Sep 24, 2012

Borderlands 2 Has A Ridiculous Number Of Hidden Secrets. Here Are All The Ones We Know About. [Update: More Stuff!]

Kotaku

Borderlands 2 is a game that will keep you happily busy for some time. But if you want to experience all the game has to offer, you'll have to hunt after all the easter eggs and hidden secrets. And there are a lot. Here are just a few we've found. Let us know if you've discovered others because, knowing Gearbox, there certainly are more. Don't forget to click to expand images.

If you don't want anything spoiled for you, feel free to stop reading right about now.

Fight the Creepers of Minecraft, Get a Skin

Fight creepers and win a Minecraft-inspired head skin for your character in the Caustic Caverns. Learn how to do so here.

Update: You can also pick up a Hyperion-manufactured weapon that shoots Minecraft arrows, as seen in XxTONYDATIG3RxX's video to your left.

Deliver Pizza to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Mmm pizza. Pretend to deliver pizza to four mutants named Lee, Dan, Mick and Ralph. Kind of familiar, wouldn't you say? Game Front shows you where to find these color-coordinated mutants in the video to your left.

Update: A couple of you pointed out that there's a hidden boss that you can release with four switches in a room near the mutant turtles. Here's a video that includes said boss—Flinter—a reference to Master Splinter.

There's also a box of pizza with Mad Moxxi's picture on it, right next to a QR code. If you scan the code you get a quote from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film:

"Wise man say forgiveness is divine but never pay full price for late pizza.- Captain Picard"

You can see it in the image up above, thanks to The Childhood Improver.

Find the Fallout 3 Gun Dedicated To The Game's Radio Host

There's a shotgun in Borderlands 2 that's both a reference and homage to Fallout 3's Three Dog. The gun is called Thre Dog. Check it out in YouTube user DeltaVT's capture to your left. If you're curious where to find it, MorninAfterKill has the guide.

Open Se7en's Box, and Find Kenny Loggins From Top Gun

Game Front comes to your aid yet again to find a special weapon called Neutralizing Gwen. Oh, and a female skull next to it. It's a reference to the famous last scene in Se7en, and Handsome Jack will even yell, "What's in the box? What's in the box?" as you open it.

In the video is also a character named Loggins, a reference to Kenny Loggins whose "Danger Zone" was on the Top Gun soundtrack. He even mentions a "danger zone". Check out the video for both movie references.

Look Like a Beefier Version of Breaking Bad's Walter White

You can give Salvador Walter White's head with the "Breaking Bald" head skin. A Reddit user found it in the image you see to the left.

Dress Up Maya In a Fried Gold Reference To Spaced/Shaun of the Dead

"Fried gold" is a term used to call something awesome. It was used in both the British show Spaced as well as the Shaun of the Dead film. You can dress Maya up in the skin called Slice of Fried Gold that you see in the non-existent image below. (If you have one, lemme know!) Update: Thanks for the image callmeJackz!

Find The Sign With Internet Speak

YouTube user TheLoyalJoe found a sign on a bandit outhouse that says "Dook Hut. No Fapping!" Fapping is Internet for masturbation.

Admire The Double Rainbow All The Way, Man

Game Front tells you how to find the double rainbow in the Highlands, referencing a man's admiration that turned meme. You even get an achievement for finding it, and listening to Handsome Jack reenact the excitement over a double rainbow.

Find The Knight of the Sun From Dark Souls As He's Sunbathing

Reddit user recc113 found Solitaire, a reference to the Knight of the Sun Solaire in Dark Souls, hidden in Caustic Caverns.

Game Front also has a video walkthrough of how to find this particular easter egg.

Don't Laugh At Skyrim's "Arrow to the Knee" Joke

If you talk to the citizens of Sanctuary, you'll hear a reference to the "arrow to the knee" meme born from Skyrim. Take a look at the video to the left courtesy of YouTube user TehEmerton.

Kill Donkey Kong and King Kong, Kind Of

This one gets you an achievement if you can find and kill Donkey Mong, a rare bullymong enemy. Game Front to the rescue.

Update: In addition to Donkey Mong, there's also King Mong, a play on King Kong. Though he won't grant you an achievement for killing him, but you can watch DirtyonXBL kill him in the video to the left.

Meet Michael Mamaril Immortalized As A Character

A big fan of Borderlands who sadly passed away at a very young age was immortalized in Borderlands 2. Game Front shows you where you can find his in-game character, where he will bestow a weapon to you, which you can grab for an achievement.

