Subscribe
Courtesy of Gearbox Software

Courtesy of Gearbox Software ()

The folks at 2K Games recently gave me a peek inside Pandora’s box, and I liked what I saw.

This fall, gamers will be able to return to the planet Pandora with the first-person shooter “Borderlands 2.” Earlier this month, I got a preview of the game’s new characters, weapons and gameplay.

The original “Borderlands” was known for four-player cooperative adventures, an immense assortment of weapons and a wild cast of characters. Each of these elements will return with a vengeance in the game developed by Gearbox Software.

Players will be able to choose among four characters: a gunzerker who can wield two weapons at once; a new style of Siren who can use her Phaselock power to temporarily subdue enemies; a blade-toting assassin; and a standard-issue commando. Gamers who were attached to the characters in the original game shouldn’t worry; they’ll pop up as non-playable characters in the story.

In the demonstration, I had the choice of playing as Salvador the squat gunzerker or Maya the lithe siren. I opted for the brute.

The gameplay was fast-paced and exciting. The mission I played offered a well-designed map packed with all sorts of fierce critters and robots. Of course I died a lot — which was OK, since one of the many tweaks involves the ability to heal teammates from a distance.

As before, a battle leaves the landscape littered with loot — primarily weapons, ammo, cash and power-ups. Once again, the weapons are the real treats, offering a wide variety of styles and bonus features. This time around, the guns seem a little more futuristic but they’re still as deadly to your digital foes.

Although I wasn’t able to test it, developers said co-op play has been improved by making it easier to sync up with other players when you join a game in progress. One of the few disappointing things about the original “Borderlands” was the fact that playing with a friend often left someone on the short end of the stick — gaining little experience or being shut out of an objective. If developers have fixed this issue, the game should be even more enjoyable for all.

The game uses the same graphic style as the original, a sort of cell-shaded effect that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into an edgy graphic novel.

“Borderlands 2” is scheduled for a September release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Online: borderlands2.com

Sign Up for Daily Headlines

Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets from around the world.

Sign Up Now