Borderlands 2! 96.5% AWIMAWEHAWIMAWEH

[Lebzile]

I liked Pandora.

Pandora has Moxxi.

Can't have a BL2 without Moxxi.

[6souls]

http://media1.gameinformer.com/image...overblfull.jpg
http://media1.gameinformer.com/image...erblspread.jpg

Fans of post-apocalyptic RPG-shooter weirdness, rejoice! Today, 2K Games announced the imminent arrival of Borderlands 2, the Gearbox-developed sequel to 2009’s Borderlands. Obviously.

The 2K Games blog informs readers that they should expect the game to hit in the next fiscal year, which starts on April 1, 2012. So I think it’s safe to say that a summer or early autumn release isn’t too far out of the question. The game will feature new “characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons and equipment tucked into new and unexplored areas of Pandora.” Y’know, the usual new stuff a sequel brings.

Interested gamers will also be able to give the game a look at Gamescom 2011 from August 17 to 21 and at PAX Prime from August 26 to 28. But if you can’t get there, the game will be featured as the cover story for this month’s new issue of Game Informer, which is based right here in my adopted home of Minneapolis.

http://blog.machinima.com/insidegami...s-2-announced/
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...0-3458572.aspx
http://www.2kgames.com/blog/borderla...-borderlands-2
http://borderlands2.com/

and it's already up for preorder at gamestop

http://www.gamestop.com/collection/borderlands-2

[Fallyn]

omggggggggggg

[TacoTaru]

Hopefully this one will hold my attention more than the 8 hours the first one took to complete. A little more variety in character customization as well as a reason to play through it more than once would be nice.

[Militant]

Just popped over here to create this thread and saw I was beaten. Man I loved the original BL, haven't fired up my 69 siren or soldier in a while. In fact, I'm pretty sure I have some of the missions on the latest DLC to do as I got distracted from it by starting WoW around the same time. Only bad news is the vagueness on release date.

[Maaglin]

Awesome news. Still play the first one occasionally. Fun to just run around and kill shit and see what drops.

Great time to release this info, with all the crap going on with D3 right now.

[Fairy-Killer]

It's like Christmas.


My roommate and I played this non stop back at college and we loved it. I think on my soldier, we had over 150 hours and he had 3 lvl 69s that I powerleveled up there to have fun with the giant lobster. I'd like to see them implement a more open world but if they leave it the same then I'll still love it. Don't think Gearbox can go wrong with this sequel.

[Maaglin]

Only way to go is up. Solid foundation to work on and let's be honest, any amount of actual story / different environments while keeping the same style of play is a win-win.

[Eggroll]

Only way to go is up. Solid foundation to work on and let's be honest, any amount of actual story / different environments while keeping the same style of play is a win-win.

I'm expecting a lot from the story after they honed their skills on the DLC packs, the dialogue was just amazing in those next to the base game.

[Correction]

Meanwhile, Randy Pitchford is a fucking asshole and needs to stop fucking talking forever:

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2...journalism.ars

Developer calls accurate Borderlands 2 report "shoddy journalism"
By Ben Kuchera | Published about 10 hours ago


Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford is known for speaking his mind, and he seemed particularly annoyed when the news of Borderlands 2 broke last night. Eurogamer was given information from an unnamed source that the game was in development, with a major announcement coming soon. Pitchford called stories about Borderlands 2 "shoddy journalism" on his Twitter account. Here's the problem: the story was 100 percent true. When a marketing plan is in place, reporters defy it at their own peril.

"I can tell you that myself and everyone at Gearbox LOVES Borderlands and we have been absolutely thrilled at the reception it's gotten from our customers and the fact that it's sold over four million units now," Pitchford told Eurogamer in the past. "But we've only announced what we've announced. If we haven't announced it, it doesn't exist." Gearbox did not comment on this latest story

The report spread across the gaming blogs like wildfire, which seemed to annoy Mr. Pitchford. The cat was out of the bag: the game was in development, it was coming, and contrary to what developer bigwigs would have us believe, things certainly can exist before they're officially announced.

