Action role-playing gameFirst-person shooter
Borderlands 2 is a 2012 action role-playing first-person shooter developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K. It takes place five years after the first Borderlands and is again set on the planet Pandora. The story follows a new group of Vault Hunters who ally with the Crimson Raiders, a resistance group of civilian survivors and guerrilla fighters, to stop the tyrannical Handsome Jack before he can unlock the power of a new Vault. Players explore, complete main missions and optional side quests, and can play offline in split screen or solo, or in online co-op.
Like its predecessor, it is a first-person shooter with role-playing elements. The base game has four classes, each with its own Action Skill: Axton the Commando summons a turret, Maya the Siren can phaselock enemies, Zer0 the Assassin turns invisible and leaves a decoy, and Salvador the Gunzerker dual-wields weapons. Weapons come from a procedurally generated loot system with six weapon types, many makers and a colour-coded rarity scale. Finishing the story unlocks True Vault Hunter Mode, a tougher New Game Plus. The game supports four-player online co-op, and difficulty and loot rewards rise as more players join.
Pandora is run from the space station Helios by Handsome Jack, the CEO of the Hyperion Corporation. At the start, Jack sabotages the train carrying the Vault Hunters and leaves them for dead in a frozen wasteland. A Claptrap unit finds them, and a mysterious voice called the Guardian Angel tells them to head for the city of Sanctuary and join the Crimson Raiders. The first game's four Vault Hunters, Roland, Lilith, Brick and Mordecai, return as non-player characters.
After the unexpected success of the first game, Gearbox was able to set a budget of 30 to 35 million US dollars. Paul Hellquist was creative director, Jeramy Cooke was art director and Anthony Burch wrote the script, which is seven times longer than the first game's. Like the first game it uses the concept art style, with graphics inspired by both photorealistic imagery and comic books, and it has a much more colourful world than the first game's desert. Sascha Dikiciyan, Cris Velasco and Jesper Kyd worked together on the music, and development was completed on August 20, 2012.
Borderlands 2 was released on September 18, 2012 in North America and on September 21 in Europe for Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The Game of the Year Edition came out on October 8, 2013 in North America and October 11 internationally. It bundles the main game with the add-on content released during the first year, so it is the easiest way to own the game with its campaigns on a disc.
The game received generally positive reviews. Critics praised its visuals, writing, gameplay, online multiplayer and variety of guns, and criticised its mission design and filler content. It was 2K's most successful release up to that point, and more than 70 percent of first-period sales were on Xbox 360. Take-Two said it had shipped 5 million copies by November 1, 2012, and in 2019 that more than 20 million units had shipped.
| Platform | Region | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Xbox 360 | North America | 2013-10-08 |
| Xbox 360 | worldwide | 2013-10-11 |
US$59.99 at launch
Achievements69 (1,625G)
First One's Free
Completed the mission "My First Gun"
10G Hidden 98.75% of players
Dragon Slayer
Completed the mission "Best Minion Ever"
20G Hidden 82.99% of players
A Road Less Traveled
Completed the mission "The Road To Sanctuary"
20G Hidden 78.52% of players
New In Town
Completed the mission "Plan B"
20G Hidden 76.86% of players
An Old Flame
Completed the mission "Hunting The Firehawk"
20G Hidden 72.74% of players
No Man Left Behind
Completed the mission "A Dam Fine Rescue"
20G Hidden 66.91% of players
Wilhelm Screamed
Completed the mission "A Train To Catch"
20G Hidden 62.63% of players
Sky's The Limit
Completed the mission "Rising Action"
20G Hidden 62.03% of players
Can See My House From Here
Completed the mission "Bright Lights, Flying City"
20G Hidden 60.3% of players
Farewell, Old Girl
Completed the mission "Wildlife Preservation"
20G Hidden 55.7% of players
Got The Band Back Together
Completed the mission "The Once and Future Slab"
20G Hidden 54.2% of players
Identity Theft
Completed the mission "The Man Who Would Be Jack"
20G Hidden 52.43% of players
An Angel's Wish
Completed the mission "Where Angels Fear To Tread"
25G Hidden 50.66% of players
Bombs Away
Completed the mission "Toil And Trouble"
20G Hidden 48.06% of players
Knowing Is Half The Battle
Completed the mission "Data Mining"
20G Hidden 46.88% of players
Cool Story, Bro
Defeated Jack
30G Hidden 46.33% of players
Challenge Accepted
Completed level 1 of all non-level-specific challenges with a single character
