Gameplay: 9/10
Fundamentally, this game is a first person shooter. Normally, I would shy away from another Call of Duty clone, but Borderlands isn't just a first person shooter. The game is classified by developer Gearbox as an "FPSRPG," or a first person shooter role-playing game. Sure, you run around shooting people up or beating them to death with melee attacks, but there are so many other options to choose. The game has a level system. If you get levels, you get skill points to spend on upgrading your action skill. There are 4 characters, not including 2 DLC characters, and they all have a different skill. For example, the Gunzerker class can dual wield, so you can enjoy running around killing people with twice the amount of guns. (That'd be two, for those of you who aren't math inclined.) The Commando drops a turret that can do a bunch of things with skill points, from sticking to walls and ceilings to exploding like a nuke when deployed. The amount of ways each character can be customized is huge. The one problem I had with the game was the difficulty. This is probably because I'm bad at shooters, but there are two more playthrough yet to go through, each harder than the last. I don't think I'll last very long. The game has nice checkpoints that you respawn at when you die, and the transition is seamless, which helps for people that happen to have a knack for dying.
Story: 10/10
This is what sets the Borderlands series apart from other generic shooters. There is actually a very good story behind the series. Borderlands 2 takes place on the fictitious planet of Pandora, a hellhole of bandits, psychos, and murderers. You play the role of a Vault Hunter, a special kind of bandit that seeks treasure and is generally more badass than the normal rank and file of Pandora. After the discovery of the Vault at the end of the original Borderlands, a priceless element called Eridium started growing at a ridiculous rate. Unfortunately, now that these Vault Hunters (that are not you) have found this Vault, you're out of a job. But fear not! The growth of Eridium has sparked the interest of the Hyperion Corporation. While they get busy mining the shiny purple rock, they discover evidence of yet another Vault. Yay! The company then begins to hire Vault Hunters to help them find the new Vault and uncover its secrets. Come to find out, the owner, Handsome Jack, wants your kind dead. He blows up the train you're on and leaves you for dead in the middle of the frozen tundra. That's how the adventure begins. The story is very well written and the cast is hilarious.
Controls: 8/10
The controls lay out just like your typical shooter. You can adjust anything on the controller to your liking. Wanna shoot with the B button and crouch with the right trigger? Sure, why not?
Graphics: 8/10
This franchise is known for the controversy surrounding its graphics. The original Borderlands was shown with realistic graphics when it was first introduced, but the developers decided to scrap that and go with cel shading. The game looks beautiful. Enemies are diverse and you can see all the blood and dirt caked on their skin. The only thing I don't like is the blur that occurs when levels are first loading. Occasionally, this blur stays in place for minutes at a time, which is rather distracting when playing a game where sight is everything.
Music: 4/10*
This series is not known for its music. The only songs people remember are the ones that play during the opening cutscenes, which aren't even original. If there was any good music, I didn't hear it over the sounds of enemies screaming and things exploding.
*I'm not including this in the final score, since it really brings the average down.
Replay Value: 10/10
This game has a ton of replay ability. If you finish the main story, you can go on to the True Vault Hunter mode, which is the same story, just a higher difficulty. After completing that, there is the Ultimate Vault Hunter mode, which is harder still. Alternatively, Borderlands 2 has a ploethera of side missions to occupy your time. If you like DLC, there are also downloadable campaigns to enjoy as well. As far as multiplayer goes, there isn't much on the competitive side of things, but up to 4 players can join together in a game and do missions or just screw around together.
OVERALL: 9/10
Borderlands 2 is a game that redefines the first person shooter genre. From an amazingly well written story to intuitive gameplay, the series should enjoy a good future. Without trying to spoil anything, the ending seems to hint towards a Borderlands 3, which I am anxiously awaiting.