Dance To Claptrap's Dubstep Beat

Claptrap sings dubstep. For more wub wub. Found by Computer and Video Games, in the video to the left.

Handle Mad Moxxi's Scandalous Weapons With Care

Mad Moxxi will give you two weapons—Miss Moxxi's Good Touch and Miss Moxxi's Bad Touch—for tipping her $15k+ in Sanctuary. Gameranx tells you about the special vibrating features of the guns, and you can see them in the video to the left from YouTube user CookielMonsterr.

Go To Nathan Fillion's Gun Store

Game Front spotted a reference to Nathan Fillion—star of the awesome Firefly—in Liar's Berg where there's a sign posted that says "Fillion's Ammunition and Arms."

Fight For World of Warcraft's Horde

Another spot by Game Front is a badass challenge called "For the Hoard!" which is a familiar line often spoken by Blizzard's Horde creatures.

Fight Batman, Kind Of

YouTube user RifleGaming shows you a reference to Batman. You can encounter an enemy called Rakkman in The Fridge who lives in a batcave and throws smoke bombs and boomerangs for his attacks.

Dress Like The Joker

You can pick up a a "Why so serious?" skin for Zer0 that references the Joker with his trademark color scheme. YouTube user EdwrdTriggaHnds shows it off to the left.

Fight The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa

The lovable meerkat and warthog duo featured in The Lion King are referenced in Borderlands 2 with these two enemies: a skag and a stalker. It's also a reference to the trailer Gearbox launched that featured the memorable music from the film that Timon and Pumbaa sang together. Found to your left by MrRhymestyle.

Avoid The Lava To Find These Hidden Skins

If you tread the path carefully like XGeNReaL did here, you can stumble on four different hidden skins. It seems like the Medic Mantis and Metal Fear skins could be Metal Gear references. Zer0's Alienation skin could very well be an Aliens film reference, as it certainly looks that way. And my guess for Marshall Mustache is that it's either a How I Met Your Mother doppelganger or some Western-set game reference. John Marston? Eh, he had a full bear going on. Close enough?

Stalk Roland's Facebook Page

Apparently Roland and overly attached Lilith are in a relationship. I can hear hearts breaking everywhere. Thanks SlayrProductions.

Scan the QR Code for Nick Wilson's Message

There are a few QR codes to find, but this one found by AngryL3perchaun is a cute message from one of the developers.

Nick Wilson makes his appearance in a few others, too. This one found by FillerKillers.

Walk Around Fyrestone from Borderlands 1

If you wander the Arid Badlands, you'll recognize some of the location as the starter zone from the first game. And you might be as excited as Warf3reHD and his friends were.

Go On A DuckTales Adventure With Hubert, Dubert, and Lubert

You can hang with Huey, Dewey, and Louie from DuckTales. Well, almost. Hashtagaming found these three midgets that seem like a nudge to the ducks.

Talk To Steve Heyoo!

YouTube user deathmule found Steve, the bandit that's been making his promotional rounds since Borderlands 1.

Find And Kill Jimmy Jenkins

Jimmy Jenkins is a mech enemy—the result of an accidental abomination—that you can kill to complete a challenge. Watch xXEVILMONKEYX kill the loader in the video to your left.

Let us know what we missed!

Update: You guys have been throwing secrets out there, so I've gone ahead and added them to the list. Kudos to you all.

Kill Snow White and Her Seven Dwarfs

TehCodehzor stumbled on Laney White and her seven dwarf (known as midgets in the Borderlands universe) minions. You can see Sleazy, Dirty, Tipsy, Crabby, Bloody, Greedy and Creepy in the video to your left.

Prepare for Winter

Several of you have pointed out that a citizen in Sanctuary will say, "Winter is coming" when you speak with them. That's a reference to Game of Thrones.

Don't Break Mad Moxxi's Heart For This Shotgun

A certain quest you turn in to Mad Moxxi will give you a shotgun with a description that says, "I don't want to set the world on fire." This is a reference to a song that belongs to Fallout 3's soundtrack. Mạnh Quân Nguyễn found the image of the gun that you can see to the left.

Mourn the Loss of The Dr. Who Actors

Here's a reference to several eras of Dr. Who actors. Thanks for the image, Hadrian Mosley!

