Preview: "Borderlands 2" Will Have More Guns Than T.I.

It’s now 5 years after the first Borderlands game and Handsome Jack is the new boss of Hyperion. As any high-powered antagonist would be, Jack is full of both sarcasm and himself; so it’s no surprise that he wants to rule the entire area of Pandora. In order to deal with such a man, Maya had a great point, "We’re going to need a lot of guns."

It’s now 5 years after the first Borderlands game and Handsome Jack is the new boss of Hyperion. As any high-powered antagonist would be, Jack is full of both sarcasm and himself; so it’s no surprise that he wants to rule the entire area of Pandora. In order to deal with such a man, Maya had a great point, "We’re going to need a lot of guns."

Although the guns are the main focus, The characters are the ones that really bring out the best in everything. There are 4 classes just as before but with some new tweaks. The Siren class makes a return, Commando class replaces the Soldier class, Assassin class replaces the hunter class. Then there’s the all new Gunzerker class.

All characters have a unique "Action Ability" that is supported by 3 skills trees. Completing missions and leveling up provides the player with Skill Points for each skill in a skill tree. Individual skills can be upgraded up to 5 times and each skill level requires one skill point. If you think you have all of that down, let’s take a look at the characters themselves and see what they can do.

Salvador is most likely the first character that you’ll see on the main menu. He’s been the face of Borderlands 2 thus far and I’ve started to see why- he’s nothing short of badass. As a Gunzerker, Salvador has the ability to make his guns do some serious damage by dual-wielding whatever he happens to pick up. It doesn’t matter if he has a rocket launcher in his left hand and a sub-machine gun in his right, you can still fire both by pressing either LT or RT on Xbox, or L2 and R2 on PS3.

To enhance this ability, Salvador has 3 skill trees that cater to his trigger-happy ways. "Wrath" skills connect directly to his dual-wielding ability by adding stat bonuses on damage and determines how long the ability can last. The "Brawn" skill tree deals with Salvador’s strength and how much damage he can take. Sal's last tree, "Gun Lust", increases all of his weapon stats and even gives new ones. My favorite is called "Down, Not Out", which allows Salvador to use his dual-wield ability while he is downed. Normally it’s forbidden to use any power when on the verge of death but here, nothing helps the player to shoot his/her way to restoration more than being able to double their firepower. The "Overheat" ability also allows his gun fire rates to increase as you continue to hold down the fire button.

If you love guns (and of course you do if you're reading this), the Gunzerker class takes full advantage.

I was able to spend a lot of time with Maya, and while Sirens are known to stealthily "Phasewalk", Maya has a new power called "Phaselock". Phaselocking allows her to freeze her enemies in an energy bubble, making them more vulnerable to attack. Her powers are mostly used to heal both herself and her team but this all works with Phaselocking quite well. The "Harmony" skill tree includes healing skills like "Sweet Release". This allows a Phaselocked enemy to give out Life Orbs that heal about 10% of lost health. The "Elated" skill can also cause a Phaselocked enemy to regenerate your health completely-as long as they are still frozen. Upgrades on that skill will determine how long the regeneration takes. Another crucial healing skill in the Harmony tree is called "Res", which allows Maya to revive a fallen comrade by Phaselocking them.

The "Motion" skill tree supports Maya while she’s in battle by providing shield boosts and more abilities, while the "Inertia" skill increases both reload speed and shield regeneration. Kinetic Reflection helps Maya reflect enemy bullets back at them. A skill called, "Suspension" increases Maya’s Phaselock duration and "Ward" increases Shield Capacity while lowering shield recharge delay.

The last skill tree is named "Cataclysm," which can help a lot in nasty battle situations. For example, the "Helios" skill makes a Phaselocked enemy explode and emblazes everything within radius. Players can think of Maya as an all-around support character in groups, and a deadly force by herself.

Zero is probably the most interesting character out of them all, as absolutely nothing has been revealed about his story. What I can tell you though is that he’s a ninja without a real face. To express how he feels, a holographic emoticon will show up on his helmet’s faceplate. Zero also displays a zero whenever he kills someone, which is probably how he got his name. The ninja wields a light saber sword which works well with his ability; "Deception".

