Rock, Paper, Shotgun

By Nathan Grayson on September 18th, 2012 at 10:00 am.

Not because I’ve given it permission, mind you. No, no – I don’t possess that kind of power. I can, however, pave the way for the final domino in the promotional procession – that most mighty of Silver Surfers: the launch trailer. Without it, the delicate videogame hype ecosystem would crumble, and we’d have no way of knowing that our games were coming out tomorrow, or a few days from now, or in, like, two months sometimes. It’d be total pandemonium. Countless lives would almost certainly be lost in the chaos. We need this structure, is what I’m saying. Launch trailers are totally and completely necessary. So here’s one for Borderlands 2. This one tosses wub-wubs and wimowehs in favor of in-your-face “epic”-ness, but it’s still quite a sight.

I kind of despise the word “epic” in all its overused-to-the-point-of-meaninglessness glory, but this pretty much fits the bill. It all looks very elaborate and grandiose and even a bit cinematic. By comparison, the original Borderlands’ more basic “go to a brown place and kill all of the things because guns” structure seems like a rickety scaffolding for a much grander idea. Hopefully, then, Borderlands 2 is, well, pretty much exactly what a sequel should be: the better, fuller, smarter realization of an idea that was only just finding its footing the first time around. Borderlands was good. Here’s hoping Borderlands 2 can cross the border into “great” territory.

It’s out today in the US and Friday in the UK. Jim has secluded himself in the Fortress of Jimitude for many long days and nights to put it through its paces, so you’ll be hearing from him very, very soon. Until then, though, what classes will you fine folks be starting out with? I’ll be trying the Assassin, I think, because apparently I’m the sort of person who attempts to get his sword fix from a game about 87 bazillion guns.