Returning to fill your pockets and empty rounds is the hyper-addictive Borderlands. Tagged "A new era of shoot and loot", you better believe it, Borderlands 2 is bazillion'd up.

Returning to Pandora, Borderlands 2 puts you in the shoes of another gang of merciless Vault Hunters. Searching out an even bigger vault, the formula is simple and effective. In direct competition with the main antagonist, 'Handsome Jack', you will take on the Hyperion Corporation while being seduced by the lure of more vault riches. Kill Jack, get the loot, and return peace to Pandora, no problem. It's time to get messy.

While Borderlands 2 is pretty much the same game as the original, Gearbox slightly switches up the formula by introducing players to a new gang of Vault Hunters. Just like the original, upgrading and replaying the game as each character is something most gamers will entertain. Customizing is a key element to the hunters appeal, along with each characters main skill. It's all about experimenting, so don't be surprised if you run a few characters at once to see which one fits your play style. It's really hard to grasp which “skill” you like the best until your knee deep in slaughtering Marauders. Thankfully, more freedom has been given to the player this time around with the inclusion of a larger 'skill tree'. You wanted more bad-ass powers, well now you got it. And speaking of “bad-ass”, you now earn “badass tokens” by completing minor objectives that are like rewards built into the core structure. These tokens can be used to give small bonuses like faster reload speed or increased health that all add up nicely.

Somewhat the same, but still contrasting are the four new character classes. The most similar character/class would be Axton the Commando. Axton has the ability to instantly call out a Sabre Turret to help battle his foes, which mirrors Roland from the original game. Following that lead is the Pandora native Salvador, the Gunzerker (what a name), who has the “Gunzerk” ability to unleash double armed gun attacks with vicious velocity. Sorry 'Brick' you've been downsized. Next we have the Lilith upgrade (or downgrade depending on your love on the traditional Phasewalk) with the Siren Maya. Stealhing up the last spot is Zero who trades in the “Hunter” term for “Assassin”. Zero's main skill is the ability to create a decoy to get the jump on his enemy. This stealth class takes the most skill to pull of a successful game of Borderlands 2. However if you like challenges, Zero is your man.

Also returning (and as clever as ever) are the NPC cast which includes several old and new faces. Expect to see Mad Moxxi, Dr. Zed, Patricia Tannis, and everyone’s favourite robot, Claptrap; along with hilarious new additions like half-robotic hunter Sir Hammerlock. The other half of NPC characters are the villains, most notably the mini and full-out bosses. From the fire-starting Captain Flynt to the jaw-dropping BNK3R, Gearbox sure knows how to kick-up the dust when need be. Remarkably smart, Borderlansds 2 always has some unique method of mixing humour and violence. Want mojo? Borderlands 2 is bursting.

Being pretty much Borderlands with more; the more is showen through more variety in the environments, enemies, and mission bonuses. Borderlands 2 has a little more “wasteland-ie” feel put into it, which helps to keep things intresting. Pandora isn't a vacation destination the well armed wouldn't want to visit, and given danger lurks around every corner, you'll want to make sure you are well armed. Either traversing on foot or via wheels, this new take on Pandora is worth exploring. A lot more room has been allotted for this with rewards for those with curious tendencies.

Although some aspects have been freshened up, Borderlands 2 can still feel repetitious. This stems from the constant barrage of shooting without much reason behind each pull of the trigger. Comparable to other “wasteland shooters" like Fallout, Borderlands 2 is definitely more shooter heavy and one dimensional. For straight-up gunplay, Borderlands 2 is hard to beat, however, it falls a little short when you compare the presentation/structure to other games. Here we have a 1-2 formula - find mission, complete mission and repeat. A formula which grows a little tiresome in long sittings. That being said, what Borderlands 2 gets right, it nails it, making some of these grips forgeable. Sometimes blasting a few bloodthirsty mutants is all we need.

In attempt to give the player more choice, optional objectives have been worked into the main objectives. With more choice the game flows more organically and garners a little more depth. Following this some quests even have choices presented in how they can be completed. Help out your little buddy “Clap” or 'Sir Hammerlock', the choice is yours. Small minor rewards and optional side-missions can come from this. It doesn't majorly change up the narrative from what I've seen. Borderlands 2 is no 'Heavy Rain'. Beyond this a few other tweaks have been made according to weapon manufactures, adaptive shields, and a new element/currency called Eridium.

Breaking things up from solo play, multiplayer co-op opens up another beast of cooperative fun. Taking on the evils of Pandora in a diversified group of four makes for some great moments. Connected everything is amplified and devilishly pleasurable. Although if you expected more on the way of the multiplayer front, you are going to be disappointed. Gearbox hasn't yet dared to bring in other competitive multiplayer modes that populate most other games. Take or leave it, if you want a more “traditional” online shooter you're going to have to go back to your modern Warfighters.

Borderlands 2 doesn't disappoint. It's exactly more of what you loved from the original, done up bigger. While it might fall short in some areas like competitive multiplayer and overall narrative integration, there is no discounting the amount of pleasure that comes from loot collecting and the pure brutality of firing your weapon into hundreds of mutated baddies. If you need to scratch that itchy trigger finger, Borderlands 2 is your game.

Bigger and Badder version of Borderlands Enjoyable new and old characters Fun character classes with endless replay value Graphical and core gameplay improvements Little more room for exploration and customization Hyper addictive loot gathering Vehicles selection is still limited Formula can get tiresome in long sittings Not too much is new, for those wanting more diversity Quote: "Borderlands 2 doesn't disappoint. It's exactly more of what you loved from the original, done up bigger." Reviewed by Downtown Jimmy | 10.01.12 | Platform Reviewed: Xbox 360

Similar Games: Fallout: New Vegas (8.3) | RAGE (8.6) | Bulletstorm (8.7) | Borderlands (9.3)