The first question people will likely ask is, "Does this game live up to BL1 and DLC?" and that answer is a resounding "Yes!" The second question, "Is it better than BL1?" and the answer is "Yes...for the most part." So what's improved? Better gun mechanics (sound and feel), more humor, more frequent boss and sub-boss battles, easier to get a co-op game going and see who's online playing, character skill trees are improved, friends can select quests in co-op games rather than having to tell the "party leader" to do it, the new enemies are well designed, you can now dismember baddies, you can now tag items in your inventory as "trash" or "favorite" so you remember what to sell next time at the vending machine, you can now directly trade with people, you automatically pick up money and ammo (but thankfully not loot) and combat is more organic (enemies take cover, flank you, dodge attacks).

So what's the negatives? The new menus are clunky and difficult to parse, missions still consist of mostly "shoot that" or "find this," driving mechanics are about the same (though thankfully you don't take damage from hitting enemies as much), level design can be really confusing at times even with the new HUD mini map and sometimes there's simply too much dialogue happening simultaneously. For example if you're playing co-op the first big town you get to is a total cluster as multiple characters are introducing themselves cutting off the others dialogue. I find myself saying, "what is going on?" much more regularly during this game than BL1. That said, these are only minor complaints and the additions far outweigh the handful of small issues. In short, if you loved the first BL stop reading this review and go pick up the sequel!.… Expand

Another amazing game in a truly outstanding series, borderlands 2 keeps the familiarity, gameplay and humour of the first game, but it improves on everything. An awesome narrative with some of the most creative and best writing iv'e seen in a video game, filled with the great borderlands humour that we have all grow to love. For a modern shooter it really stands out from the crown with solid and enjoyable mechanics, along with unique the shoot-n-loot mechanic, which has also been vastly improved since the last game, also the skill tree's vary much more, allowing three unique paths for each character. There is no doubt that playing it solo is a great time, but this game truly shines when playing with friends, the co-op experience is no doubt the best iv'e ever had. There is absolutely nothing to complain about when it comes to this game, it achieves everything it has set out to do and improved on it in almost every way since borderlands 1. it is a great game, made by gamers, for gamers, which is why it deserves a perfect 10/10… Expand

This game is overrated. The art design, gameplay (with friends), unique weapons and voice actors are good, I can't deny that. But however, the story became predictable and following the storyline became difficult. This is a game were some minor cutscenes are required to develop the characters and tell the story. Also, the map or 'areas' are extremely bland. A large wasteland of ice or sand. Move through until you find a camp were enemies will spawn. Repeat. Also when you are playing with your friends, one person cannot play without the others at any time unless they create a different character. If you level higher than your friends and play the game with them, they will be up against enemies that are much harder then their usual enemies leaving the 1 higher level person to do all the fighting while gaining almost no XP or good loot for themself. It sounds OK in theory but in-game it does not work. Looting is fun but I found I never seemed to wield an adequate weapon for the level I had attained even after finding large chests during high level quests. The skill tree is also incredibly tedious to go through. Gaining 1 skill point per level and needing approx 5 points in a skill to unlock further down the tree takes a long time while only gaining small bonus's. The enemies are quite well designed but they become repetitive when you are reaching the end of the game (+ side quests). There will be the basic bandits + the "badass ones" and the same goes for most of the monsters / enemies. Although the Hyperion bots did have a lot of diversity in weaponry they were NOT unique most of the time. This game was fun for the first half but by the end I just wanted to finish the game and get it over with. You feel no need to want to play this game again after finishing it so I don't believe it's worth the $70 price stamp here in Australia. I won't be buying the DLC. If you like co-op games like Left 4 Dead were you run around shooting the crap out of things with your mates and progressing through the bland story (not saying that's a bad thing) then pick this game up. if you prefer more developed characters and story line with interesting and unique levels then I would think twice and investigate further before buying this game. -emplex… Expand

borderlands 2 is published by 2k games and developed by gearbox. one thing im specially told about this game borderlands 2 is awesome.
borderlands 2 start with a great hand down cinematic story.Characters from the previous game initiate events that cause the planet to spit out precious minerals. Like any good story.The most significant change Borderlands 2 can boast over its predecessor is a cohesive plot that actually hangs together reasonably well and drives the story missions forward at a decent pace.The other big change in Borderlands 2 comes in the game's playable class structure. The melee-enhanced Berserker has been replaced this time around by a "Gunzerker" class that can briefly dual wield any two weapons, making for some enjoyably over the top combinations (I particularly enjoyed simultaneously using a shotgun in one hand and a rocket launcher in the other, which I can't recall ever doing in a first-person shooter). I also enjoyed the new Assassin class, which comes with the extremely useful ability to escape with the aid of a temporary decoy, and can use skill tree upgrades that make him a quality melee attacker.
noow the time to tell something about graphics last borderlands using cell shaded engine which mean everything like cartoonist now the game using unreal engine 3.every thing in the game is design very well and work on more then 60 frame per second on xbox 360 and normal pc.if u like the review plz comment about this review thanks.… Expand

