The masters of the arts of shooting and looting are back at it again. That’s right, Good ol’ Gearbox Software is preparing to add a third title to their extremely successful FPS/RPG series, Borderlands. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will be the ‘1.5’ game in the series, taking chronological place in between the two existing installments. The story of the game details the occurrences on Pandora before the rise of Handsome Jack.
Handsome Jack is the driving force behind the storytelling of The Pre-Sequel, presenting himself this time; brandishing his natural countenance and a personality not quite as demented as we’ve come to know in our previous run-ins with this humorous villain. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will shadow Jack’s gradual slip into madness and his loss of any semblance of morality. This will give players a point of view behind the insane behavior and some justification for the disturbing attitude of one of the most demented protagonists of all time.
The player will assume the role of a henchman employed by Jack as he escapes his exile to the Hyperion Moonbase, located on Pandora’s moon, and eventually claims it as his own. Four new characters will be playable, each with a different class possessing unique traits and play styles. These characters are as follows:
-The Gladiator, Athena, an assassin employed by the Atlas Corporation.
-The Enforcer, Wilhelm, Jack’s right-hand robot.
-The Lawbringer, Nisha, Sheriff of Pandora’s own old west themed town of Lynchwood.
-The Fragtrap, the last existing and oh-so-beloved claptrap we all know so well.
All the playable characters in The Pre-Sequel have appeared somewhere in the series at some point, bringing many familiar faces to the chaos for the player to learn more about.
2 new weapon types have been announced thus far. Cryogenic and laser weapons further expand on the already overwhelmingly large arsenal available to the series. New vehicles will also be featured for the player to use for exploration of the ‘moonscape’. A few more new gameplay elements will also be applied, such as oxygen kits for various aerial maneuvers and, of course, breathing in the oxygen-free atmosphere of Pandora’s moon. Low gravity is also newly present within the gameplay, allowing for players to jump higher and further while taking the battle to the skies. The lack of gravity, however, will complicate loot collection as you chase loot dropped by your foes as it floats away through the air rather than pick it up off the ground.
Other than the new additions to gameplay, and yet another hearty chunk of trademark Borderlands chaos, the game seems to be largely unchanged. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m pretty pumped for another helping of whatever Pandora has to offer. I can never get enough of the shootin’ and lootin’. The game’s North American release date is October 14th of this year. It is slated to be released for PS3, XBOX 360, and PC.
