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Ever since Borderlands kicked its way onto the gaming scene to the tune of Cage the Elephant's "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked," the marriage of colorful animation and insane combat with kickass tunes (OK, it's a three-way marriage) has been a staple of the franchise's marketing strategy. Also, lavish use of the word "bazillion."

Since upcoming entry Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is the first game in the franchise to be developed by 2K Australia (with a bit of help from 2K's friends at Gearbox Software), there's a lot of pressure to prove that it can live up to the expectations set by the previous two games in the series. We've already seen plenty of gameplay footage from Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel's low-gravity moon setting, but a new trailer revealed at Gamescom puts more emphasis on the story that ties the gameplay - and the new playable characters - together.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel's "Last Hope" trailer ditches the dubstep in favor of Kongos' "Come With Me Now" as Athena AKA The Gladiator explains what's at stake and why she, Wilhelm (The Enforcer), Nisha (The Lawbringer) and Claptrap (The Fragtrap) all joined forces with the handsomest villain around, Handsome Jack. Since this is a pre-sequel, however, he's not quite a full-blown villain just yet.

If that trailer wasn't enough to get you joy-puking, why not rub these brand new screenshots all over your eyeballs as well?

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Watch the trailer closely and you'll also see that it reveals Claptrap's action skill(s), which Gearbox president Randy Pitchford has previously referred to as "lunacy." The trailer suggests that Claptrap's special ability is actually selected randomly from a pool of possibilities, including "Funzerker," "Torgue Fiesta," "One-Shot Wonder, "Shhhhhhhhhhh...trap," "Rubber Ducky" and "Laser Inferno." One ability transforms him into a part-robot, part pirate-ship with a little pirate hat and four cannons, while another gives him Siren wings. It looks like Claptrap will get the best of everyone's worlds.

There are actually a lot of moments worth pausing for in this trailer (no, not just that clip of Mad Moxxi dancing). A mysterious character glimpsed briefly in a couple of clips bears more than a passing resemblance to Tiny Tina - her mother, perhaps? Near the end of the trailer you can also see Claptrap employ use of the "butt-slam," a new attack move created specifically for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel's bouncy moon gameplay.

For those who are already in love with Borderlands' style, this game looks like it has a good chance of living up to what's gone before. Bring on Elpis.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel releases October 14, 2014 for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.