borderlands the pre sequel
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Borderlands, BioShock and XCOM are headed to the Switch
As part of today's surprise Nintendo Direct Mini (which packed in way more news than anything "Mini" should reasonably offer), it emerged several big 2K Games franchises are coming to Switch. All three BioShock games -- BioShock Remastered, BioShock 2 Remastered and BioShock Infinite: The Complete Edition -- will hit the console May 29th, along with BioShock: The Collection, which bundles the titles into a neat package.
'Borderlands: Handsome Collection' headlines June's free PS Plus games
With Borderlands 3 arriving in just a few months, it seems like a good time to start catching up on or revisiting Gearbox Software's FPS series. And, what do you know? Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is one of the titles Sony is giving away to PS Plus subscribers in June.
Lady Hammerlock joins Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel's playable lineup
Lady Hammerlock, sister to researcher Sir Hammerlock and heir to the family's fortune, will add a bit of class to Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel's playable lineup on January 27. Aurelia is included in The Pre-Sequel's season pass, but a related press release notes that fans who prefer to pick up DLC a la carte can also don her fashionable demeanor for $9.99. Lady Hammerlock's progression branch into Huntress, Cold Money and Contractual Aristocracy skill trees. Huntress focuses on sniping, offering a skill that dishes out critical hit bonuses for each consecutive shot on a target. Cold Money is all about ice damage, as made evident by one of its abilities implementing Cryo damage with any equipped weapon. Contractual Aristrocracy is all about status, as suggested by one of its unlockables reaping Lady Hammerlock bonuses from kills made by her peasant teammates. When firefights call for desperate measures, Lady Hammerlock's Cold As Ice action skill spawns a Frost Diadem Shard that chases down and latches onto targets, dealing constant damage until they finally keel over so that the shard can move onto its next target. If you sat out The Pre-Sequel in hopes of a current-gen port but still want to freeze things to death as Lady Hammerlock, don't fret – Borderlands Handsome Collection will include all season pass DLC when it arrives on March 24. [Image: Gearbox]
Borderlands 2, Pre-Sequel bundle announced for PS4, Xbox One
Let's be honest, we all saw this coming: Publisher 2K has assembled The Handsome Collection, which includes Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (with all DLC) on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The collection launches March 24 and 27 in North America and internationally, respectively. There will also be a Borderlands: The Handsome Collection Claptrap-in-a-Box Edition, which includes everything in the standard mega box, with the addition of a remote controlled Claptrap steward robot, a collectible steel case and 12 "exclusive" lithographs. Where as the standard bundle will cost $60, the limited run of 5,000 Claptrap-in-a-Box Edition will cost $399. In fairness, a real Claptrap, along with research and development, would cost much more.
Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode coming to Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel this week
An update for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel rolling out this week will add a new difficulty mode aimed at veteran players, developer Gearbox Software announced. Originally introduced in Borderlands 2, the now series-standard Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode resets story progress and starts players out on a more difficult journey that features tougher enemies and better-quality loot. The Pre-Sequel requires players to complete True Vault Hunter Mode and reach level 50 before granting access to Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel's True Vault Hunter Mode will launch via an Xbox 360 title update on December 11, and a patch for the PlayStation 3 and Steam versions will arrive on December 16. A difficulty-specific add-on, The Holodome Onslaught, will premiere on December 16 across all available platforms. [Image: Gearbox Software]
Play as Handsome Jack's clone in new Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel DLC
Handsome Jack -- or at least a reasonable facsimile -- is now a playable character in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel with today's release of the Handsome Jack Doppelganger Pack. Available as a free download for Season Pass owners, the pack introduces a fifth playable character who wields unique combat abilities and controls an army of digital decoys on the battlefield. Three additional Season Pass content packs will launch in the coming months at $9.99 apiece. [Video: 2K]
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel's fifth playable character is Jack
