All Articles: Borderlands 2
Vita Slim handheld launches alongside Borderlands 2 this Spring
Wow. Sony announced today that the Vita Slim is coming to the US this spring, along with dropping the bombshell on this beauty: a gorgeous Borderlands 2 Vita Slim bundle. The bundle will have the brand new slim, which is 20% slimmer, 15% lighter, and has “1GB of internal memory built into the system.” It will also have Borderlands 2, six DLC packs (Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty, Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage, Psycho Character Class, Mechromancer Character Class, Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack 1, and the Collector’s Edition Pack), and an 8GB memory card.
That’s not all – there’s also the fact that “the battery life of the new PS Vita system has increased to 4-6 hours of game play, up from 3-5 hours in the current model, and about 7 hours of video play, up from 5 hours from the current model.” Add in that “its 5-inch front touchscreen has a new high-definition liquid crystal display (LCD),” and you’ve got some heavy machinery – for $199.99.
If you’ve been waiting to get a Vita, this might be your best chance. Hit the jump for a list of a few other big games Sony plans to release for the platform this year. (more…)
Borderlands 2: Mad Moxxi and the Wedding Day Massacre DLC coming next week
Gearbox is hard at work on the latest addition to the Borderlands 2 Headhunter series… and its almost here! The latest DLC, Mad Moxxi and the Wedding Day Massacre, takes a poke at the big bad Hallmark machine, Valentine’s Day. The Hodunks, the Zafords, and everyone’s favorite, Ellie, will be there, as well as Innuendo Bot 5000, who is sure to have some hilarious new dialogue.
Of course, once you beat the main boss, there are head mods for your character, and according to the 2K blog, “This time the heads are a little more graphic. With these new heads, you’ll also get an inside look at the Vault Hunters, especially Zer0… though it should be said that his new head is named ‘N0t C4n0n’ for a reason.”
Gearbox also announced that, Sir Hammerlock Versus the Son of Crawmerax, the fifth (and final!) DLC in the Headhunters series, will be out in April. While these are fun, they are far too short, and I’m hoping these talented developers will get to making Borderlands 3 already.
Mad Moxxi and the Wedding Day Massacre will be out on February 11 for the PC, PlayStation Network (PS3), and Xbox Live Store (Xbox 360).
Take Two: 10 next-gen games in development, more Borderlands 2 DLC on the way
As we first reported back in September, 2K Games has announced plans to release more downloadable content for Borderlands 2 in 2014. I guess the three “Headhunter Packs” (and the rest of the game’s DLC expansions) were quite successful.
Here’s what Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick had to say about Gearbox’s future DLC plans for Borderlands 2 during yesterday’s quarterly conference call:
“Borderlands 2 is a prime example of how we are able to generate substantial revenue and profits from add-on content over an extended period. In the 16 months following the title launch, we released nine substantial downloadable offerings, dozens of smaller character customizations, and we have plans to release more downloadable content in the coming months.”
Zelnick also reconfirmed that the publisher has more than ten titles in development for next-generation consoles:
“Looking ahead, we have a robust pipeline for both new intellectual properties and offerings from our proven franchises in development including more than ten unique titles for the next-generation consoles.”
This Fall’s Evolve, a co-op shooter from Turtle Rock Studios, will likely be the next next-generation title released by 2K Games.
Borderlands 2: How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day DLC coming tomorrow
It’s great to see that some games are still getting new content over a year after their release. Borderlands 2 was released in September of last year, and has since seen almost a dozen DLC options including full-size expansions like “Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt” and “Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep” and smaller downloads such as the “Krieg the Beserker” character and this Fall’s bite-sized “Headhunter Packs.”
Speaking of Headhunter Packs, the latest one, “How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day,” was recently revealed by Gearbox.
The downloadable content is the third installment in Gearbox’s Headhunter series, which also includes the Halloween-inspired “T.K. Baha’s Bloody Harvest” and the Thanksgiving-themed “Horrible Hunger of the Ravenous Wattle Gobbler.” The newest Headhunter Pack will take place in a snowy town called Gingerton where players will explore Frost Bottom in an all-new mission, complete with unlockable heads and skins.