30G 7.8% of players
Goliath, Meet David
Allowed a Goliath to level up four times before killing him
15G 30.41% of players
Went Five Rounds
Completed Round 5 of any Circle of Slaughter
25G 33.26% of players
Not Quite Dead
Reached level 5
5G 90.28% of players
Better Than You Were
Reached level 10
10G 76.93% of players
Always Improving
Reached level 25
25G 53.28% of players
Capped Out…For Now
Reached level 50
50G 28.15% of players
Arctic Explorer
Discovered all named locations in Three Horns, Tundra Express, and Frostburn Canyon
15G 18.24% of players
Urban Explorer
Discovered all named locations in Sanctuary, Opportunity, and Lynchwood
15G 38.06% of players
Highlands Explorer
Discovered all named locations in The Highlands, Thousand Cuts, and Wildlife Exploitation Preserve
15G 21.67% of players
Blight Explorer
Discovered all named locations in Eridium Blight, Arid Nexus, and Sawtooth Cauldron
15G 16.61% of players
World Traveler
Discovered all named locations
50G 13.87% of players
Sugar Daddy
Tipped Moxxi $10,000
10G 48.99% of players
Decked Out
Had Purple-rated gear or better equipped in every slot
25G 25.84% of players
Sabre Rattler
Killed 100 enemies with the Sabre turret
20G 32.78% of players
Phased and Confused
Phaselocked 100 enemies
20G 25.55% of players
So Much Blood!
Gunzerked continuously for 90 seconds
20G 11.7% of players
Cute Loot
Killed a Chubby
15G 41.53% of players
Tribute To A Vault Hunter
Got an item from Michael Mamaril
15G 37.62% of players
Definitely An Italian Plumber
Killed Donkey Mong
15G 24.72% of players
High-Flying Hurler
Killed a flying enemy with a thrown Tediore weapon
10G 35.77% of players
Token Gesture
Redeemed 25 tokens
20G 65.08% of players
What does it mean?
I can't even capture it on my camera
15G Hidden 26.68% of players
Unseen Predator
Remained in Zero's Deception mode for ten seconds straight
20G 15.21% of players
Build Buster
Killed a Constructor without it ever building another bot
20G 62.92% of players
Well That Was Easy
Completed the mission "Shoot This Guy in the Face"
10G Hidden 49.39% of players
How Do I Look?
Unlocked 10 customization items
25G 66.62% of players
Thresher Thrashed
Defeated Terramorphous the Invincible
30G Hidden 27.68% of players
Friendship Rules
Revived someone from "Fight for Your Life!" that is on your friends list
10G Needs online 61.64% of players
Better Than Money
Purchased 5 items from the black market
15G 64.41% of players
Up High, Down Low
Gave Claptrap a high five
15G 48.31% of players
Bounty Hunter
Completed 20 side missions
25G 60.39% of players
Did It All
Completed all side missions
40G 12.68% of players
Feels Like The First Time
Opened the chest at the bus stop in Fyrestone
10G Hidden 34.96% of players
Treasure Hunter
Completed the mission "X Marks the Spot"
75G 22.27% of players
Gadabout
Discovered all named locations in Oasis and the surrounding Pirate's Booty zones
25G 9.28% of players
Completionist
Completed all Pirate's Booty side missions
25G 8.69% of players
Explosive
Completed the mission "Long Way To The Top"
40G 19.57% of players
Motorhead
Completed all Campaign of Carnage side missions
40G 7.42% of players
Obsessed
Collected 10 pictures of Moxxi in Campaign of Carnage
45G 11.11% of players
Face Off
Completed the mission "The Fall of Nakayama"
40G 14.93% of players
Done That
Completed all Hammerlock's Hunt side missions
40G 6.61% of players
Been There
Discovered all named locations in Hammerlock's Hunt
45G 7.53% of players
I Totes Planned That Boss
Slew Mister Boney Pants Guy
10G 20.26% of players
Yaaaaaay
Introduced thyself to the White Knight
25G 18.75% of players
Shorty, You So Best
Completed thy quest by rescuing yonder queen
60G 16.65% of players
Girl's Gotta Eat
Fed thy noble queen 3 times during one visit to her quarters
15G 13.74% of players
It's Like That One Video
Showed thine worst enemy, the abomination known as "The Darkness," who is the nerdiest of them all
10G 12.23% of players
They Was All "Hey That's Mine"
Unsheathed 5 swords from Immortal Skeletaurs without leaving the area
20G 17.61% of players
Dang Girl You Ace At This Game
Won the most challenging round in Murderlin's Temple
30G 7.71% of players
Hmmmmm
Wielded the Mysterious Amulet
15G 9.68% of players
Keep Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'
Demonstrated your skill, or lack thereof, at rolling the magical treasure orb of many sides
15G 14.13% of players
Make it Raaaaaid
Vanquished the Ancient Dragons of Destruction
50G 10.47% of players
Four add-on campaigns, two extra characters, two level cap upgrades and five Headhunter packs were released between 2012 and 2014. The Game of the Year Edition disc has the main packs, and they are all still sold on the Xbox store for the backward compatible version on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, singly or in the US$29.99 Season Pass.