"That looks a lot like Handsome Jack," you might say to yourself as you look at the image above. You're right, but looks can be deceiving - Jack is the fifth playable character in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, but as his class (The Doppelganger) suggests, he's simply a look-alike body double. As was revealed by Gearbox Software at PAX Australia, Jack will be available on November 11 in the Handsome Jack Doppelganger Pack, which is included in The Pre-Sequel's season pass or offered as a $9.99 standalone piece of DLC. Striking resemblance aside, Jack's Expendable Action skill spawns two Digi-Jacks, which fight to their very deaths before respawning beside Jack for as long as the skill is active. As is the Borderlands norm, his skill tree is split into three divisions; the tank and grenade-buffing "The Hero of this Story," the co-op and Fight for Your Life-focused "Greater Good," and "Free Enterprise," which grants buffs depending on your gun's manufacturer and encourages frequent weapon switchups. There are three remaining pieces of DLC still under wraps for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC's loot-n-shoot, but an additional character, a level cap boost and a new campaign are currently part of Gearbox and 2K Australia's future plans for The Pre-Sequel. In Senior Reporter Jess Conditt's recent review, she noted that while The Pre-Sequel "boasts the loot of a full Borderlands game, it's missing a touch of depth and a dash of polish." [Image: 2K Games]
The Borderlands timeline unfurled
With the recent release of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Gearbox knows it may have some fans with questions on how the series' timeline is organized. That's understandable when your latest game is sub-titled "The Pre-Sequel." To bring order to the chaos, the series developer offered an "ultimate Borderlands timeline" on its blog late last week. The comic-style timeline divulges major plot points from before the original Borderlands through its direct sequel, Borderlands 2. Viewers beware: Gearbox didn't shy away from spoiling those major events in the timeline, including that of The Pre-Sequel. Our review of the latest game noted that the game is "missing just a bit of soul," but still "has the makings of a pretty great Borderlands game." The series' overarching story will continue with The Walking Dead developer Telltale's adventure game, Tales From the Borderlands, which is expected to launch this year. [Image: Gearbox Software]
Joystiq Weekly: Mordor's photo mode, The Evil Within review, Devolver's appeal and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. As the Smash Bros. and Halo series have taught us, stopping the action to play around with in-game cameras can be oddly compelling (and gleefully annoying to rivals/co-op partners). If The Last Of Us: Remastered and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's inclusion of similar features are the start of a trend, we'd welcome it with open shutter arms. Repositioning the camera for the perfect shot of an epic summon in Final Fantasy 15? Showcasing the full scope of a crazy moment in the time-defying Quantum Break? Yes please! There was plenty more to this week than snapping photos of an orc squadron's downfall though – Halo: The Master Chief Collection is expected to have a ~20GB day one patch, there were reviews for The Evil Within, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Bayonetta 2, and we got a full-frame perspective of publisher Devolver Digital. Check all that out and more after the break!
Metareview: Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
We recognized Borderland: The Pre-Sequel for what it is in our review: "It's to shoot a bunch of weird, wacky enemies in the face and to shovel as much loot into our packs as we can carry." Are you looking for more Borderlands? In that bizarre style you couldn't get enough of after going through all that content available in Borderlands 2? You've come to the right place, my friend. Handsome Jack has an adventure for you!
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel review: You don't know Jack
Xbox 360, PS3, PC Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is all about loot, murder, humor, loot, swarms of enemies and loot. It looks like a comic book, plays like a shooter, and feels like that one hilarious idea you and your buddies had at two in the morning after a night of riding around town and chugging energy drinks. Also, loot. In other words, it's more Borderlands. The Pre-Sequel introduces a few new ideas into the franchise – including near-zero gravity, oxygen management and shiny character classes based on NPCs from the previous games. Players participate in the story of Handsome Jack, before he became the villain in Borderlands 2, back when he was just a funny dude with wild ideas about being a hero. Still, while The Pre-Sequel boasts the loot of a full Borderlands game, it's missing a touch of depth and a dash of polish.
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel hitting Mac Oct 14, same day at consoles and PC
Developer Aspyr has announced that it will release the highly anticipated Mac version of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel on Oct 14th, the same day the title hits PCs and consoles. More importantly, the Mac version will launch with all of the same features as the PC, including DLC updates and cross-platform multiplayer. The team worked hard with Gearbox and 2K in order to ensure each version of the game would be available for launch on the same day. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel takes place between the previous Borderlands games, and tells the story of Handsome Jack's rise to power. It also features the first time in the game's history that fan favorite Claptrap will be a playable character. You can pre-order the game currently through GameAgent, though the title will become available on the Mac App Store on October 16. The game requires a Mac running OS X 10.9.4 (Mavericks) or later and at least a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of RAM, and 13GB of hard drive space. Supported video cards include NVIDIA GeForce 8800, ATI Radeon HD 2600, or Intel HD 3000 with 256 MB of Video Memory. You can view a trailer for the title here.