Dress Zer0 Up In a Daft Punk Helmet

xXEVILMONKEYX gives you a tutorial on how to get a Daft Punk helmet skin.

Dress Zer0 Up Like The Battletoads

Borderlands 2 Has A Ridiculous Number Of Hidden Secrets. Here Are All The Ones We Know About. [Update: More Stuff!] Yet another skin for Zer0 is this reference to Battletoads. OMFG Network has a bunch of Zer0's appearance options for you to sort through.

Make the Gunzerker Blue Himself

Thanks to reader Joshua, we have this clip to your left of the "I Blue Myself' skin, which is a reference to Arrested Development.

I'll keep adding in more secrets and easter eggs as we/you find them.

Sep 21, 2012

Lost in the Wilds of Pandora, Eight Game Critics Band Together to Review Borderlands 2

Kotaku

Pandora is a harsh and unforgiving planet to the unwary. What chance do eight video game critics have against the insane brutality of Handsome Jack and his minions? Perhaps these review scores will earn them a stay of execution.

Only a stay, mind you; Handsome Jack isn't exactly known for not killing people, at least not for extended periods of time. Sooner or later, once he gets bored with his diamond horse, he's going to kill a person. It's his thing. Can you really blame him? Those pretzels were incredibly stale.

I've played several hours of Borderlands 2 myself, and as far as I'm concerned Gearbox could have made the game Handsome Jack threatening you over the intercom for four hours while you're tied to a chair in a completely white room and I still would have bought it. Hell, they could integrate Kinect.

Thankfully Gearbox did more than that, and it seems to have pleased reviewers, at least the ones not too busy waiting for Halo 4 and Call of Duty Black Ops 2.

Polygon

Borderlands 2 is Gearbox's chance to properly execute on a concept that only barely came together in 2009's Borderlands. Borderlands was, in hindsight, propped up largely by a hope and a prayer. Taken only by its design, it's a collection of parts from multiple genres - the quests of an MMO, loot influenced more by action RPGs like Diablo, and shooting out of, well, a shooter. None of these parts were exemplary, and they were even combined in what could be affectionately labeled a haphazard way. But the combination was new, and it was glued together by virtue of a coherent visual style that mimicked hand-drawn art. It felt new, which compensated for how patchy everything felt.

Gearbox has taken a fresh look with Borderlands 2 at the often weak connective tissue linking the pile of divergent ideas that defined its predecessor. The story is developed and surprisingly thoughtful, and systems link together more. The result is a better game in almost every regard and, interestingly enough, a more ambitious one. However, a clearer vision from the start doesn't prevent Borderlands 2 from straining in several design directions at once.

GamesRadar

Borderlands 2's main hook is its focus on "shooting and looting." To that degree, the sequel offers significantly more choice and customization than its predecessor. Guns are broken down into brands and damage modifiers. So, for example, a gun made by Hyperion will have a more high tech feel, whereas another line may provide punchier gunplay.

The damage modifiers—fire, acid, and electricity, among others—all factor in heavily when selecting the best tool to take down enemy types. It provides a strong sense of strategy to how to approach a mob of hostiles. Though the early stage weapons lack certain tactility, there's a heft to higher-level guns that's truly satisfying.

Gamespot

Perhaps the most notable difference is that Pandora now feels like a vibrant, living place. What once was a lonely frontier planet populated primarily by savage men and feral beasts is, well, still a planet populated primarily by savage men and feral beasts. But it isn't so lonely anymore, thanks to an expanded cast of diverse and entertaining characters. Many familiar faces return, including the delusional robot, Claptrap; the hayseed mechanic, Scooter; and the bawdy vixen, Moxxi. The four playable characters from the first game are back as well, and they each play a robust role in the story (and have way more spoken lines than ever before). There are some delightful new additions too, such as the arrogant antagonist, Handsome Jack, and the teenage demolitionist, Tiny Tina. Random townsfolk also have a few things to say, no longer content with mute or monosyllabic responses, and even the bandits you fight have a broader range of context-sensitive taunts.

IGN

Similarly to how the sidequests build upon the writing Gearbox became known for with the first game's DLC, Borderlands 2 also expands upon other parts of the game in smaller, but still significant ways. From more options to how you sort missions, to easy ways to mark and sell loot, to an always present mini-map, the entire interface is simply a lot more user friendly and intuitive.

