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The name of the game is Borderlands 2 and if you're a fan of the first person shooting genre, this is a must play.

Having sold more than 13 million copies, this action roleplay first-person shooter has gained quite the following amongst players. And, as we all know, a healthy community of players makes for a much more enjoyable open world experience.

Having been initially released for most of the major platforms in 2014, Borderlands 2 is playable on Windows, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Mac. Since then ports for Xbox One and Playstation Vita have expanded the playability further.

We've got you covered enough so you can get the most out of the game without being absolutely decimated in the first ten minutes. So let's dive into what makes this game tick.

What is Borderlands 2?

Borderlands 2 is an action role play game set from the perspective of a first-person shooter.

So, unlike a Call of Duty, which is a straightforward, first-person shooter, or a Final Fantasy, that is a menu based combat roleplay game, it is a hybrid. It focuses on real-time combat, but with class specific attacks. TLDR: It's fast paced fun.

The basic idea of this game is that you are trying to find the main vault on the planet Pandora before the evil corporation headed by Handsome Jack, does. Now, that vault isn't yours. You're going to steal the riches inside. So, shoot some enemies, loot a vault (and lots of other lootable boxes along the way). That basic gameplay model is why these types of games are sometimes referred to as "shoot and loot."

How to Play Borderlands 2

Okay, so you're ready to take the leap and start laying waste to baddies in the Borderlands 2 open world apocalypse. Excellent news.

You're going to have a lot of choices to make and directions to go, so we're going to get you started with a few choices and tips you're going to be able to make right off the bat. Some of them, before you even own the game.

1. Download the Game

This seems like a pretty straightforward step, but it's probably the most important one you are going to be able to consider. Borderlands 2 has been released across a ton of platforms and has been ported to a couple more.

The game is also meant to be a cooperative gaming experience, like most RPGs these days are. The problem is that platform compatibility isn't a real option here. So, if you want to play with your friends, make sure you're all getting the game on the same platform. Doesn't matter which one, just make sure you are able to work out the kinks.

2. Choose Your Character Class

We're going to go over the character classes in more detail, but since each class of character has its own ability development tree and special abilities, picking the right character class, to begin with, is going to heavily influence how you enjoy (or conversely are frustrated with) the game.

There's nothing that says you're married to a particular class, but since you're going to spend some time leveling your character up, building weapons, etcetera, it makes sense that you want to spend a bit of thought to make sure you get it right.

This goes double if you're going to be playing cooperatively, or if you are going to be trying to go it alone. The game does lend itself to cooperative play, but you can eschew that, embrace your recluse status and wage war in Borderlands 2 all by yourself.

3. Grind the Side Missions

When you get a new game, there is a strong tendency to just plow through the main story and see what's up.

Don't do that.

A couple of reasons. First off, if you try to play through the main storyline too quickly without properly leveling up, you will have a bad time. You will find out that the regular baddies that you have been fighting for the past several missions are now a hell of a lot stronger for, like, no reason. You need to keep pace.

In the RPG world, we know this as grinding. Going out, fighting, getting experience points, leveling up, and then moving forward in the main storyline. Since you can't go backwards, a little patience is relevant to your success.

Luckily, some of the best writing in the game is actually in the side missions. That was a nice touch from the developers to make the side quests fun and engaging so you'll actually do them. So, go do them. Do a lot of them.

4. Level Up with Eridium

The game introduces a currency called Eridium that allows you to upgrade weapons and buy extra storage. Spend a good deal of time collecting and spending your eridium to ensure that your player is ready for battle when the alarm sounds.

We recommend upgrading your weapons before you upgrade your storage. It makes sense. If you are dealing more damage on the battlefield, then you're going to end up collecting more eridium from those enemies that you can then go back to upgrade your storage.

Weapons first. Storage second.

5. Use our borderlands 2 walkthrough

 

This is just the absolute basics to get you started in the game. There are so many more nuanced facets in this game and there are tens of hours of missions to play.

For that reason we've put together a more thorough Borderlands 2 walkthrough.

It's got all the information you need to ensure that you get to the vault before Handsome Jack does.

More Awesome Game Options

Borderlands 2 is a fast paced action driven RPG that demands a good deal of your time. If that's not your thing, we've taken a look at a number of other games that might be more your speed or appropriate for your time commitments.

  1. Victor Vran is a hunter of demons in this action based RPG.
  2. An epidemiologists worst nightmare, in Plague Inc you're literally trying to infect the whole planet.
  3. Everwing is a fantasy based action game exclusively for Facebook, which, is kind of interesting.

Conclusion

No two ways about it, Borderlands 2 is a tough game. It's long and it requires that you commit to its intricacies and nuances. That said, it's also extremely fun and rewarding.

The developers really made an effort to make sure that the game addressed a lot of the criticism from their first Borderlands iteration, which turned out to be a sleeper hit. With more than 13 million titles sold across just about every major platform, I think it's safe to say they've done a pretty good job.

Sure, there are a few things we'd like to see, namely, cross-compatibility since the game is on so many platforms, and the ability to save more during main story quests, but all in all, it's a really solid action RPG.

Shoot, then loot. Simple but effective.