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Borderlands 2 sculpts 'Mount Jackmore' promo game for everyone but North America
2K Games and Gearbox have concocted an interesting little advergame called Mount Jackmore, where players shoot at a giant sculpture of Borderlands 2 antagonist Handsome Jack. Beneath the rock you'll find prizes that run the gamut from in-game items to actual copies of the game. There's also a small chance you could win one of those sweet loot chests.But, there's a catch: US gamers can't play Mount Jackmore – the promotion is open to people from Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain and the UK aged 18 years or over. Also you only get a limited amount of ammo each day to play. You start with 100, and if you expend them then you'll get another 100. The only other way to get more bullets in a day is to refer a friend, then you'll get an additional 100.
Borderlands 2 available on PSN at launch
Borderlands 2 will be downloadable on PlayStation Network in North America on its September 18 release date, the PlayStation Blogcast revealed. It's also available for pre-order on PSN in Europe right now, for release on September 21. That makes the PlayStation Plus release of Borderlands a really smart piece of marketing.Unfortunately, since the American download version is not currently pre-orderable, it won't get you Premiere Club access.
Borderlands 2 'Golden Key' unlocks this chest in Sanctuary
If you're a vault hunter who signed up for Premiere Club – accomplished by pre-ordering Borderlands 2 through a select retailer – you'll find yourself burdened by one golden key come launch day. This golden key unlocks a special treasure chest in the city of Sanctuary.The chest (pictured above) will drop some very rare (see: purple) loot once open – loot that is scaled to your character, Gearbox says. So the potency of the loot within is dependent on the level of your character when you open it – and while we know how hard it is to not open a chest full of loot in a game where that is one of the primary goals, you may want to hold off as long as you can on this golden chest.
Gearbox posts final version of Borderlands 2 Mechromancer class
Gearbox Software's final look for Borderlands 2's Mechromancer DLC was posted this morning. The character, available October 16, is the fifth playable class in the game and is still available with pre-order. Without the pre-order she'll cost $10.
Borderlands 2 skill tree calculator now online
Posting about skill tree/talent calculators is really more of a Massively jam, what with such things typically being the fare of massively multiplayer online orc/spaceship simulators and everything, but in Borderlands 2's case, we'll have to make an exception.Calculators like the one seen above are now available on the game's official site via each character's individual page, which can be accessed by surmounting the age gate and clicking on "Characters." We went ahead and spec'd out our siren, and we don't mean to brag or anything but that build up there is 100 percent guaranteed to be the most efficient, powerful build for the class.Either that, or we randomly slapped it together in about 12 seconds.
PSN Tuesday: NFL Sunday Ticket, Zen Pinball 2 and Borderlands (free for PS Plus members)
Are you ready for some apps that enable you to watch football on Sunday? Okay, so we failed Marketing 101 – it's our way of saying DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket is now available to PS3 users.Joining football is free-to-play PS3/PS Vita cross-play compatible (phew!) Zen Pinball 2, from Zen Studios. If you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber, there are the usual discounts to consider, like 75 percent off Greed Corp and 40 percent off Daytona USA, and a free download of Borderlands. The full list is over on the PlayStation Blog.
Gearbox confirms Aliens: Colonial Marines has female characters
The cast of Gearbox Software's upcoming xenophobia sim, Aliens: Colonial Marines, won't be entirely male, the developer announced during a panel at last weekend's PAX Prime event in Seattle, WA. One female character named Jennifer Redding will be available in co-op, while the game's competitive multiplayer modes will include options for customizing different female marines.Since the announcement was made, a 3,800-person strong internet petition to have female characters added to the game has taken credit, updating with a message that "the petition is a SUCCESS!!! CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE!, and thank you for your support!"Meanwhile, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford maintains that women were always part of the plan, according to Kotaku. Essentially, Gearbox had yet to complete the design work for Redding and the multiplayer models and did not want to unveil them until they were finalized. As the petition's online presence mounted, however, the developer felt it should show off the plans to resolve the situation.
Borderlands 2 Mechromancer available October 16 for $10
Borderlands 2's Mechromancer DLC should be available October 16 for $10. Eurogamer reports Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford dropped the current date and price estimate this weekend at PAX Prime.The Mechromancer will be the fifth playable class in Borderlands 2, which you can still get bundled at no extra cost with a pre-order of the game. Publisher 2K Games also recently announced there are four $10 DLC packs planned for the game by next June, which are also available through a $30 "Season Pass." Immediate upsell, upsell, upsell.
Borderlands 2's exposition trailer
If you're the type of person who has been avoiding details on Borderlands 2 as to not spoil the freshness of the experience... do not watch this trailer. At almost seven minutes, this introduction to Pandora covers a lot of ground. Those salivating for more? Enjoy!
'Borderlands 2 Season Pass' announced, all four DLC packs for $30
Borderlands 2 will have at least four downloadable content expansions by next summer. 2K Games announced a $30 season pass this morning, available at launch, which will make the four pieces of $10 DLC accessible for the price of three. The season pass is available for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.Pass holders will be able to download the new content as it goes live, with all four "scheduled to be available by June 2013." Borderlands 2 – and the Season Pass – will cooperatively roll into retail September 18.%Gallery-160312%
GameStop's exclusive Borderlands 2 DLC is loot thunderdome
GameStop is sending out a Sirin call for your money with the "Creature Slaughter Dome" pre-order bonus for Borderlands 2. The thunderdome of skag slaughter will only be available at the retailer during launch. All XP and weapons earned in the arena can be brought back to the main game.