| Name | Date | Adds | Obtainable today | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaige the Mechromancer | 2012-10-16 | A fifth playable character, designed for players new to shooters | yes | US$9.99 |
| Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty | 2012-10-16 | A sand pirate captain quest, raid bosses and a hovering vehicle, the Sandskiff | yes | US$9.99 |
| Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage | 2012-11-20 | A tournament campaign with a new Vault and exclusive Torgue weapons | yes | US$9.99 |
| Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt | 2013-01-15 | A quest with Sir Hammerlock to find rare creatures | yes | In the US$29.99 Season Pass |
| Psycho Pack (Krieg the Psycho) | 2013-05-14 | A sixth playable character, Krieg, who focuses on melee | yes | US$9.99 |
| Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep | 2013-06-25 | A tabletop role-playing campaign run by Tiny Tina | yes | US$9.99 |
| Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack 2: Digistruct Peak Challenge | 2013-09-03 | Raises the level cap from 61 to 72 and adds the Digistruct Peak Challenge map | yes | US$4.99 |
| The Horrible Hunger of the Ravenous Wattle Gobbler | 2013-11-26 | A Headhunter pack | yes | US$2.99 |
| How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day | 2013-12-17 | A Headhunter pack | yes | US$2.99 |
| Mad Moxxi and the Wedding Day Massacre | 2014-02-11 | A Headhunter pack | yes | US$2.99 |
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Has online features | Yes |
| Playable offline today: DLC | Yes Still sold on the Xbox store and plays offline once installed. |
Borderlands 2 has four-player online co-op over Xbox Live. Xbox Live multiplayer was not shut off when the Xbox 360 Store closed on 29 July 2024. Gearbox's SHiFT rewards codes needed Xbox Live Gold on Xbox 360.
| Outlet | Platform | Score | Scale | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metacritic | Xbox 360 | 89 | 100 | 59 |
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Creative director | Paul Hellquist |
| Art director | Jeramy Cooke |
| Writer | Anthony Burch |
| Designer | John Hemingway |
| Programmer | Steven Jones |
| Producer | Sean Reardon |
| Producer | Matt Charles |
| Composer | Jesper Kyd |
| Composer | Sascha Dikiciyan |
| Composer | Cris Velasco |
| Composer | Raison Varner |
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Handsome Jack | Dameon Clarke |
| Axton | Robert McCollum |
| Maya | Martha Harms |
| Salvador | John Swasey |
| Zer0 | Michael Turner |
| Gaige | Cherami Leigh |
| Krieg | Jason Douglas |
| Tiny Tina | Ashly Burch |
| Claptrap | David Eddings |
| Sir Hammerlock | J. Michael Tatum |
| Mad Moxxi | Brina Palencia |
| Marcus | Bruce DuBose |
| Dr. Zed | Ric Spiegel |
| Scooter | Michael Neumann |
| Ellie | Jamie Marchi |
| Roland | Markus Lloyd |
| Lilith | Colleen Clinkenbeard |
| Brick | Marcus Mauldin |
| Mordecai | Ernesto Jason Liebrecht |
| Guardian Angel | Jennifer Green |
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