I completed borderlands 2's normal play through and i am now about half-way through true vault hunter mode. so i though it would be timed to put up my review. I really enjoyed the game overall. it has good graphics, lovable characters, a good leveling system, and a crap ton of guns. Not to mention a storyline that is vastly improved. On the other hand, everything from BL2 seems to be recycled from BL1. after 20 hours or so in game, everything starts to feel bin there done that, and kind of gets stale and boring. Even though looting is fun, 99.99% of the loot is worse than what you already have. its a real pain in the butt to find guns that are on par with your level. even then stores sell guns that are about 5 levels below me. i also find enemies scaling to be off, iv'e run into enemies that are 5 or 6 levels below me that can kill me with a few shots (doesn't sound right to me). Those issues aside, i think its time for Gearbox to allow players to create their own characters. The main playable characters have little to no back round or story, not to mention they are really just a re skinning of the characters from BL1. i would also like to have seen more outfits for each character. All the skins are just color swaps. Overall , the fun in BL2 can be quickly overshadowed by the childish (un-funny) humor, or some odd game design choices.… Expand

Amazing game, I enjoyed Borderlands 1 but number 2 is a giant leap ahead. Great story and awesome game play. I don't understand the negative comments. Nothing wrong with this game!

A gaming masterpiece. It's everything you could want in a video game, without spreading itself too thin. While it isn't absolutely perfect, Borderlands 2 exceeds any standard that could be set for a video game. It has a good story with highly memorable characters, including one that so few games get right: a believable antagonist. Great graphical style and visual effects (especially on the PC), insanely entertaining, maximum replayability, and absolutely hilarious. Let's list all the pros and cons. ** Pros **
++ Good story
++ Motivated protagonists and antagonist
++ Never have an identical experience
++ Awesome graphics
++ Liquid-smooth gameplay
++ 25-plus hours of play for the first playthrough (and there is a second one that takes longer)
++ Varied missions
++ Most hilarious video game of this console generation
++ Over twenty million guns - well over, I believe
++ One of the best co-op games ever made
++ Highly moddable for those familiar with .ini files (PC only) ** Cons **
-- Under-utilized vehicle system
-- Odd inventory interface (PC only)
-- The difficulty of missions is not indicated clearly (some are unreasonably difficult even when the quest tracker says "difficulty: normal")… Expand

Not many games learn from their mistakes, this one does, and does an excellent job at it, an improvement in almost every way, definitely worth getting if you didn't like the first one, and an even better choice if you liked the first one!

Spectacular game. Do as many of the side missions as possible. They are hilarious and sometimes both challenging and hilarious. It's spectacular. Everything from Borderlands 1 that made it amazing are here and improved 10 fold. I've never had so much fun finding new guns in a video game ever. It's like finding new blades in any given RPG, only these go boom.

I loved Borderlands and all the expansion packs. The game had soul, and freedom of exploration without getting lost and frustrated. It was beautiful, like a backwoods, back yard tin can shoot with a banjo playing in the background. Borderlands 2 traded in the banjo for a slick new look, and an electric guitar. The new Borderlands is a fun game, but it is far from what it could have been. Much like a glamorous action movie without character development, this one drops you into the action in such a way that if you look away from the action and the effects for even a moment, you will see that Borderlands has gone from a rich culture of trash and charm, to a wasteland with nothing but guns for their own sake.… Expand

I feel that this game left a lot to be desired. When the game first started I found myself literally giggling at Jack every time he popped on the screen. That changed as the game took a very dramatic shift halfway through. I found it rather tedious to work through the story after that. The guns don't feel at all very powerful which is lame, because you spend a retarded amount of time farming for some of them. And the game has been causing a lot of system freezing for a lot of people who dropped between 70 and 200 dollars on it. I am one of those people. Overall the game was a fair disappointment for me.… Expand

I loved Borderlands 1 and spent at least 150 hours playing it, mainly single player and some recently with friends. So this review is through those eyes. This game is everything Borderlands was plus more. The world is detailed and the NPC interaction and movement is way better really giving life to the world and story. I have seen a lot more creative quests than in the first one and each gun manufacturer and type feel a lot different.. The writing is funny and even the enemy movement is funny and awesome. I cannot help but smile while I am playing it because it is so much fun, I cannot wait to dump 200+ hours in this game in single player and with friends. If you want to knitpick about graphic popins and crap you can probably find things but this is a world to be explored, loot to be tried and sold and hilarity around every corner, There is no perfect game but this one is well worth the $60 over and over and easily my most favorite game ever. so screw you it is a 10!… Expand

Definitely the best gaming experience to come out so far in 2012. Many improvements over the previous game, and runs beautifully. I highly recommend this game.