Borderlands gets demade, is playable in your browser and totally rad
You wanna play Borderlands, but you're stuck at your job. Also, the new Borderlands still isn't out, and you've played so, so much of the first one. Or maybe you're only into 16-bit games? The Borderlands remake – an official part of the Borderlands 2 marketing campaign – is here, and it's pretty boss.Well, okay – it's as boss as a top down, 16-bit, browser-based rendition of Borderlands could possibly be. Incidentally, that's far, far more boss than we had imagined. What're you still doing here? Go play it!
In Borderlands 2, heavy weapons need you
Borderlands 2 is approaching and you need to familiarize yourself with its hardware if you hope to survive. Here are two videos promoting two in-game weapon manufacturers: the Soviet-inspired gear from Vladof and the element-loving weaponry from Maliwan. Now, pick one!
Borderlands 2 trailer sells us on the everyman's weapon line, Tediore
Sure, you've seen plenty of gameplay from Borderlands 2, but we've got something a bit more refreshing for you: an animated short advertising a cost-effective alternative to protect yourself from all those "psychos and perverts."
Claptrap Photobomb App available on Facebook
We all know Claptraps like to dance. It is known, Khaleesi. So, when a bunch of the robots showed up at the club across the street from our hotel during Gamescom, we couldn't help but snap a pic. For those who aren't so lucky, there is now an app available on the the Facebooks that will do such a thing for you.2K Games has put out the Claptrap Photobomb App on Facebook. It allows one to put Borderlands' mouthy robot into any photo – the app can also take immediate webcam pics. Uploading the photo to 2K will enter budding photojournalists into a contest to win an "ultimate loot chest," but the contest is available to US residents only. Shame we can't submit ours then.
Your new BFF, the first skill tree for Borderlands 2's Mechromancer
The Mechromancer's first fully formed skill tree is called Best Friends Forever, and while it won't hand out charm bracelets or stay up all night gossiping, it will hold your hand. Best Friends Forever offers a series of handicaps for the friends of players who might say, "I love Borderlands and I want to share it with someone, but they suck at first-person shooters," lead designer John Hemingway tells Eurogamer.One skill in the Best Friends Forever tree is "Close Enough;" it makes bullets that miss their targets ricochet off surrounding objects toward the intended enemy. "Can't aim? That's not a problem," Hemingway says.Another skill tree may end up as the counterpoint to Best Friends Forever, offering a hardcore mode, and the third might be a "shock gameplay tree." Gearbox is still playing with the Mechromancer's tree, but "you'll definitely see a few things with the robot hand in her skill trees," Hemingway says.The Mechromancer's main skill is to summon Deathtrap, a giant robot, and her tree will include skills that teach him new abilities. One new ability is called Explosive Clap, which has Deathtrap rush enemies and clap his hands together to knock them down.Hemingway wouldn't give away the Mechromancer's name, and Gearbox is still working on her final build. The Mechromancer is planned to launch 60 days following Borderlands 2's launch on September 18, as paid DLC or free for those who pre-order the game.
Borderlands 2 third highest pre-ordered game for Take-Two behind Grand Theft Auto
Take-Two announced during its first quarter conference call that Borderlands 2 is doing incredibly well in terms of pre-orders at retail."Consumer anticipation is phenomenal," said Karl Slatoff, chief operating officer of Take-Two about Gearbox's shooter. "Pre-orders are currently the third highest of any title in Take-Two's history, behind only Grand Theft Auto 4 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas."For context, Grand Theft Auto 4 made $500 million in its first week, selling 6 million copies, with 3.6 million on its first day.
Borderlands 2 baddies are smarter than you think
Well, at least the AI programming behind each enemy in Borderlands 2 is smarter than anything in the first Borderlands – the baddies themselves are victims of the rancid planet Pandora and probably wouldn't pass a first-grade spelling test. They will, however, blow your brains out.Jasper Foreman, lead AI programmer at Gearbox Software, sat down with us (on the floor in a hallway of the Hard Rock Hotel, right outside of San Diego Comic-Con central), to describe a handful of enemies we can expect to see in the new Borderlands and the tech that makes them smarter than ever.There are 15-20 separate enemies in Borderlands 2, but each type has numerous variants, bringing the total number of foes somewhere between 200-300. Foreman once tried to count them all by running a script, but with the complex descriptors composing each enemy it was impossible to locate every one. Suffice it to say, there are a lot.%Gallery-161206%
Borderlands 2: Shooting and slicing with Axton and Zero
Like the original Borderlands, there are four playable classes in Borderlands 2. Developer Gearbox has been forthcoming with the Gunzerker and Siren classes – bringing them out at various trade shows and preview events – but have kept quiet on the other two characters: Zero, the katana-wielding assassin, and the new soldier, Axton.After spending a sizable chunk of time with the other two characters, I wonder why we hadn't seen them earlier. Zero and Axton in Borderlands 2 are responsible for some of the most stylish and exciting combat options I've seen in the game.%Gallery-160312%
Borderlands 2 would make a great musical, and this trailer proves it
The musical aspirations of Gearbox Software have never been more clear than in today's Borderlands 2 "Wimoweh" trailer. Yes, Claptrap is keen to bounce along, but so are all the other vile residents of Pandora. Is it too much to ask for an Easter Egg involving this song somewhere in the game? We don't think so.
