With just over a month until launch, 2K has been ramping up marketing for Borderlands 2, including a new trailer and a more specific release date for the Mechromancer DLC. Oh, and in related news, people are upset about the inclusion of a “girlfriend mode.”
Titled “Come and Get Me”, the latest trailer for Borderlands 2 thrusts the spotlight onto main antagonist Handsome Jack. Much like past Borderlands baddies, Handsome Jack doesn’t quite care for vault hunters; however, this trailer suggests Jack will be a more compelling villain than the cardboard characters in the original game.
If that trailer wasn’t enough to interest you, lets us remind you that those who pre-order Borderlands 2 will be granted access to the Premiere Club, enabling the Mechromancer DLC at launch. We reported earlier that the DLC will take between 60-90 days to reach regular consumers but a 2K Games rep has now clarified the release date to VG247, narrowing the window to 60 days – which suggests a November launch.
Unfortunately, it’s not all good news for the team at Gearbox Software, as the studio has recently been called out for making reference to a “girlfriend mode.” Borderlands 2 lead designer John Hemingway, revealed that the studio is working on a “BFF skill tree,” which will make the game easier for players unaccustomed to first person shooters.
However, after referring to it as “girlfriend mode”, some gamers are upset by Hemingway’s terminology – because it suggests “girls can’t play video games.” Gearbox co-founder, Randy Pitchford, took to Twitter to defend Hemingway, stating that “Borderlands 2 does NOT have a girlfriend mode,” and that “there is no universe where Hemingway is a sexist.”
You can read Hemingway’s description of the BFF skill tree below:
“The design team was looking at the concept art and thought, you know what, this is actually the cutest character we’ve ever had. I want to make, for the lack of a better term, the girlfriend skill tree. This is, I love Borderlands and I want to share it with someone, but they suck at first-person shooters. Can we make a skill tree that actually allows them to understand the game and to play the game? That’s what our attempt with the Best Friends Forever skill tree is.”
While it may have been a poor choice of words, it’s definitely a stretch to think that Hemingway was being dismissive of all girl-gamers. The BFF skill tree is meant to help out coop partners who just aren’t as experienced with shooter titles. No doubt, there are plenty of girlfriends who can rack up killstreaks better than boys in the online arena and pigeonholing everyone into “girlfriend mode” was an error of judgment but, for the time being, we’re going to take Pitchford at his word and chalk this one up to foot-in-mouth disease.
Borderlands 2 releases September 18th, 2012 for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
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People are too damn sensitive. I think those upset gamers are already on Girlfriend Mode.
What’s the big deal? He called it “girlfriend” mode NOT “girl mode,” which would have been sexist.
Either way, I can’t wait to play this game with my fiance
God I HATE political correctness. PC turns people into mindless zombies. people should lighten up and and worry about offending people or being offended.
I suppose TaboriHK is against this because his oversensitive girlfriend is highly offended by it because, as a female gamer, she feels alienated by this extreme sexism and it makes her feel like she doesn’t belong in the gaming community.
When mY girlfrind plays xbox she sucks at them therefore girlfriend mode is perfect
Exactly.
it’s not a ‘mode’ it’s a tree for the mecromancer which makes her noob friendly.
That’s irrelevant to my comment, as well as Monoxiide’s comment.
I actually don’t care for any of that, what worries me is that 2K is making a copy of Borderlands. There’s sequels and then there’s this. Seriously? Vault Hunters? Wasn’t that crap resolved in the last game, they can’t think of anything new? And all the classes don’t even seem like they put much thought into it. Commando? Gunserker? Assassin? SIREN? (THEY EVEN USED THE SAME NAME).
While I have no room to judge a game that isn’t released, it doesn’t seem to be offering much to be anticipated for. The guns look like modded Borderlands 1 guns rather than a completely new system.
I hope 2K lives up to their promises.
you’re kidding me right ? did you not see the new art style for the gun brands, the new enemy types, the skills for the classes, customisation etc ?
if you call this a copy/paste game then wtf have the last 4-5 CoD games been, or bf3 compared to bad company 2. it’s that sort of stupidity that costs studio sales, b/c you probably went and cried to all your mates saying the game looks copy/paste making them think so to. give the game a try before calling it a copy/paste b/c this obviously ISN’T (from the looks of things).
I don’t feel all that impressed by slightly prettier cell-shaded graphics. New gun models aren’t that much of a selling point for me. I’m still wondering about this wonderful new customization you speak of. Skills for classes is something that is pretty much Borderlands 1 but with a DLC update.
I never said I wasn’t going to try it. It just doesn’t catch my attention because I have better things to spend my money on. I’m judging what they’re throwing at us in this trailer and if they want to hide the actually good bits then that’s their funeral. I liked Borderlands 1 but I didn’t feel the need for a second one. This could’ve easily been a huge update.
And if you really think I cried over this game, then you must be one blind fanboy that cuddles himself to sleep everynight under your claptrap blanket.
“While I have no room to judge a game that isn’t released” after a paragraph of judging an unreleased game LOL
Judging by what they throw at us in these trailers.
I may have ate my own words there but I still stand by what I feel is a blatantly over-hyped DLC for Borderlands. Who knows if there’ll be anything better but I honestly don’t care at this point enough to buy it first day.
what a bunch of crying little morons, the term ‘girlfriend’ in this context obviously means ‘support’ – if you dont like or know how to play shooters then that skill tree makes the class co-op friendly (more then the other classes i presume). he in no way shape or form said that women cant play games or that the mode was specifically made for women.
i f***ing hate how people twist other people’s words just to get a damn article out of it >:(
stupidity aside, i think the mecromancer will be a nice mash up between the soldier and siren, providing both assault support and assistance support (heals, resupplies etc). can’t wait to see the final designs for her
lmfao i think its great that they call it girlfriend mode, people need a sense of humor, if a game marketed for girls had a mode called boyfriend mode where all you did was shoot things and drink, i’d be fine with that, people are too damn sensitive now and forget YOU DON’T HAVE TOO BUY THE CONTENT YOU DISLIKE
When he referred to it as ‘girlfriendskill tree’ I can’t help but think of my wife when we played the first Borderlands. People are too sensitive. I didn’t read it as a sexist comment.
Lets not be politically correct to the point of ignorance. Do girls play video games, sure, are they good at them, absolutely. Are there just as many girl gamers who play FPS as boys? Not even close. Many boys/men have issued introducing FPS to their girls cause the girls haven’t been playing them since they were eight. So lets not be purposefully ignorant to be politically correct.
My girlfriend is terrible at any game I doubt that even a girlfriend mode can help her inability to move her two thumbs independently.
If anything it just shows the sense of humour we can expect from this type of game. Let’s be honest, Borderlands was batshit crazy, and Borderlands 2 is going to make us, and I quote, ‘joy-puke our faces off’. I’m not going to just re-write everything everyone else has already stated, but I will say this – I’m super freaking wimoweh-ing pumped for this badass game. See you there, Vault Hunters.
When it is going to release ?
http://bestgamestores.org/borderlands-2-2/