Count on Gearbox for a clever remedy to pre-release Borderlands 2 anxiety. The developer whipped up an official browser-based demake of the upcoming sequel complete with piles of guns, a narcissistic Claptrap, and a coat of 16-bit glory. Head here if you want to play, but note that the website is currently under a heavy load.

STEAM
The magic of QuakeCon has cut a modest 25% off of Steam's Bethesda/id Software catalog for the weekend, with bigger deals rotating daily. At the time of writing, RAGE is 50% off. (Note: see below for possibly better deals.)


50% off RAGE - $9.99
25% off The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - $44.99
25% off Hunted: The Demon’s Forge - $14.99
25% off Fallout: New Vegas - $14.99
25% off Fallout 3: GOTY Edition - $14.99
25% off The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion GOTY Edition - $14.99
25% off The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind GOTY Edition - $14.99
75% off Titan Quest - $3.74
More Steam deals



GAMEFLY
GameFly's QuakeCon sale is just like Steam's, except -- what's this? RAGE is cheaper on GameFly. And so is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Huh! Keep an eye on it.

GAMESTOP
Again with the QuakeCon deals, and again with a couple better prices than Steam. (What's going on? I'm scared.) GameStop currently has RAGE for $6.79 and Skyrim for $40.19 (same as last week for that one). I've listed a few unrelated deals below:


75% off Orcs Must Die! GOTY - $3.24
50% off Quantum Conundrum - $7.49
66% off Supreme Commander 2 - $4.99
50% off Borderlands - $9.99



GET GAMES
A new challenger! Instead of riding along on the QuakeCon bandwagon, Get Games is offering discounts on Take 2 and Batman games.


30% off Civilization V: Gods & Kings - $20.99
70% off Civilization V - $8.99
75% off Civilization III Complete - $1.25
75% off Civilization IV Complete - $7.49
70% off Mafia II - $8.99
60% off Bioshock 2 - $7.99
65% off Batman Arkham City - $6.99
45% off Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY - $10.99
50% off LEGO Batman - $9.99
75% off Stronghold 3 Gold - $9.99



AMAZON
Though Amazon is usually a discount powerhouse, it's way down here this week because it's got a pretty stagnant rotation of deals lately. The only major new addition I could find this week is The Darkness II, and that's not very major.

Checking hardware, I did see that most GeForce GTX 670s and GTX 680s are at least a little discounted. Newegg's prices look to be about the same, though, so cross-reference.


75% off The Darkness II - $12.49
25% off Empire: Total War - $15.05
72% off Mount & Blade - $4.17
50% off Mount & Blade: Warband - $10.03
26% off Dragon Age 2 - $14.74
25% off Mass Effect 2 - $14.92
71% off Trine - $5.83
50% off Mount & Blade: Warband - $9.95
27% off Dungeon Siege 3 - $14.68
50% off Tropico 4 - $19.99
26% off Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - $14.84
More Amazon PC game downloads


GOG
This week's alliterative sale takes 50% off Tremendous TopWare Titles.

If you find any great deals I missed, please do share them in the comments. Additionally, I thought this might be a good space to start sharing what we'll be playing this weekend. I plan to leave Civilization V: Gods & Kings on the ground to conquer the stars in Endless Space. Probably some EVE Online too. Space: it's really, really great. What are you up to?

STEAM
It's a sequel hype-up weekend on Steam: Borderlands and its GOTY edition are both 75% off, as is Orcs Must Die! (There's also an Orcs Must Die! 2 demo available now, so have some of that.)


75% off Borderlands: Game of the Year - $7.49
75% off Orcs Must Die! Game of the Year - $3.24
82% off Civilization Collection - $24.99
66% off Ys The Oath in Felghana - $5.09




AMAZON
Amazon is running the same Borderlands deal as Steam, and many of the usuals are on sale as...usual.