Best of all, “How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day” will be available on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC (and Mac) tomorrow, December 17th.
2K has “more than 10” next-gen games in development; next Borderlands 2 DLC set for November
Take-Two Interactive published their quarterly financial report yesterday and while revenues were down, the company expects to post a very healthy profit by the end of the year thanks to Grand Theft Auto V.
Looking to the future, Take-Two announced that they have a wide variety of next-generation games in development. According to Take-Two’s President, Karl Slatoff, the company has “more than 10” next-generation titles in the works including Turtle Rock’s co-op shooter Evolve and an unannounced game at 2K’s recently opened Bay Area studio. And before you get your hopes up, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick adamantly refused to talk about the company’s next-gen plans for the Grand Theft Auto series.
The publisher plans to begin unveiling some of these titles “during the next several months” and plans to release several of them during their 2015 fiscal year (April 2014-March 2015).
But in the more immediate future, Take-Two also confirmed that the next Headhunter Pack for Borderlands 2, “Wattle Gobbler,” will be released in November.
New Releases: Beyond: Two Souls, Pokemon X/Y, Just Dance 2014, More
All you Pokemaniacs can rejoice, for it is time. Pokemon X and Pokemon Y, the first “main series” Pokemon games for the 3DS, will be released this week.
If you’d prefer something a little more out there (and you own a PS3), there’s Quantic Dream’s latest action/adventure game, Beyond: Two Souls. The supernatural Saga of Jodie (played by Ellen Page) and her doctor (played by Willem Dafoe) is sure to feature plenty of the developer’s signature weirdness and grandeur.
And if you want to go REALLY out there, NIS America will release Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness for the PS3. The latest game in the insane strategy RPG franchise is a direct sequel to the to the first game in the series, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, which should please its many fans.
This week’s last “new” releases is Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2014. The dancing franchise will boogie its way (again) onto the PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360 this week. PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game are set to be released in November.
Finally, a trio of re-releases should keep budget hunters happy as 2K Games/Gearbox will release Borderlands 2: Game of the Year Edition, Bethesda/Arkane will release Dishonored: Game of the Year Edition, and Capcom will release the Capcom Essentials collection (which contains Dead Rising 2, Devil May Cry 4, Mega Man 10, Resident Evil 6, and Super Street Fighter IV).
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Borderlands 2: T.K. Baha’s Bloody Harvest Preview: I Hope You Like Boss Battles
I finally got a chance to get back to PAX Prime this year after a two-year hiatus from what may always be my favorite gaming expo. And, unsurprisingly, the first thing I got to play on the show floor at PAX Prime was the new Headhunters Pack for Borderlands 2, T.K. Baha’s Bloody Harvest. This new series of smaller DLCs are heavily focused on boss fights, and that was immediately clear in what we got to play. We also got to spend some time with Josh Jeffcoat, the Game Designer on the Headhunters Pack. (more…)
Gearbox wants to do more Borderlands 2 DLC in 2014 if Headhunter Packs are successful
During last weekend’s PAX Prime expo, we had a chance to talk with Josh Jeffcoat, a Game Designer on Borderlands 2 at Gearbox Software. In the course of the interview, Jeffcoat had a lot to say about the game’s upcoming trio of mini-DLCs and revealed that the company’s current plan is to release all three Headhunter Packs by the end of the year. Though pricing details for the three packs have yet to be announced, Jeffcoat confirmed they’ll be cheaper than previous expansions like “Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep” (which was priced at $9.99). The first pack, “T.K. Baha’s Bloody Harvest,” will be available in October.
Jeffcoat also told us that the developers at Gearbox would love to create more Headhunter Packs in 2014, if the first three sell well:
Basically, we’re just going to see how people like it. If they like these new smaller-scale campaigns, then we might try and keep doing more of them, because they’re much, much faster for us to make than the full-scale Tiny Tina DLC was.
Obviously, this isn’t confirmation of anything. But the complete range of downloadable content for Borderlands 2 has been so successful that I’m certain fans will flock to the first three Headhunter Packs as well. Oh, and we’ll have a hands-on preview of “T.K. Baha’s Bloody Harvest” for you next week.