"I have long maintained that we will do more with Borderlands," Pitchford tweeted. "Shoddy journalism is not an announcement."

Less than a day later, the official announcement was made. The game is in development, and it will be released sometime in fiscal 2013, which begins in April 2012. In fact, every detail from the original Eurogamer report was accurate. The problem wasn't the journalism, it was the fact that the news of the game's existence was part of a larger marketing plan. "Eager gamers can learn more about Borderlands 2 right now by picking up the latest issue of Game Informer Magazine, which has the worldwide exclusive cover story on the title," Take-Two wrote in a press release. "Readers will find many game details inside the issue, including the first reveal of one of the several new character classes being introduced in Borderlands 2."
It's a problem when journalism happens

This sorry episode is indicative of a larger problem with our business: those that write about games are supposed to be part of a marketing program, and any attempt at breaking a story that isn't handed to an outlet is met with outright hostility. If you get a scoop about a game before an exclusive reveal at another publication, you're going to be called out for "shoddy journalism." Having a story before you're allowed to have it makes you a target.

We experienced this firsthand when we broke the news of Rock Band 3's keytar peripheral. After we ran the story we were contacted by the PR company handling the Harmonix account, and threatened with all sorts of nastiness if the story wasn't removed.

We held firm, because we knew the story was accurate, but what I was unprepared for was the anger from other writers who had signed nondisclosure agreements that prevented them from writing about the peripheral until the NDA expired. From their point of view I hadn't played fair, and in many cases outlets which had signed the NDA didn't pick up our story for fear of angering Harmonix. We had stepped out of the marketing plan for the game by running a scoop we had dug up ourselves, and boy, did we ever hear about it.

Game Informer will still have the first details of the game, and that will remain exclusive until the rest of the gaming press is granted access to the title, which will be playable at PAX Prime. Neither Game Informer nor Gearbox was hurt by the early news of the game's existence, but the power of a Game Informer cover and story can't be underestimated within the industry, and publishers are going to do everything they can to protect the marketing deals they've made with the magazine. If you threaten that relationship with honest-to-goodness reporting, apparently you're nothing but a shoddy journalist.

We've reached out to both Randy Pitchford and 2K Games, but have yet to receive a response at the time of publication.

Borderlands 2 is coming to the 360, PS3, and PC in fiscal 2013.

Update:The quotes in the Eurogamer story came from a previous interview about Borderlands 2. Eurogamer contacted Gearbox about their story before they ran it, and Gearbox has not responded. Our own post has been updated.

He still isn't shutting up: http://twitter.com/#!/DuvalMagic

So beat a gamestop exclusive reveal and get compared to criminals who delete voice mails from the cel phones of murdered girls.

Check it, anything other than being a compliant PR puppet for developers and you're a shoddy journalist.

[Kuya]

If they want to do a better story, alls they need to do is look at the Knox DLC, that one had amazing dialogue. The picture on GameInformer makes it look like it will have more variety in environments, but it looks like they might be reusing enemy models.

[miokomioko]

So, when your shitty employees leak your secrets, blame the journalist that they leaked it to.

[vrumpt]

If it was in the gameinformer mag i can get now then whats all the fuss? Is he honestly mad that the gap between leak and successful surprise was measured in hours?

[Correction]

If it was in the gameinformer mag i can get now then whats all the fuss? Is he honestly mad that the gap between leak and successful surprise was measured in hours?

yup

[Correction]

Do recall this isn't the first time Eurogamer has given Gearbox a reason to be mad at them.

[Maaglin]

I'm expecting a lot from the story after they honed their skills on the DLC packs, the dialogue was just amazing in those next to the base game.

