Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel has been confirmed, and the previously leaked details have been confirmed. Borderlands stands out from the FPS crowd because it adopts the graphic style known as “cell shading” to maintain a cartoony look, complimenting its self-parody storytelling and voice acting.
Despite the tone that doesn’t take itself too seriously, the Borderlands series is still a challenging set of shooters. You are one of a group of treasure hunters on a distant planet populated by an alien race known as the Psychos, and the natives are no pushovers. You must learn the combat or you will die a lot.
The story behind the weird name of Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel is that it takes place between the first and second games, and brings you to the moon to witness the rise of the villain Handsome Jack . With the new setting on the moon, Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel gameplay will have you jumping higher due to lower gravity, and possibly turning multiplayer games into an amusing game of shooting everything in mid-jump. The downside to low gravity is limited oxygen, so it’s essential to maintain your air level through pickups, which might sound familiar to fans of Dead Space .
Of course with the low gravity jumps and jetpack assisted double-jumping and hovering, 2K is throwing in the ability to land with a “ground pound,” likely resulting in a shockwave to send surrounding enemies flying.
Another twist on the story of the game formerly known as Borderlands 1.5 is that this time you play as the villains, probably trying to reach the planet Pandora below as the heroes try to stop you. You can probably expect assistance from Psychos as you near the end of the game.
This chapter in the storyline will obviously give you a new set of characters, most of which might seem familiar to veterans of the series:
- Athena , the gladiator class, basically makes you Captain America, giving you a shield that makes you the tank type if they approach you from the front. You also have the ability to finish your attack by throwing the shield and doubling the damage.
- Wilhelm is the cyborg, who starts out mostly human but powers up through the use of cybernetic implants. He is the boss you encountered in Borderlands 2 .
- Claptrap is also the same character he was before, except he can be upgraded with “Fragtrap” abilities.
- Nisha is the lawbringer, about whom not much is really yet known. It is assumed that she will be a melee character, given the way she was in the last game.
Check out the gameplay video above to see an example of what’s in store for you if you’re planning to go to the moon in Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel .
