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Borderlands The Pre-Sequel: the bad guys become the stars

Borderlands The Pre-Sequel: the bad guys become the stars
Maria Baeta

Maria Baeta

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Handsome Jack, the star of Borderlands 2, is so charismatic that we’ve all been hoping to get to know him a little better. Well, our wish has been granted.

Despite not being a bestselling saga like GTA or Call of Duty, Borderlands has made a big impression in the hearts and minds of gamers worldwide. After two installments and some DLC, the series expands with a new installment that bridges to two previous games. If you like siding with the bad guys, you’re going to love Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, which will be available for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

Borderlands The Pre-Sequel

Get to know Handsome Jack’s allies

Handsome Jack, Borderlands 2‘s main star, is the focus of this “prequel”. While not a playable character, the plot of how he came to move up in Pandora is key to the story. To tell us the story, 2K Australia has chosen to give prominence to four characters, old friends of the Borderlands franchise. They are:

Willhelm

In Borderlands 2, we knew him as one of the bosses. Back then he was half man-half machine, a kind of lethal giant robot posed a real challenge. How did he become like this? Well, in The Pre-Sequel, we find out.

Willhelm, the enforcer

Nisha

Sheriff of Lynchwood, she appeared in Borderlands 2 as an optional boss. She and Handsome Jack were thick as thieves, a relationship we find out goes way back. Will she have as much power (and attitude) in The Pre-Sequel as she did before?

Nisha, the lawbringer

Athena

A gladiator we met as a playable character in the expansion “The Secret Armory of General Knoxx.” She belongs to a group of killers, although her violent tendencies seem to have more to do with a personal vendetta.

Athena, the gladiator

Claptrap

This ninja assassin is physically a cross between R2D2 and Wall-E and debuted as the main star in the DLC “Claptrap’s New Robot Evolution”. Don’t be fooled by his innocent appearance…this robot’s a killing machine (pun intended).

Claptrap, the fragtrap

From Pandora to the moon

Obviously, The Pre-Sequel isn’t just about the characters, it also places emphasis on gameplay aspects. For starters, there’s a striking change of scenery in the franchise. We’ve gone on a little journey from the planet Pandora to one of its moons.

On the Moon there’s zero gravity, meaning that Borderlands: The Prequel wins in one dimension, the vertical one, by allowing us to explore the length, width and height of this new enclave. So, get ready for impossible jumps, attacks from great heights and slain enemies floating through space.

But it’s not all good. On the Moon there’s no oxygen, so your characters will always be at the mercy of the oxygen meter – you need to avoid running out if your respirator gets damaged. It remains to be seen what disadvantage Claptrap will have, because, as far as I know, robots don’t need to breathe.

New challenges for Borderlands

New weapons for new ways of killing

Borderlands and its sequel were characterized by large numbers of weapons and attacks. Things will improve on this front even more so in The Pre-Sequel, which will feature new additions to the old famous ones.

The first one that’s confirmed is a new type, cryogenic weapons. With these bad boys you shoot bullets that can freeze something in a matter of seconds. If you shoot once and freeze your target, you can then shoot repeatedly by forming combos and split them into ice chips. Another option is to shoot them once and then destroy them with body blows.

In addition to the cryogenic weapons, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will have laser weapons, which offer even more creative ways to kill your enemies.

New weapons for Borderlands

“Smaller”, but how?

One of the first statements made ​​by the developers of Borderlands: The Prequel was that it was going to be a “smaller” game than Borderlands 2. That can mean many things, from a smaller map to a campaign that doesn’t last as long.

In any case, the use of the adjective doesn’t scare us. With new playable characters and a well worked story, we don’t think that Borderlands: The Prequel will be significantly smaller or more incomplete than its predecessors…maybe 2K Australia simply want us to get excited at the thought that, perhaps, the biggest and best Borderlands is yet to come.

This game will be smaller, but how?

Maybe in preparation for something bigger

Don’t forget that Gearbox, developer of the first two games and their DLC, has distanced itself from the creation of this game, handing over baton to 2K Australia. They’re involved in the development of the title but only in an advisory capacity, since they’re working on a new project.

The last time we saw a similar case was from Rocksteady Studios and Warner Bros. Montreal. While the former secretly worked on Batman Arkham Knight, the second dealt with the bridge game franchise, Arkham Origins.

Maybe the same thing will happen here. Will we see Gearbox surprise us in a couple of years with the first Borderlands for Xbox One, PS4 and PC?

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Maria Baeta

Maria Baeta

My first computer was an Amstrad CPC 6128 and so began my love for gadgets. Besides tech and games I love music (I'm a singer in two bands of swing, jazz and blues), cinema (watching and writing about it), gastronomy (cooking... but above all eating!) and alternative fashion. Do you follow the cult of The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Great, I'm sure we can get along.

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