Finally a game this year actually worth spending the time to play. This year has been struggling so far. If you remotely liked the first BL, you will LOVE this one. SO FUNNY and addicting.... even my wife is laughing because of the dialogue and she hates watching me play.

Borderlands 2 Is totally a game of the year contender.This game has so many improvemennts over the first Bordlands,with it's Awesome graphics,story and lets not forget the Funny adult Humor that the series is known for.also the amount of weapons in Borderlands 2 is mind blowing.Borderlands 2 is awesome just like the first Borderlands was as well.A must buy.this Game get's a perfect 10 from me.

Brilliant!Far superior in every way than its predecessor,though vehicles remain under utilised.The narrative is so much better this time around that I rarely felt lonesome during solo play.The writing is superb and consistently laugh out loud funny and even occasionally surprisingly touching.Whilst the games major claim to fame is the millions(sorry,Bazillions) of guns,once again 99% are useless,which is unfortunately expected and necessary in this type of looter,so I can't complain there.It also makes that one great weapon find so so excellent...The four(soon to be five) classes with their various skins and Abilities are great,though ZerO and Axton are much better for solo play,but that could well be because of my particular playstyle.Nevertheless,especially since its it been a quiet year for decent games,this is a must have title.… Expand

Quite possibly one of the funnest games of the years.

There's a lot from borderlands that has been mostly unaltered in the sequel. Thankfully though, they've improved on enough, and added just enough to make this a worthy purchase.

The gameplay itself is mostly unchanged, save for a few additions. The shooting is frantic and fast passed alone, but throw 3 other players into the fold, and enjoy as pure chaos ensues. The 4, soon to be 5, different character classes all play well with each other strengths, and the skill trees have been reworked to give much greater customization. Borderland's 'Bazillion' of guns are even 'Bazillionder', as the box says, with the inclusion of a new element 'slag'. The variety of grenades, shields, class mods, ect. have all been greatly improved on as well.

The story in the first Borderlands was almost completely forgettable, but it has received a lot more work this time around. Well written and humorous, the cast of bizarre characters and settings offers a quirky, interesting story throughout. The side quests may get dry from time to time, but the excellent voice work and unique characters will keep you listening to every line of dialog regardless.

In terms of pure quality, the graphics are fairly lacking. However, the insane, cell shaded style keep it a pleasure to look at, and the chaos during battles offer plenty of eye candy. Get enough chaos going at one time however, and there will be some drop in the frame rate. This doesn't happen too often though, and isn't always too consequential.

Borderlands 2 is definitely an worthy purchase, and with at least 4 more dlc packs on the way, I look forward to playing this game for a good long while. If you haven't yet gotten your hands on this game yet, I would strongly recommend it.… Expand

This game was highly over rated compared to Borderlands. The leveling does not map to solo player game play and neither do the weapons. The side quests are the same way especially if you do the ones in "The Fridge".

Animation was poor at best as were what little interaction you had with Roland, Lilith or Modecai.

The fast travel network was terrible especially if you were in the middle of a specific area and had to make your way back. You could only quit the game and save it in hopes you would get back to the start. Enemies re-spawned over and over and way to quickly. As a solo player reached a level of 38 and the weapons were terrible. Almost impossible to reach Level 50 to battle Thresher and skill trees were cumbersome and not leveled correctly to achieve needed attributes for fighting.

Played Vault Leve difficultyl after first playthrough as a Solo player and it was almost impossible because of leveling and poor weapons. Did all side quests and explored all areas in detail. Chests were very mediocre at best for what you had to do to get to them.

Scenery was a makeover especially going back to Fyrestone for those who played Borderlands. It was like playing in a poorly illustrated comic book.

Will not purchase the DLC's when it comes out. Was not worth the money.

Again, feel as it is another game in the marketplace where cost cutting was the norm to maximize profits.