Joystiq Streams: Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! with Gearbox [Update: It's over]
Moons haven't gotten so much love as they have by video games in the past month since Buzz Aldrin landed on one in 1969. Link pulls one down to smash up dragons in Hyrule Warriors, and the good Guardians playing Destiny have spent an inordinate amount of time blowing up Wizards from around the lunar neighborhood. Everywhere you look, moons! In anticipation of even more moon action, Joystiq is bringing you an early look at Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!, a game that places tiny, chatty robots on the moon and gives them many, many guns. On Joystiq.com/Twitch at 6:00PM 6:30PM EST, 2K Games and Gearbox will be hanging out with Joystiq's own Ludwig Kietzmann (@LudwigK) to check out the ins and outs of this side story to the only shooter RPG with a bartender named Moxxi. Come by and ask questions of both the team and Luddy in the chat. We regularly broadcast on Joystiq.com/Twitch every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00PM EST, but if you want to catch specials like today's show, make sure to follow on us on Twitch. [Images: 2K Games]
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel season pass, pre-order Slaughter Pit announced
In case you were worried about running out of loot to hoard in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, a $30 season pass has been announced for Gearbox and 2K Australia's upcoming shootout on Pandora's moon. The pass will last for four additional content packs, which a related press release notes will include "new characters, missions and experiences." Vault hunters wary of preemptive bulk DLC purchases will still be able to pick up the packs individually as they release for $9.99 apiece. As is the modern custom, bonus content called the Shock Drop Slaughter Pit can also be earned by pre-ordering The Pre-Sequel from select retailers. Those waiting on holiday sales to stock up on this year's remaining games won't miss out on the Slaughter Pit though, as the press release adds it will be available for purchase later on. [Image: 2K Games]
Claptrap learns new tricks in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
It appears that the trick to silencing Claptrap's unending stream of verbal inanity is to dress the lil' metal fella up like a pirate ship and grant him free rein to launch cannonballs at deadly space critters. [Image: 2K Games]
These Borderlands: Pre-Sequel tips came from the moon
Want advice on surviving Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel's treacherous lunar landscapes? Let the galaxy's most dashing rogue tell you how it's done; Handsome Jack is here to help you study for the Pre-Sequel's deadly tests with an overview of the game's features. Test date: October 14. [Image: Gearbox]
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is dancing, DANCING! on October 14
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will take vault hunters to the moon on October 14. The standalone game will be available internationally on October 17 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Reminder: no next-gen or "current gen" however you want to put it now. The trailer above also includes a dance break brought to you by Harmonix.
Watch 15 minutes of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel narrated gameplay
Gearbox' has a new 15-minute gameplay video of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel that's based off the demo showed at PAX East. The shooter's butt-stomping, enemy-shattering, playable-Claptrap action is coming to Xbox 360, PS3 and PC this fall. [Image: 2K Games]
You might hate Claptrap in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and Gearbox is fine with that
Claptrap as seen in the original Borderlands The next Borderlands isn't Borderlands 3, and it's not being developed by Gearbox. As we learned earlier this week, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (read our preview!) bridges the gap between Borderlands and Borderlands 2, it's only on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, and development has been handed to 2K Australia. Oh, and it's set on the moon. Placing Borderlands with a new studio and introducing a new setting offered up a chance to reinvigorate the series, says 2K Australia general manager Tony Lawrence. "We had an opportunity to make it fresh. We sat down with these guys from Gearbox Software, talked about where it would be and who the characters would be, and what the fans would really like. The moon was something that came up quite a bit. So that was it: to the moon." The lunar environment naturally lends itself to The Pre-Sequel's headline features like low gravity and the necessity of oxygen. The Pre-Sequel also introduces the ability to freeze and shatter enemies with ice weapons. And, of course, it has new playable characters. That includes allowing players to play as Claptrap for the first time, something that could be equal parts amusement and annoyance – but we'll get to that in a moment.
Joystiq Weekly: PAX East, The Last Of Us: Remastered, Super Smash Bros. and more
This week's reveal of Charizard in Super Smash Bros.' roster is a bit of a blow to our argument that Squirtle is the best starter from Pokemon Red/Blue. Yes, both pocket monsters were in the Pokemon Trainer's arsenal in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but Charizard flying solo is a whole different level of awesome, one that's left us Squirtle enthusiasts drowning in envy. Playground rivalries aside, there's a lot more going on this week beyond Pokefeuds. Sony admitted that The Last Of Us is coming to the PS4, Borderlands fans are finally going to be able to play as Claptrap in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and we've got a faint glimmer of hope for the Xbox One to eventually be backwards compatible. This is also the weekend of PAX East, which you can treat as a source of news or, if you're attending, a giant game of "Where's Waldo?" Track down Joystiq's away team and say hi! Provided you can catch them between appointments, panels and the lone meal of their day, that is.