Deception acts as a cloaking device, allowing Zero to go undetected for a period of time. The longer he is in stealth, the more damage his attacks do on his enemies. As he disappears from view, Zero also leaves behind a decoy at his last known position, and with the "Unforeseen" skill, this decoy can explode on nearby enemies. Zero’s skill other skill, "Be Like Water", increases gun damage every time he performs a melee attack and increases that attack for every gun attack he uses. Since his class replaces the Hunter class from the first Borderlands game, expect him to be handy with sniper rifles as well.

Axton is a little more tech-oriented than your average solider as his action ability utilizes a turret. He can build a turret and customize it using his skill trees. The skill tree "Gunpowder" supports medium-ranged combat. The "Longbow Turret" skill helps Axton teleport his turret anywhere he wants much like the Incendiary Longbow grenades in the first Borderlands. Axton's turret can be customized with all sorts of weapons--depending on the skill--including rocket launchers. To support short-ranged combat, players will turn to the "Guerrilla" skill tree; its skills let Axton use his turret more aggressively.

The final "Survival" tree supports defensive tactics. The "Pressure" skill, within the same tree, gives Axton faster reload times and shield recharge bonuses depending on how low his health meter is. Probably the most mysterious character next to Zero, little is known about Axton's background story as well. It's been said that he wears the dog tags of his dead wife, so maybe he’s out for a little revenge? We’ll just have to wait and see.

This time around, there actually may be about a bazillion guns at your disposal. So far, I’ve been able to sample a few manufacturers such as Dahl, Hyperion, Bandit, Vladof, Tediore, and Jacobs. Each manufacturer creates their own unique line of weaponry, from Jacob’s western-influenced rifles and pistols, to Tediore’s disposable guns, which when tossed, act like explosives. Vladof’s market is inspired by the Russian AK-47, so they’ll be providing. assault weapons and awesome sniper rifles. Not all guns are pretty though, as Bandit’s guns look handmade and consist of salvaged parts like glass bottles. Dahl seemed to carry the most realistic types of guns, such as the ones you would find in your favorite war game.

My favorite weapon so far however, is made by a company in the last game, called Maliwan, who manufacture both futuristic and elemental weapons. The Maliwan Surfiet Torment is a corrosive pistol that’s effective against armored enemies; this small gun has saved my life on numerous occasions, and should not be overlooked. Along with corrosive weapons that burn your opponents with acids, there are also guns that freeze them, and of course guns that set them ablaze. I can say that no matter how many guns I picked up, none were the same exact model. I’m not sure if this will stay the same throughout the entire game, but not seeing the same items over and over during my experience was definitely a nice change.

Besides new characters and better guns, the AI will be a lot more realistic in this next installment. Enemies will run towards you with confidence, flee and find cover when they are at bad odds, and even try to flank you. Fighting against a group of common Skag pups is nothing, and even when they run to adult ones, you might still be okay. However, if the adults run and hide under a Badass Fire Skag, you’re in lots of trouble. Enemies will constantly try to outnumber you and hide behind one another. You will also see enemies fighting each other at times, giving you a tactical advantage. Shooting enemies in the legs or in specific areas will even cause them to limp or showcase exactly how much pain they’re in.

Another new feature is the abundance of new areas. Instead of traversing a deserted wasteland, livelier places like the Arctic Tundra and Scottish Greenlands will be accessible throughout the story. The Wildlife preservation will include factories and warehouses, while Caustic Caverns is a corrosive and highly chemical waste dump. Each area hides new secrets along with its own variety of enemies, so always be prepared as you traverse each zone.

Remember in Borderlands when your buddies couldn’t all fit into one car? Well, Gearbox is solving that problem by including 4-seater vehicles. This time around, you don't have to worry about lower level players taking the goods that you worked so hard to earn. Players can also duel or trade for both items and money giving everyone an equal chance to get their hands on the most coveted weapondry.

To make things even more player-friendly, Borderlands 2 now supports local split-screen co-op. How’s that for improvement?

Gearbox has put a lot into the game already, so I can’t imagine this all staying on a single disk. They were pretty tight-lipped on a lot of the DLC options (as every other game company) but I wouldn’t be surprised if Claptrap made a return at some point.

Expect Borderlands 2 in stores for both Xbox 360 and PS3 on September 18.