75% off Borderlands Game of the Year Edition - $7.49
80% off Burning Hot Bundle - $7.99
72% off Mount & Blade - $4.17
50% off Mount & Blade: Warband - $10.03
61% off Dragon Age 2 - $7.81
25% off Mass Effect 2 - $14.92
71% off Trine - $5.83
50% off Mount & Blade: Warband - $9.95
27% off Dungeon Siege 3 - $14.68
52% off Tropico 4 - $19.17
26% off Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - $14.84
More Amazon PC game downloads


GAMEFLY
GameFly returns to the list this week with 50% off Max Payne 3 and 75% off Mirror's Edge. Nice!


50% off Max Payne 3 - $29.99
75% off Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction - $5.00
75% off Mirror's Edge - $5.00
50% off Nexuiz - $5.00
More GameFly deals


GAMESTOP
Bethesda games are up to 50% off this weekend on GameStop.


33% off The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - $40.19
50% off RAGE - $9.99
50% off Hunted: The Demon's Forge - $9.99
50% off The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind GOTY Edition - $9.99
50% off The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion GOTY Deluxe Edition - $12.49



GOG
"Awesome Adventure Games" are 50% off on GOG this weekend. The list includes some personal favorites: The 11th Hour, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, and Little Big Adventure (a.k.a Twinsen's Odyssey).

More game deals


Green Man Gaming's Summ...oh wait, Winter Sale
Update: I don't usually add pre-order deals, but it has come to my attention (thanks commenters!) that Green Man is offering Borderlands 2 pre-orders for $40 with the voucher: PARTP-ALCNO-TIESU.


If you find any great deals we missed, the comments are a lovely place to share them.

There are two types of Collector's Edition for Borderlands 2. There's the $99.99 Deluxe Vault Hunter’s Collector's Edition for those who really like Borderlands, and the $149.99 Ultimate Loot Chest Limited Edition set for fans who really, really REALLY like Borderlands.

The cheaper box comes with a Marcus Kincaid bobblehead, a map of pandora, a download code for the digital comic, an art book and some stickers. The ultra-box is modelled in the style of a red Borderlands loot chest (minus the randomised megaguns), and comes with a set of lithograph postcards, some Sir Hammerlock field notes, a "steel book case" and big ID chart that lists all of the creatures you'll encounter in Pandora. Also, most importantly, there's a cloth map. In case you've never held a cloth map, it is the best sort of map a map could hope to be.

Both editions also come with access to the premiere club, which is also available to everyone who pre-rders an ordinary edition of the game. That'll give you access to a series of DLC downloads at launch and beyond, including a Gearbox Gun pack and access to the fifth Mechromancer class when it's eventually added sometime after Borderlands 2's release on September 18. Have a glance at our Borderlands 2 preview for more, or check out the Borderlands 2 site.

A fifth playable class will be added to Borderlands 2 after release. Early designs cast the new character as a small cyborg girl with the ability to control a small army of mechanical "Deathtrap" robots, which will serve as more killy incarnations of Borderlands' jabbering Claptraps. Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford has told Gametrailers that the "Mechromancer" DLC is currently in the design stages, and will be worked on properly once the core game has been polished off.

Pitchford guesses that the Mechromancer will be added a couple of months after Borderlands 2 comes out, and tells GT that it'll be free to those who pre-order the game to gain access to the Borderlands 2 Premier club. You can check out the pre-order deals on the Borderlands 2 site, though there's still plenty of time to decide whether or not to lay down some early cash. It's not out until September 18 in the US, and September 21 in Europe. Check out our Borderlands 2 preview to find out more about the four new classes we'll be levelling up in the sequel.

We've had a chance to chat to Gearbox vice president of marketing Steve Gibson about the extra bits that the PC version of Borderlands 2 will be getting to make it feel extra special. Sharper resolutions, remappable keys, LAN support and native multiplayer matchmaking are a few of the features we can look forward to when Borderlands lands on September 18 in the US, and September 21 in the UK.

