Players who wanted a little more substance out of their missions in the original Borderlands will be overjoyed to hear that Gearbox Software will be creating substantially larger missions for the follow-up, Borderlands 2. As many players who have had the opportunity to give the original game a shot, they may have found some of the pertinent story missions lacking a little something - In this case, length.

Borderlands delivered unto gamers a great and not to be missed first-person shooter and role playing game hybrid, and it was only natural that Borderlands 2 would be in the works after that. While the gameplay of the original was spot on and very rewarding, the mission structure, story or otherwise, wasn't as compelling. Designer on Borderlands 2, Paul Hellquist, says this issue will be refined and fixed for the sequel, where missions will span longer times and be more involved, changing as players progress.

The plot of Borderlands had players assume the role of a Vault Hunter, an individual who was searching for a mythical trove of treasure, and they were guided along by a mysterious female figure. There was a lot more to it of course, regarding the actual corporations that had a presence on the planet Pandora, but unfortunately, it wasn't very impressive. So what will Gearbox Software be doing to fix that for the sequel? Paul Hellquist says:

"The story missions in Borderlands 2 are about three times the scope of a single story mission in the first game. And they twist and turn throughout; your gameplay is changing, your goals are changing... it will be a much more dynamic experience compared to last time."

"Lots of fans and critics gave us the business on the story. When we took a look at what we had done last time, we said, 'we can do way better than that'... So [the] story has been, from the very first day, one of the most important things that we wanted to improve in Borderlands 2."

Some missions weren't entirely lacking in Borderlands; The missions that put the player up against the Crimson Enclave or the ones where you learned more about the planet had some great value. However, when it came to progressing the actual story, the game sort of felt like it came off track and couldn't manage to make it back on.

Along with a revamped story for the sequel, Borderlands 2 will also be featuring brand new playable characters and customizable weapons. The official announcement for Borderlands 2 puts the game at a 2012-2013 launch window, leaving Gearbox more than adequate time to get the kinks out of the story and gameplay.

In addition to the company releasing a sequel to Borderlands, Gearbox is also working on Aliens: Colonial Marines, slated for a 2012 release so it looks like the Texas-based developer will be a pretty busy company next year.

Borderlands 2 likely releases in 2013 for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

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Source: Game Informer (via CVG)