All Articles: Borderlands 2

The Borderlands 2 pre-order bonus news is finally official: you’ll be able to play as Gaige the Mechromancer, pictured above, starting October 16. The DLC will be free to those who pre-order the game at participating retailers (which, according to the Blands 2 website, seems to be just Amazon, Best Buy, or GameStop). For those who don’t have the Premiere Club Membership, the DLC will cost $9.99/800 MSP.

I am so excited for Borderlands 2 that I can’t stop playing the 16-bit demake. Also, have you seen the skill trees yet? How is it not September 18 already?!?!

With just a week to go, are you just itching to return to Pandora? Well, Gearbox wants to scratch your Borderlands 2 itch a might early as they’ve released the Skill Tress for Axton, Zero, Salvador, and Maya. Gaige the Mechromancer will have to wait.

To access the Skill Trees, head over to borderlands2.com/us/#characters and click on the character of your choice. Then head down to the bottom of the page and click on “View Skill Tree.” From there, you can distribute your Skill Points and see how your Commando, Assassin, Gunzerker, or Siren stacks up.

Borderlands 2 will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on September 18.

In a move certain to fan the flames of the DLC debate, 2K and Gearbox have announced four additional downloadable campaigns for Borderlands 2 before the retail game is even out. Each one will cost $9.99, meaning the total comes to $40, two thirds of the game’s actual price. Thankfully the company is offering a Season Pass, which will ensure that you’re the proud owner of all four DLC campaigns for only $30, saving you $10.

Minus the Season Pass, this is the same amount of content Gearbox created for the first Borderlands game.

I love Borderlands and the DLC for the original, But I still bought them through gritted teeth over the realization of spending $100 on a single game. Especially when the Game of the Year edition was released with all four campaigns included (and is now available for a mere $20). So if you love Gearbox’s humorous FPS and are flush with cash, the Season Pass may be for you. But for the rest of us, hold out for the GotY edition, which given current trends will probably be out this time next year.

Borderlands 2 will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on September 18.

Gearbox is certainly giving gamers value for money with the much anticipated sequel to their cel-shaded FPS, Borderlands. In a genre known for its stingy single player campaigns as developers focus on multiplayer, it is heartening to hear what Steve Gibson, Gearbox’s VP of Marketing, had to say about Borderlands 2‘s 58-hour campaign:

“What we like to think about it is, Borderlands is a hobby. Some guide guys just did a playthrough of Borderlands 2 and they reported back to us that it takes 58 hours to play through the campaign – and that’s just one playthrough with one character. So the depth with which people can get into that… Yeah we look at it as a hobby, and that isn’t even counting the new Badass Points system and how that’ll affect every character you do. We want it to feel like you get more for your money, we’re happy for people to pay their money once and feel that they get ongoing value.”

The Badass system Gibson refers to Achievement-esque tokens that the player will receive for performing certain tasks or feats. These can then be cashed in to improve character stats across the board, so if you start the game with a new character class, your Badass ranking will carry over.

Considering the original game took 30-40 hours to complete depending on how many side-quests you chose to do, it looks as if Gearbox has cooked us up quite the psycho stormbrew. The company has announced that the game has been sent for certification, which means it is fully finished, locked, and loaded. The team is now hard at work on post-launch content, including the new playable character, The Mecromancer. The new female cyborg character DLC will be released 60 to 90 days after the game launches, and will be free to members of the Borderlands Premiere Club i.e. those who place a pre-order of the game.

[Source: GamerZines, Gearboxity]

In the jungle… the mighty jungle… I love Gearbox tonight. Wimoweh! Wimoweh! Wimoweh! Wimoweh! Wimoweh!

Yup, the little ditty that made The Lion King such a hit with the kiddies (Elton who?) has turned up in the latest trailer for Borderlands 2. Naturally, there’s plenty of mayhem and monsters and guns, lots of guns! Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

Borderlands 2 will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on September 18.

Gearbox first announced that Borderlands 2 would be available in multiple special edition configurations at this year’s PAX East expo. But I guess everyone was too busy waiting in line to play Borderlands 2 to notice.

Today, they announced the full details of the two packages and they will make any loot hunter squeal with delight while also making their wallets cringe with fear. Just what will you get for your hard earned cash? Check it out…

The “Deluxe Vault Hunter’s Collectors Edition” ($99.99 MSRP) includes an authentic Marcus Kincaid bobble head, hardbound art book, map of Pandora, comic book download and a four sticker set.

Meanwhile, the “Ultimate Loot Chest Limited Edition” ($149.99 MSRP) packs an exclusive SteelBook case, numbered certificate of authenticity, creatures of Pandora wide format ID chart and four lithograph postcards with a Marcus Kincaid bobble head, hardbound art book, cloth map of Pandora, comic book download and four sticker set, all packed in a replica loot chest!

Sound awesome? Why yes it does. Both special editions will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. You can get a closer look at the contents of both special editions after the break. (more…)