Borderlands

Borderlands
Genres Action role-playing, first-person shooter
Developers Gearbox Software
2K Australia
Telltale Games
Publishers 2K Games
Telltale Games
Platforms PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360, OS X, PlayStation Vita, iOS, Linux, Android, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
First release Borderlands
October 20, 2009
Latest release Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
March, 2015

Borderlands is a series of action role-playing first-person shooter video games in a space western / science fantasy setting, developed by Gearbox Software for multiple platforms. The series has received critical acclaim and commercial success for its loot-driven multiplayer co-op gameplay and its sense of humor. As of February 2015, some 23 million copies of Borderlands games had been sold.[1]

The series consists of three released games, each with multiple downloadable content packs, and one announced game:

Several spin-off video games have also been or will be released:

Main series

Borderlands

The original Borderlands, released in 2009, combines traditional first-person shooter gameplay with character-building elements found in role-playing games, leading Gearbox to call the game a "role-playing shooter". Players choose to play as one of four characters; Lilith the Siren, Mordecai the Hunter, Brick the Berserker, and Roland the Soldier, earning experience by killing foes and completing challenges, and skill points to allow character specialization. The character can wield various ranged weapons and utility items, which are procedurally generated to provide a rich variety of loot. The game supports solo play as well as a cooperative mode for up to four players. A New Game Plus mode allows players to replay the game with the same character at a higher difficulty level.

The game is set on the planet Pandora, contested by bandits, mercenaries of interstellar corporations, dangerous wildlife and, eventually, eldritch alien abominations. As a "Vault Hunter", guided by the mysterious "Guardian Angel", the player is searching for a fabled vault full of alien loot, which requires them to kill a lot of all of the above. Borderlands is characterized by its offbeat humor and a comics-like, cel-shaded art style.

About 4.5 million copies of the game had been sold worldwide by 2011, an unexpected success for Gearbox. Borderlands received positive reviews, with an aggregate Metacritic score of 81 to 86, depending on the platform. It was complemented by four DLC packs: The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, and Claptrap's New Robot Revolution.

Borderlands 2

Main article: Borderlands 2

The sequel to Borderlands, released in 2012, picked up the setting and gameplay mechanics of its predecessor. Again, players control one of four (or, with DLC, six) Vault Hunters, while the four player characters of the original game re-appear as non-player characters. The story, written by Anthony Burch, focuses on the players' struggle with Handsome Jack, the megalomaniacal CEO of the Hyperion corporation, who seeks control of Pandora's mineral riches and alien artifacts.

Gearbox released four DLC campaigns that continue the main game's story (Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty, Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage, Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt and Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep). In addition, several DLC packs introducing two new player characters, more character development possibilities and quests have been released.

Even more so than the first game, Borderlands 2 was an unexpected critical and commercial success. It was one of the best-selling games of 2012, and has become the best-selling game in the history of its publisher 2K Games, with 8.5 million copies sold by February 2014.[2] The game received aggregate Metacritic scores of 89 to 91, depending on the platform.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!

Announced in April 2014, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! was developed by 2K Australia and released for PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC in October 2014, as well as for Mac OS later in 2014. It is set on Elpis, the moon of Pandora, and its story – occurring between the events of the first two games – covers the rise of Handsome Jack to power. The game features four of Jack's henchmen as playable characters: Athena the Gladiator, Wilhelm the Enforcer, Nisha the Lawbringer and the robot Claptrap, "the Fragtrap". Jack's body double and Sir Hammerlock's sister Aurelia were added later as DLC player characters. New game mechanics include the lack of gravity and the use of oxygen tanks.

Future Borderlands game

In February 2014, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford stated that the studio was not yet working on a third installment in the franchise, stating that it would have to be "massive", but "we don't know what that is yet. We can imagine what it must achieve, but we don't know what it is yet."[3] However, at a panel during PAX South in January 2015, Pitchford announced that the studio was preparing to begin work on a new Borderlands game—which he described as "the big one", and began to offer a number of new staff openings related to the game. The game will be developed specifically for eighth-generation consoles such as Xbox One and PlayStation 4.[4][5]

In April 2015 it was announced that the creator and franchise director of the Borderlands series Matt Armstrong had left Gearbox Software.[6]

Re-releases

A port of Borderlands 2 for the PlayStation Vita handheld was released in 2014, offering the full game and some of its DLC,[7] but limited to two-person multiplayer.

Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, a compilation and port of Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel! for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, released in 2015.[8]

Spin-off games

Borderlands Legends

To coincide with the release of Borderlands 2, the iOS spin-off game Borderlands Legends was released on 31 October 2012 for iOS devices. It is more of a strategy game than a RPG and is played from a top-down perspective with players controlling all four Vault hunters from Borderlands.[9] The game received mixed reviews and an aggregate Metacritic score of 52 out of 100. IGN gave the game a review score of 6.5/10 saying that the game was "a good idea dragged down by its inconsistent execution and lack of content."[10]

Tales from the Borderlands

Tales from the Borderlands is to be a more narrative- and character-driven,[11] episodic game developed by Telltale Games with collaboration from Gearbox Software, featuring returning and new characters from the Borderlands games. Its first episode was published in November 2014.[12] with the second episode in March 2015 both for PS4 and Xbox One

The game follows two protagonists, the con artist Fiona and the Hyperion company man Rhys, as they somewhat questionably recount the plot of the game. Telltale Games aims to incorporate two characteristics of the Borderlands series, gunplay and offbeat humor, into Tales from the Borderlands.[13]

Borderlands Online

Borderlands Online is an upcoming China-exclusive online shooter game for PC and mobile devices, developed by 2K China and Gearbox Software, and published and operated by Shanda Games. It is to be released in 2015.[14][15]

Appearances in other games

Characters from the Borderlands games appear in other games, including the following:

Other media

Soundtracks

The soundtrack for Borderlands, written by Jesper Kyd, Raison Varner, Cris Velasco and Sascha Dikiciyan (Sonic Mayhem), was published as Borderlands: Original Soundtrack in 2009, featuring 27 tracks.

The soundtrack for the sequel, by the same composers, was published as Borderlands 2: Original Soundtrack in 2012, featuring 23 tracks. Soundtrack albums for several DLC campaigns were released separately.

Comic series

Four issues of a comic miniseries, Borderlands: Origins, were published in print and digitally in November 2012. The series was written by Mikey Neumann and published by IDW. It tells the story of how the original four Vault Hunters came to be together at the beginning of Borderlands, filling in their backstory and setting up the events of both games.[17]

Novels

Pocket Books published three Borderlands novels by John Shirley, covering Roland and Mordecai's origins and their adventures after the events of Borderlands:[18]

Characters

The series features an array of colorful characters. The four player characters of the first game, the vault hunters Roland, Lilith, Mordecai and Brick, recur in all games of the series.

References

  1. ↑ Eddie Makuch (2015-02-03). "GTA 5 Ships 45 Million Copies, Including 10 Million On Xbox One And PS4". GameSpot. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
  2. ↑ Ronaghan, Neal (3 February 2014). "Borderlands 2 Now Highest-Selling 2K Game Ever". IGN. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  3. ↑ Crecente, Brian (14 February 2014). "Borderlands 3 isn’t being made, but two new Gearbox IP are". Polygon. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  4. ↑ Maiberg, Emmanuel (25 January 2015). "Gearbox Is Ready to Start the Next Borderlands Game". GameSpot. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  5. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (3 February 2015). "New Borderlands Being Made "Specifically For Next-Gen"". Gamespot. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  6. ↑ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-04-20-borderlands-creator-departs-from-gearbox
  7. ↑ "Borderlands 2 Vita Review". IGN. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  8. ↑ "Borderlands: The Handsome Collection bundles previous two games for PS4 and Xbox One". GamesRadar. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "Borderlands Legends Mobile Game Now Available on iOS". October 31, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Borderlands Legends". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  11. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (23 December 2013). "How Telltale teamed up with 'Game of Thrones' and Borderlands". Polygon. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  12. ↑ Farokhmanesh, Megan (7 December 2013). "Telltale teaming up with Gearbox for Tales from the Borderlands". Polygon. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  13. ↑ McElroy, Griffin (8 March 2014). "Tales from the Borderlands stars two lying, greedy Pandorians". Polygon. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  14. ↑ Jou, Eric (8 December 2014). "Borderlands Online Lands In China in 2015". Kotaku. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  15. ↑ "Borderlands Online official website (in Chinese)". Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "Borderlands' Nisha And Claptrap Available Now As Free Dance Central: Spotlight Dancers". Game Informer. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  17. ↑ "Borderlands: Origins #1 Preview". IGN. 2012-11-12. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  18. ↑ Owen Good (November 19, 2011), "Borderlands Hits Shelves Tuesday — as a Novel", Kotaku, retrieved December 3, 2012