At midnight on Tuesday, September 18th, Gearbox Software released Borderlands 2, the sequel to their blockbuster hit, Borderlands, through release parties held in GameStop stores nationwide.

First released in October 2009, Borderlands is a space western, similar to the television show Firefly. It’s genre is a cross between Role Playing Game (RPG) and First Person Shooter (FPS). This is the first game to mix those gameplay styles.

Borderlands was critically acclaimed, receiving 9/10 from most major gaming reviewers and publications, such as IGN and Game Informer. The game was praised for its dark humor, unique art style, and replay value. I booted up Borderlands 2 with high hopes, and I was more than pleased with the results.

Both games begin with cutscenes that introduce the characters you can choose from to play, freeze-framing each of them in turn and displaying their names. While the first game simply did this with the characters riding in a van, the second showed the characters fighting on a train and introducing the main villain.

This immediately addressed the main problem with the first game, the lack of an engaging plot. Borderlands gave little character depth to anyone, and the sequel promised to remediate this.

The first minutes of Borderlands 2 showed new and improved features. This includes a minimap, so you know where you are at all times, and an updated inventory screen, which is much easier to navigate than the original. Also included is a new ranking system, which rewards players for killing enemies, looting safes, exploring the in-game world, and much more.

The most creative addition to the game are the new “skins.” Originally, players could only change the colors of their character, but hidden throughout Borderlands 2 are skins, which can be used to completely change the clothes, hairstyle, helmets, and other aspects of the new characters.

I was only able to scratch the surface of this game, which IGN says has “over 30 hours of game time,” but already I can safely report that Borderlands 2 is the sequel gamers worldwide have hoped for.