We were overwhelmed by Borderlands - once we got past the initial levels and finally clicked into the bizarre, nine-toed genius that merged FPS and RPG with such gleeful disregard. It’s a hard act to follow, but developers Gearbox are aiming to go above and beyond the original with Borderlands 2. Writer Anthony Burch and concept designer Scott Kester chatted with Gamasutra about the upcoming sequel, specifically changes to the setting and characters.

Borderlands 2 has a new antagonist in the handsome form of Handsome Jack, and in the five game years since Borderlands he’s fundamentally changed the game world. He’s taken over the Hyperion weapons company, and claimed responsibility for finding the original game’s vault. In true James Bond-baddy style, he’s built an orbital base near Pandora’s moon - in the shape of a giant “H”, no less. “You can never forget that Handsome Jack is screwing over the moon,” said Burch.

Each of Borderlands 2’s new protagonists is going to have a specific reason for hating Handsome Jack, which will be explained as the game goes on. The advantage of bringing in a new gang of protagonists means the old ones’ back stories can be explained in more detail, too. “You get to learn about who the Vault Hunters are as characters now because you're not controlling them,” said Burch. “So you can see like, ‘Oh, how did Roland bounce off?’, or ‘What's Mordecai's story?’ or ‘What's Brick's story?’”

One of our principal complaints about the first was that no matter how cel-shaded and comic-book-paletted the deserts were, they remained very deserty. The changes Handsome Jack has made to Borderlands 2’s world add much-needed variety. “It doesn't feel like I'm walking into the same desert, on the same bus, and dealing with all that kind of stuff,” said Burch. “You have these beautiful new arctic tundra areas, and these grasslands and stuff, and it feels completely new; all you mostly saw in the first game was just dust and dirt and all that stuff.”

But Borderlands 2 isn’t suddenly going to go all Crysis on our arses. “It's still harsh -- everything around every corner wants to kill you, but it's just to stay true to the nature of what the game is,” said Kester.

Keen eyed players of Borderlands might have noticed that the Steam version recently updated itself, bringing Steam Cloud save synchronisation and something called BTest. According to the update, BTest is a stat tracking system that will record what guns and areas are most popular with players, in order to help Gearbox improve their games. The software also includes a leaderboard at Gearbox Labs, which will let you compare your stats to other players.

With Borderlands 2 announced for April next year, it seems likely the data collected will have some influence on the development of the sequel.

2K have given us yet another reason to be super excited about Gamescom next week (as though we needed one). CVG have spotted a post on the 2K Games site announcing that they will be streaming the first Borderlands 2 footage live from Cologne on their uStream channel. The show kicks off next Friday at 8:00 PT / 17:00 CET / 16:00 BST. Questions from fans will be answered throughout the demo, you can submit your own by tweeting @2KGames or @GearboxSoftware, or by dropping a post on the Gearbox or 2K forums.

If you're sending in a question, don't ask "will I be able to play as a stumpy maniac who can dual wield any weapon in the game?" because we know the answer to that question is already "yes." Borderlands 2 will have four new playable characters, and brand new weapons. It's due out next year, some time after April 1.

The playable heroes of Borderlands 1 will return for Borderlands 2, but only as NPC characters. Game Informer reveals that we'll be taking charge of four completely new heroes when the sequel is released next year.

Gearbox have also decided to scrap all of the weapons from Borderlands 1. The randomly generated guns of the first game gave rise to thousands of mad scope/ammo/manufacturer combinations. New manufacturers will bring their own visual twists to each weapon, and players will now be able to add custom decals and enhancements to their favourite pieces.

Of the four new characters, only one has been revealed so far. He's a stumpy "Gunzerker" called Salvador. He can dual wield any weapon and improve his abilities using the familiar three-branch skill tree of the first game. He'll be able to choose from a wider selection of vehicles (ie: more than one), and use the new currency, Eridium, to buy new items or upgrade his armoury.

Gearbox also promise greatly improved enemy AI and more varied environments. Also, for better or worse, Claptrap's back!

Bordlerlands 2 is due sometime after April 1 n 2012, check out the official Borderlands 2 site for more.