Players anticipating the arrival of Borderlands 2 who are interested in learning more about its development are in luck! Gearbox Software has sat down and divulged many answers to fan questions that reveal a lot about the gameplay, customization, the story, and much much more. Those expecting the the sequel to deliver the goods will highly enjoy these answers.
Producer of Borderlands 2, Matt Charles, wants gamers to be excited for the much awaited sequel, especially since everything is going to be bigger! We can expect a lot more frame rate stability, better character customization (heads, hairstyles, headgear, themes, decals, and more), greater variety of skills for each class, and of course gun customizations. Gearbox is even looking into an option to allow co-op play that can allow the second layer to be logged into a separate PSN ID.
An important aspect of the Borderlands franchise is the weaponry. Gearbox has made significant enhancements to the inventory, interface, and more:
"We have a completely new inventory screen and all of the other interface screens have received various upgrades. There’s a lot more useful data for gear comparison and also more descriptive text on the item cards as well. Having said that, the best way to know what a gun does is to use it — and some weapons are *very* special…Money and ammo now automatically pick up if dropped from enemies as well!"
Some may have felt that the maps and the environments were too basic in the first game, but Gearbox has sorted out that situation with bigger maps and missions:
"We’ve shown a tundra, cavern, grasslands, and Hyperion tech environments so far, but there are many more in the game — I think you’ll enjoy the environmental diversity in BL2."
In Borderlands 2, audiences will be treated to a little more story than its predecessor. There will be a lot of variety between cutscenes, in-game moments, and other varying elements to keep the story going:
"We’re mixing it up a bit this time: few short cutscenes (and title cards) where necessary, lots of in-game moments, ECHO logs, missions, and environmental storytelling — not to mention the significant NPC improvements we made so it doesn’t just feel like a cardboard cut out of a dude is sending you on a quest.What’s great is that we catered it towards both audiences that love story telling through NPCs and those who prefer to go kick some ass! If you choose to do the latter, you can run off as the NPC is talking to you and the discussion will appear as an ECHO transmission. No chains attached!"
Earlier this year, it was revealed that a new Mechromancer class will be available, and the developers hope to get it out as soon as possible, but they have a few hurdles to jump through:
"We’re hoping to release her to the world as soon as possible — but we have to get the game through the certification process as right now she only exists as a sketch and we need to finish up Borderlands 2! The good news is that the Mechromancer will be compatible with all versions of the game and she will be free if you preorder at participating retailers through the Borderlands 2 Premiere Club!"
Pausing during combat to use health packs sucks in any game, but for Borderlands 2 Gearbox has fixed the issue by just removing carryable health packs in general. In their eyes, they feel that it will allow gameplay to flow a lot easier:
"It was a tough decision, but we decided to remove carryable health packs and instead fill that need with new relics and shields that can help keep you out of that emergency state to begin with. The result is a more fluid combat experience since now you’re not worrying about when the best time to pause the game is and you still get that fun sense of preparing for a battle by choosing the right gear.Health Packs will still appear and drop and they will now heal you up in the middle of battle."
The Xbox 360 version had a bit of a rough time and received many patches along the way, so let's hope they get everything under wraps before its release. We had our first hands-on preview of Borderlands 2 and believe it's exactly what fans of the first want it to be.
Borderlands 2 will release on September 18, 2012 (September 21, 2012 for international markets) for the PS3, PC, and Xbox 360.
To read all of the questions about vehicles, in-game bonuses, enemy types, voice communication, and more check out the full story at the PlayStation Blog.
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Source: PlayStation Blog