Mar 24, 2013
Borderlands 2 Is Getting A Second New Game Plus Mode Next Week
Kotaku

Borderlands 2 Is Getting A Second New Game Plus Mode Next Week If you've played Borderlands 2 to completion and then played it through to completion a second time on True Vault Hunter Mode, and you're still looking for more, you'll be happy to hear that the game is getting something of a new game plus plus mode.


It's called Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode, and you'll have to be at level 50 to run through on what will essentially be a third playthrough. This official third playthrough means, of course, that the difficulty will be scaled much higher. Gearbox announced the news today at their PAX East panel.


The update comes out next week on April 2. Best news, though? It's a completely free update.


Top image the excellent work of mentalmars


Mar 24, 2013
Borderlands 2's Level Cap Will Go Up To 61 On April 2
Kotaku

Borderlands 2's Level Cap Will Go Up To 61 On April 2 At Gearbox's PAX East panel today, the developers of Borderlands 2 announced that players maxed out at level 50 will finally be able to get to leveling their characters again. As of April 2nd (next week!) you can download what is basically DLC for 11 extra levels (that's up to 61).


But it'll cost you $5 for the add-on, unless you've got that nifty season pass.


The add-on will also come with the return of the Pearlescent weapon type, which was a set of high-level weapon drops and an extremely rare find in Borderlands 1. We haven't seen this weapon type in the sequel yet, but if you download the add-on next week, you might see it pop up here and there if you're lucky to find one of those crafty little guns.


Top image


Mar 24, 2013
Watch A Bunch Of Amazing Borderlands Cosplayers Dancing At PAX East
Kotaku

So this is what's happening right now before Gearbox's PAX East panel, where our own Tina Amini is standing by to report any and all further shenanigans live as they happen.



Mar 19, 2013
Borderlands animated short film in the works from 2K and university students
Borderlands Game of the Year
Borderlands 2


The off-the-wall Borderlands games wouldn't feel out of place as part of some alternate-reality, sadistic, Saturday-morning cartoon lineup, but both Gearbox and 2K want to make that scenario a reality. Partnering up with the Academy of Art University, the companies are launching a Borderlands Cooperative to invite the school's animation students to storyboard and produce an animated Borderlands short film for release later this year.

Teams of students will submit story ideas for the consideration of a judge panel made up by 2K, Gearbox, and university faculty. The winning group gets to work on the film as part of an internship at 2K, so it isn't quite the "get cracking, crowdsourced content slaves" scenario that I initially thought.

It'll be interesting to see what zany plot the students will think up in the already zany Borderlands universe—perhaps a Mr. Bean-style comedic adventure entitled "Salvador goes out for a haircut," except with lots of screaming Psychos instead of a befuddled Englishman. You're welcome, students.
Mar 8, 2013
Gearbox Teases Burly New Borderlands 2 Playable Character
Kotaku

At South By Southwest in Austin, Gearbox debuted a teaser trailer that hints at the addition of a new character to Borderlands 2. The character isn't fully shown, but looks to be some sort of melee-focused badass.


The video above comes via Polygon, who are on the ground at SXSW.


"A new vault hunter is coming," the teaser video promises. What do you think? Think it'll be a return of Brick-style brawling? I'd be in, but then again, I've barely even managed to mess around with the last downloadable character, the Mechromancer.


Feb 27, 2013
Kneel Before This Massive Tower Of Borderlands 2 Boxes
Kotaku

Kneel Before This Massive Tower Of Borderlands 2 BoxesWhen the games have been sold, and the swag remains: What do you do? What does a man do with 180 promotional boxes for Borderlands 2?


He stacks them, apparently. This image set, uploaded to imgur by bitterguy a week ago, was tweeted at Gearbox's Randy Pitchford this morning. The imgur description: "What to do with 180 leftover boxes in an office building with a high roof."