Sadly, though, little has been done to improve the driving component of the series. Outside of a few quests that require you to use a car, the vehicles feel largely underutilized and not all that valuable outside of getting you to destinations a lot quicker. Borderlands 2 is a shooter first and foremost, but it'd be awesome to see smarter mission design that takes advantage of them in, say, the way Halo does with its vehicle levels. Even so, they offer a change of pace from the rest of the game's shoot and loot cycle.

EGM

Another element that gets a nice boost? The enemy AI, which took its fair share of knocks in Borderlands for predictability and a lack of advanced behaviors. Sure, you'll still catch 'em with their pants down at times, but there's an impressive leap here with the way enemies move through environments and work together, and the fact that Gearbox does both while offering up a host of creative variants per type is a real boon for the series. This does create some definite difficulty spikes when playing through solo, but considering the degree to which this game shines in its notably improved co-op play, it shouldn't be a massive setback for folks as they play through.

Guardian

I mean, when was the last time you cared about the name of any gun manufacturer in any shooter you played recently? Listen, I've played the heck out of the COD: MW titles, and I've used a TAR-21 more times than I care to mention, but I couldn't tell you who manufactured it (not without looking it up, at any rate). The gun-makers in Borderlands 2 don't even exist, for goodness sake, and I'm already brand-loyal to one of them. That would be Jakob, who proffer the most stylish firearms in the galaxy. If you want to take down a Badass Spiderant Burner, be a Gentleman about it, and use Jakob ordnance. (Hey, Gearbox, you can have that one for free!)

Kotaku

... there's really only one thing that you need to know about Borderlands 2. It's a tough, stylish, emotional ride through everything that made Borderlands 1 such a great game. Pick three friends, span the character classes, and get to killing. You won't be disappointed.

And just for funsies...

Wall Street Journal

As a $30 impulse buy, priced about the same as games like "NASCAR Unleashed," I wouldn't have a problem recommending Borderlands 2 as a fun diversion. At twice that price, though, I think it's fair for players to demand the whole magilla – cutting-edge development, engrossing campaign gameplay, scads of downloadable content, a rich social media/community experience, sharing of loot and gear and online multiplayer modes that keep you and your friends coming back until the next version of the game comes out.

And Borderlands 2 misses on enough counts so that I not only didn't joy puke, I didn't even get a tiny bit of mirthful bile in my throat. It may be the game for you, but if you're in the market for a new FPS, I'd at least counsel waiting to compare it to Black Ops 2, due out Nov. 13, or Halo 4, which is slated for a Nov. 6 release.

Sep 20, 2012

My Favorite Music From Borderlands 2 Isn't On The Official Soundtrack

Kotaku

When I heard that well-known video game composer Jesper Kyd was handling the music for Borderlands 2, my first thought was, "Huh." Kyd, a versatile and icily atmospheric writer best known for his work on the first Assassin's Creed games, seems like an odd fit for Borderlands, a game loaded to the gills with flesh-eating hillbilly bandit explosions.

My second thought was to go back and look at the soundtrack to the first game, where I learned that indeed, Kyd contributed a few tracks to that game's soundtrack as well. His contribution to the sequel, however, is much more substantial. The track above, which fans of the game will recognize as the music that accompanies any exploration in the game's open world, is my favorite.

At times, Borderlands 2 feels like it's of two minds. On the one hand, it's a sophomoric, winking game full of meta-gags, slightly dated internet lingo, and toilet humor. That side of the game is equal parts grating and genuinely hilarious. On the other hand—and this aspect may be enhanced by the fact that I've mostly been playing it solo—the game is a yawning, beautifully lonesome thing, a journey of exploration into a colorful and deadly comic book world.

Kyd's music, with its ambient swells and impeccably placed guitar slides, echoes and enhances that second feeling. It brings a thoughtful gravity to my time spent on Pandora.

I like most of what I've heard on the soundtrack fine, but the theme above, which plays as you explore the overworld, is one of the simplest, stickiest motifs I've heard in a game in some time. Four notes over a bass pedal tone: down then up, brought to a false resolution. It begins softly, an ambient dream-like melody, before the drums begin pounding and the guitar makes its entrance.

Oddly enough, I was unable to find this track anywhere on the (perfectly good) official Borderlands 2 soundtrack, so I don't know its actual name (I went with "Exploration Music"). I don't even know for sure that it was composed by Kyd, though it's got his fingerprints all over it and the same theme turns up at the fringes of the the menu music, which he also composed. I captured this recording from the game itself. That pulsing beat, the big mallet booming quietly as a slide works the fretboard… it's really something.

