While the first Borderlands wasn't considered an all-out gore fest, it did have its bloody moments. So much so that certain parts of the world decided to crib the game's violence in order to make it more palatable. That won't be happening with Borderlands 2, however, as this game is going all out with its violence.

Just announced today by Gearbox Software, Borderlands 2 will feature just as much violence in Australia (a place that initially "censored" the first game) as it will in the States. Chalk one win up for the fight against censorship, and the chance to see minions explode into bloody chunks.

It seems a bit odd that countries that had previously banned Borderlands' particular brand of violence would now be all well and good with the amount of carnage the loot-fest shooter delivers, but the answer might lie in a new feature called the 'Gore Toggle'. With the use of the Gore Toggle, players will be able to determine just how much violence is featured in their Borderlands 2 experience.

It's a single button press, and with it players will be able to turn their Borderlands 2 experience into a less bloody event. There's no word from Gearbox as to whether there is a spectrum for the feature, or if it is an all encompassing parental protection feature, but our guess is the latter.

With the implementation of the Gore Toggle, it stands to reason that Gearbox was hedging their bets on countries censoring their game and figured it was best to beat them to the punch. What's interesting to consider, however, is that the Gore Toggle is an opt-in option, where the player must decide against the violence.

Whether or not Gearbox has found a convenient loophole for countries that shy away from overly violent games is unclear, but if a Gore Toggle feature is all it took for Borderlands 2 to avoid censorship there must be something to it. Now everyone can enjoy watching little minions burst into little pieces while taking damage from the Gunzerker's dual machine guns.

How do you feel about a Gore Toggle feature in Borderlands 2? If such a feature allowed games to release in countries with stricter censorship should they become a standard?

Borderlands 2 releases September 18, 2012 for the PS3, PC, and Xbox 360.

Source: CVG