An ambitious recycling program, to be sure. It kinda reminds me of the Sears Tower:


Kneel Before This Massive Tower Of Borderlands 2 Boxes


Kneel Before This Massive Tower Of Borderlands 2 Boxes


Kneel Before This Massive Tower Of Borderlands 2 Boxes


Feb 7, 2013
Borderlands Legends is Better (and Cheaper) Than Ever Before
Kotaku

When making a mobile spin-off of a major console/PC game, one neat thing to include would be some equivalent of the most popular features of the franchise proper. There were no gun loot drops in Borderlands Legends for the iPhone and iPad. Now there are.


Part strategy, part shooter and part action RPG, Borderlands Legends' big update adds the ability to loot random weapons from fallen foes instead of having to purchase them from a vendor between missions. The rest of the updates are just icing on the cake, and the $.99 sale price that's kicked in to celebrate the update is a bunch of lovely ripe strawberries sliced in half and arranged in an appealing pattern on top.


Technically it's been $.99 on sale before, but you've never gotten quite this much for your money.


Borderlands Legends — $.99 [iTunes]


Feb 4, 2013
Developer Who Called Borderlands Character Racist Is Now Out Of A Job [UPDATE]
Kotaku

Developer Who Called Borderlands Character Racist Is Now Out Of A Job [UPDATE] This weekend, we reported that some players took umbrage with Tiny Tina, a character from Borderlands 2 and how she used "black lingo." Gearbox was receptive to these players, listening to their concerns and even offering to change the character in future updates should they be convinced that Tina's dialogue was racist.


Mike Sacco, a creative developer with the World of Warcraft trading card game, was one of the players involved in the dispute. Today, he tweeted that he no longer works at Cryptozoic, where he was previously a contractor.


The reasons why are not clear.







I reached out to Sacco for comment, but he said he cannot legally say anything on the matter. I've also contacted Cryptozoic, and will update this story if I hear back from them.


UPDATE: Cryptozoic responds as follows:


To clarify, Mike Sacco was never an employee of Cryptozoic Entertainment. He was a contractor.


We asked him not represent himself as an employee of Cryptozoic. After the message was delivered, Mike quit. We like Mike and we are as surprised by his reaction as you are.


UPDATE 2: Mike's original tweet has been deleted, though you can still see what he said. He offers the following reason for the deletion:




UPDATE 3: Sacco on his contract:

Image Credit: The Crimson Hammer


Feb 2, 2013
Players Accuse Tiny Tina From Borderlands 2 Of "Verbal Blackface," Gearbox Writer Says He'll Change Her If Racist
Kotaku

Today, an argument broke out on Twitter between Anthony Burch, lead writer on Borderlands 2, and a few players who think that Tiny Tina is a racist character.


The issue, as some folks saw it, was that Tiny Tina appropriated African American lingo. See above video, which showcases Tiny Tina dialogue, if you want reference.


The argument on Twitter, which ends with Burch saying he'll consider changing her, is as follows—note that this is a mix of developers, game journalists, and random fans:























Whether or not a change in Tina's character will actually occur is not clear, though I suspect many fans would be upset if she was altered: she is frequently cited as a favorite character.


UPDATE: Some are even defending Tina, as not all players believe she is racist:







Though this is but a small sampling of the response Burch is getting, which you can view here.


I reached out to Burch and have yet to hear back.


Feb 2, 2013
Borderlands 2's Writer Says He'll Change Tiny Tina If She Conveys Racism, As Some Players Think [UPDATE]
Kotaku

Today, an argument broke out on Twitter between Anthony Burch, lead writer on Borderlands 2, and a few players who think that Tiny Tina is a racist character.


The issue, as some folks saw it, was that Tiny Tina appropriated African American lingo. See above video, which showcases Tiny Tina dialogue, if you want reference.


The argument on Twitter, which ends with Burch saying he'll consider changing her, is as follows—note that this is a mix of developers, game journalists, and random fans:























Matt Charles is a producer on Borderlands 2.


Whether or not a change in Tina's character will actually occur is not clear, though I suspect many fans would be upset if she was altered: she is frequently cited as a favorite character.


UPDATE: Some are even defending Tina, as not all players believe she is racist (including Gearbox president, Randy Pitchford):







Though this is but a small sampling of the response Burch is getting, which you can view here.


I reached out to Burch and have yet to hear back.


UPDATE 2: Burch responds and clarifies:


...