Sidequests and Hilarity Ensues Throughout
If you played through the first BL game you no doubt encountered some unique characters in the wastelands of Pandora and BL is no exception. In fact there are even more hilarious characters and the dialogue is just that much better. There are times when my entire Xbox Live party just busts out laughing on mic because of the things that come out of people’s mouths in-game.
Along the same lines, there are tons of side quests available in the game given out by different people and bounty boards. Each quest is a little different and might have you gather something, kill someone, etc, but it is usually these sidequests that provide extra opportunities to find, see, and hear the hilarious things going on in Pandora. Likewise, many of the sidequests are what lead to the various easter eggs and pop-culture references mentioned earlier.
Borderlands 1.5
On this go round, Gearbox Software didn’t stray far from the near perfect formula that they had in the original Borderlands game and I mean that in the best way possible. While there are subtle improvements (automatically picking up money and ammo off of the floor, seeing multiple waypoints on the map when doing a collectible sidequest, being able to buy back your equipment if you accidently sold it, access to a bank to store items, and many more), ultimately BL2 feels like an enormous DLC for the original game and again I can’t stress enough in the best way possible.
In fact the only annoyance (albeit small) that I have with BL2 is an issue that continues from the first game, the map. It is incredibly difficult to find things on the map when there are multiple levels or floors. Everything is sort of thrown together on a single map making it difficult to know if the item you are trying to find is right where you are standing, above, or beneath you. In reality it just makes you have to explore the world that much more which is ultimately a great thing.
If you are looking for a game that will keep you hooked for weeks or even months, Borderlands 2 is the game for you with so much to do, tons of replay value by starting over with a different class, and tons of DLC in the months to come that will extend the story. Overall 93/100