With a game like this, personally, I don't really care about the story. I would like the presentation to be improved, but I don't play this game for a compelling reason to blow baddies up. I care about tons of loot and faced paced action. I did appreciate the humor though.

Would also like to see a little more in depth character building as well.

[Rokku]

All I know is take my money Gearbox, take it now.

[Raen Ryong]

I liked the first one, but I hope this new addition sees more varied environments/enemies/music etc. The gameplay itself was good, but what the game needs as a whole is more variety, more of a unique feel to each area, and DEFINITELY more enemies (I do not want to be fighting the same enemies that I've been fighting for the whole rest of the game towards the end! The final area in the non-DLC bit was a breath of fresh air though).

Oh, and a storyline wouldn't hurt.

[6souls]

People have asked Destructoid for months -- as if we still wanted to talk to the man -- whether or not former Features Editor and Hey Ash, Watcha Playin' star Anthony Burch would be lending his writing talent to Borderlands 2. Finally, we can say that yes. Yes he is.

Burch will be penning the story, although he said he will not be answering questions about it on his HAWP podcast. Fortunately for us, he does the Electric Hydra podcast with me every week, and I plan to break his mind with endless, incessant questions. So that'll be fun.

http://www.destructoid.com/yes-antho...2-207926.phtml
http://www.giantbomb.com/anthony-burch/72-98041/

[Insanecyclone]

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/06/bo...mp-of-new-det/


Borderlands 2, starring Salvador the dwarf and a dump of new details

Borderlands 2 is bumpin' up the brutality with new details, courtesy of the latest issue of GameInformer. Co-op will remain four-player, but the enemy and NPC AI has been revved to support a more interactive environment, with friendlies offering dialogue and bandits carrying weapons unique to their class. Eridium, a new element, will serve as currency and a means of upgrading weapons and vehicles, we assume by duct-taping it to whichever item you wish to improve.

The original Borderlands characters will be NPCs in the Gearbox sequel, but we do have a small amount of details on a new character, the dwarf Salvador, who is pictured above. A Gunzerker, Salvador will be able to dual-wield any weapon, all while sporting a sweet beard. Borderlands 2 will use all new weapons, each designed to fit the personalities of their in-game manufacturers, and the story will feature dynamic missions, making factors such as time critical to your success.

Borderlands 2 is expected to launch in Take-Two's fiscal year 2013, which begins April 1, 2012. But most importantly, Claptrap will be back, we hope with some new dance moves.

http://www.vg247.com/2011/08/06/bord...ew-characters/


Borderlands 2 – Details from Game Informer issue

According to what Gematsu read, co-op will still be four-player, the four players from the original game are now NPCs with new bodies for players to take over. One of these is the fella shown in the first bit of art released for the game, Salvador, who is a Gunzerker with the ability to use any two weapons at once.

Story missions will by dynamic at times, and can shape the future of your character. One example given was a rescue mission which changes the course of your destiny if you fail to arrive on time.

A new element called Eridium, has been added as both a currency and to be combined with other elements to improve stats on weapons and vehicles. Weapons from the first game have been ditched for all-new weapons, and can have custom decals and enhancements added to them. Gun manufacturers have been revamped a bit, and will now have their own style and personality. No word on gun crafting was mentioned.

Some pickups will have temporary buffs, like in the General Knoxx expansion for Borderlands 1 and the skill tree in is similar to the original by using the traditional 3-branch system.

Vehicles will also contain more variety, and one shown in Game Informer was called the “Badit Technical,” along with another vehicle with four seats.

Enemies are more varied in form with improved AI, more responsiveness and will interact more with one another. Bandits have access to specific types of weapons.

NPCs have also received improvements as far as moving about the game and conversing with characters in a more interactive manner. The size and scope of the game was also promised to be more epic in scale.

We haven’t received ours in the mail just yet, so when we do, we’ll let you know if there is anything else of note in it.

Borderlands 2 is slated for release during 2K’s FY2013.