Feel the consumer looses again.… Expand

Borderlands 2 is a great game. It is much prettier, funnier, and it is also more fun than the first game. I really liked Borderlands 1, and it was even more fun when playing with a friend. However, I have only played the second entry in the franchise by myself so far, and it is still more fun than co-op in the first game. I can't wait to play it with friends. There is a lot more variety regarding weapons, enemies, and locales. The first game was desert, desert, and more desert. Borderlands 2, however, starts off on a snowy glacier, and changes up the sites often enough to keep things feeling fresh and interesting. I was actually worried that the game would not live up to my hopes, but it really has. Great purchase, was not expecting to give it a 10. Just a side note, there is no day one dlc, but if you pre-ordered, you get the Mechromancer class for free when it comes out on I believe October 18, but you will not get early access. Also, if you pre-ordered and got the golden key for the rare random weapon chest, I would suggest saving it until you are a very high level to get the most out of it. And last thing, I found that removing the auto-aim option really made the gameplay exciting, it becomes too repetitive when you can just press the trigger to automatically aim at a target (in my opinion anyway). Overall great purchase!… Expand

I have been a huge fan of Borderlands since I first heard about it, the original trailers were nothing exciting, but the idea caught me.
When the game was released however, it was nothing like my expectations, it was far better. It took a fairly simlpe idea, and made it great.

When Borderlands 2 arrived I was blown away. The areas look fantasic, there is plently to see and do, with areas that are large enough to have a good explore in, but small enough if you run and gun through the areas.
The humour that has followed the game is very well written, I have caught myself laughing / groaning at some of the jokes, especially Claptrap, but the serious side is there as well, albeit still tounge in cheek for the most part.
Its a very easy game to pick up and play. Some areas are unforgiving, but I never feel that dying is obtrusive to the game or the enjoyment. There may be some people that would argue "that would be the point of dying" but to me its the more enjoyment of the landscapes and the characters.
The quests that I have played through so far have been failry simplistic, but an addition of some optional side quests and quest rewards have improved this.
Generally I would describe this, personlly, as a perfect game. I have introduced new people to it, and they have all said similar things, "I have to get this."
It may not be everybodies vup of tea, but I think it is an amazing game, and worth every penny.… Expand

I bought into the hype and purchased this on day one. I played it in co-op but this game was a big let down. It's more of the same, which your opinion will differ on that depending on how much you liked the first game. I did play and beat the first one so I knew what to expect. If you loved Borderlands you more than likely bought and finished it already. But if you're on the fence I'd say buy it only if you'll play with two or three friends. If you can, wait a year until the edition with all the DLC comes out so you don't waste money. Don't get it if you're going to play alone.… Expand

If you had any reservations that this sequel would not live up to the predecessor than don't worry ... this game is improved in both game-play/weapons/abilities and also story. Having loved my previous trip to Pandora I was excited to return and this game improves upon what they built last time, one of the best Co-Op games of all time. To play this game by yourself is fun but it also takes away from the heart and soul of this game which is running around with your friends and looting, exploring and raiding the lands of Pandora. Truly a great game by Gearbox and a AAA franchise up there with the other elite titles out there today.… Expand

The Best advice I can give you people interested in the game is buy it NOW! Why should you buy it now? well the critics love it that should be a good enough indicator.

I became somewhat board of it, I attempted to play Borderlands 1 but never got into it, my cousin dragged me into playing BL2 and I got to say playing that game was more like a chore for me as I did not want to offend my cousin as he really wanted me to enjoy the game. The game makes my head hurt, people will say that your just not smart enough to understand and appreciate the dynamics and complexity of the game. But in all honesty its too much for me, the plot doesn't captivate me and it doesn't drive me to through. If the graphics weren't enough the whole concept doesn't grasp me and its to much work to actually enjoy the game.… Expand

Outstanding game, it really improves upon the first game. In all areas, large or small, this is a truly superior game. Not to badmouth the very good original game.

Borderlands 2 brings you back to Pandora for another wild goose chase with some brand new vault hunters. However this time the focus is on something much more important than the vault. After Roland, Lillith, Mordecai and Brick awakened the destroyer eridium has been spewing out of the ground faster then grass, it has also shown the whereabouts of another vault. After Hyperion had a close eye on the operations going down with Atlas, the Crimson Lance and the original Vault hunters they decide to move in and go on the hunt for the vault lead by the tyrannous Handsome Jack. Invited by Jack the new vault hunters (Axton, Maya, Salvador and Zero) you soon realise you are being led into a trap and escape into the plains of Pandora on a epic 50+ hour adventure to stop Jack opening the vault and allow Pandora to be at peace for longer than five minutes.
Lots of old characters return as well as many new faces, a loot chest full of side quests and an epic storyline full of unexpected twists, turns and heart wrenching moments.
Borderlands 2 is a must buy for fans of the series and as good a place as any to pick up the game and start if you haven't played the first. A real GOTY contender… Collapse

B2 feels more like a B1 expansion pack with re-skins, a few tweaks and some really annoying gameplay bugs. Games too long for a just a rental, and just not worth the full price.

This is a great game and a huge improvement over the original borderlands. Don't listen to the 3-5 hour in reviews, the quests and enemies get better as you go