance on drones. I admit that drones have their uses, but my paranoia makes me wary of their increase in numbers. In Black Ops 2, a terrorist hacks the entire US drone fleet and uses them to bomb our own cities and start a war. To me, that is too terrifyingly real since it plays to one of my greatest fears and because some American drones actually suffered from a virus just last fall.
Maybe, post-launch, after being barraded by my militarily enlisted best-friend for not owning a Call of Duty game, I’ll cave in and buy it. Until then, I’ll spend my time daydreaming of dual-wielding rocket launchers as a Gunzerker in Borderlands 2 and blowing Claptrap into a million pieces of no-longer-dancing robot.
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