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Borderlands 2 Wish List
With its vast array of weaponry, quirky sense of humor, and exceptional
co-op gameplay, Borderlands became a critical and commercial hit when
it released last fall. As is the case with most successful new IPs, it
would only make sense to expect a sequel at some point down the road.
While nothing has been officially announced, we figure there's no harm
in a little speculation. Here's a few things we'd like to see in our
next trip to Pandora.
Character Development
In the
few moments that Borderlands actually utilized characters, Gearbox
proved that they have no problem crafting humorous personalities. The
legless T.K. and Dr. Ned/Dr. Zed had some genuinely funny moments, and
Claptrap packed a lot of personality into his tiny metal frame. These
little glimpses into the characters gave the game some personality, and
a sequel could benefit from more characters and more lines of dialogue.
Some Semblance Of Story
So
what do you remember about Borderlands "plot"? Most likely the same as
everyone else...there was a vault or something you were supposed to get
to, and some weird lady popped up on a video from time to time to say
something cryptic. If the Zombie Island DLC is any indication, Gearbox
definitely has the potential to put out a hilarious story. Granted, the
Zombie Island plot was a brief little excursion, but if they could keep
a script running for the entirety of a game it would help the
experience out dramatically.
More Vehicles
Roaming
around Pandora's wastelands and blasting enemies was like something
straight out of Road Warrior, but your vehicular options were limited
at best. You could select your color and one of two weapons, but that's
as far as customization went. Imagine a mission where you drive a
giant, armed oil tanker or even a motorcycle with a turreted sidecar.
If we're sticking with the Road Warrior theme, even gyrocopters aren't
out of the question.
Duels That Mean Something
Duels
were a fun addition to the original Borderlands, but they didn't really
affect the gameplay in any significant way. Sure, you could have a
gentleman's agreement to give up a weapon if you lost, but there was no
official way of setting up wagers. It would be great to be presented
with a simple interface for putting money and weapons in a pool that
would go to the winner of the contest.
Skills That Level As You Use Them
Oblivion
and Crackdown had a great system for leveling up your attributes - you
improve certain skills the more you use them. Borderlands could benefit
from a similar approach when it comes to each character's special ability. Imagine leveling up Mordecai's hawk as you
utilize him in battle, or increasing the duration of Brick's berserker attack. The system in place in the first game was very set
in stone, and a more flexible approach would be an improvement on the
skill point system.
Destructible Environments
Despite
being set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the world of Pandora managed
to stay interesting on the visual side of things. Small shantytowns,
wide-open plains, and industrial areas combined to keep the
environments from getting too stale. Unfortunately, all of the
buildings and objects were somewhat static and almost never
destructible. With the arsenal of super-destructive rocket launchers
and explosives that Borderlands gives you at every turn, it would be
great to be able to level an entire area a la Red Faction: Guerrilla.
A More Seamless World
Pandora
was sprawling and varied, but the experience was often interrupted by
load screens. Borderlands could greatly benefit from following the lead
of open-world titles like GTA IV, Infamous, and Red Faction: Guerrilla
that presented large worlds with no load times between areas.
More Guns
Because if there's one thing the first game lacked, it's guns.