Despite the fact that so much of Borderlands 2 is like a more amped-up version of the first game, it's also a more serious game. It feels much more focused on character, and on building a world that feels authentic and oddly melancholy. The musical choices reflect that—for example, where the first game opened with that now-iconic, rowdy Cage The Elephant Song, the second game opens with the track to the side here by The Heavy. It's a more melancholy song for a somewhat heavier game. And from what Tina tells me (without spoiling anything for me), I'm in for some actual emotional gut-punches as the story goes on. Emotional gut-punches? From Borderlands? Okay then!

A couple of weeks ago at PAX, I sat down with Kyd and a bunch of other well-known game composers to talk about the creative process. While we were talking, I asked if any of them ever knew that they were going to be composing "the song" for a certain game, the one theme that fans would come back to again and again. Was it always random, where they never quite knew what would resonate? Kyd said when it comes to big-budget games, it's all about where the game developers eventually decide to put the song.

"You know, there's another side to that," he said. "And that is, how is the music used? If you have an iconic moment in the game, whatever music you put on it is immediately going to be a little bit more iconic than if it was just some background thing. That sometimes surprises me, [I think] 'Oh, they put that music there! Oh wow, okay… interesting. Maybe I would've spent another three days on that track!'"

What's funny is that in the case of this exploration music, the most enjoyable tune in the game (for me, anyway) is in fact a "background thing" like Kyd describes. But what a background thing it is. That lovely motif goes a long way towards grounding Borderlands 2; Kyd's music keeps the game from devolving into irreverence and anchors me as I explore Pandora. I don't think I'll ever get tired of listening to it.

Sep 20, 2012

Randy Pitchford Teased Details of Borderlands 2's Future During Our Live Interview Today. Here Are A Few.

Kotaku

Phew! That was an interesting two+ hours. Thanks to everyone for your questions, and a special thanks to Randy Pitchford himself, who went well into overtime after the original 2-hour mark.

If you missed it, Gearbox's CEO and the man behind Borderlands 2 teased a few details about the future of the sequel in some of his answers. Here are a few of them, but be sure to hit the (now closed) interview for more speculation:

Gearbox is in talks about putting Borderlands 2 on the Vita.
The first story content-heavy DLC will have details revealed very soon.
One DLC planned for the near future might have something to do with Pitchford's desire to "ride on one of those sand skiffs from Return of the Jedi."
Borderlands 2 could see more additional playable classes like the Mechromancer. Pitchford's words: "We created the ability in Borderlands 2 to add additional characters because we want to use that ability. The Mechromancer is the first one. I hope to do more. The success of the Mechromancer will help to define this."
There are plans to make a Mac port.
There's going to be a Claptrap game for the Wii U that combines America's Next Top Model, Just Dance 3, JAWS and Attack of the C.H.U.D. Ok, not really. That one was a joke. Or was it?...It was.
Looks like there might be more skins, heads, and possibly other character customization in future DLC.
T.K. Baha will make some sort of return outside his small appearance in the sequel.

The interview had some interesting insight into Pitchford as a developer—and gamer—as well. I'll just share this one with you and you can read the others yourself.

Reader Enigma asked: "I never expected it but what was the motivation behind including ladders in the game? I'm still too used to finding creative ways to jump to obscure locations before looking for a ladder... :D"

To which Pitchford replied:

I don't know - the level designers sort of just wanted to do it and felt they could get away with it. In general, I evolved into an "anti-ladder" kind of level designer. When I was younger and less experienced at level design, I used ladders all over the place. I'm not sure if other level designers evolve the same way I did, but I feel good about my reasons for evolving beyond ladders. I have to say, though, that as someone who is super comfortable using ladders in FPS games, I like using the ladders in Borderlands 2. They're not used in critical path situations, so I think even a more casual FPS gamer that has difficulty with ladders won't find their inclusion in Borderlands 2 to be a hindrance to their progression. Our designers were pretty responsible with their use.

Interesting stuff.

Sep 19, 2012

Borderlands 2's Killer PC Version Gives Us A Taste Of The Future

Kotaku

Last night, as I sat there playing the excellent PC version of Borderlands 2 on my big ol' TV, I couldn't shake the feeling that the next generation of gaming is already upon us.

The PC version of Borderlands 2 is fantastic. (The game itself ain't half bad, either.) I've only played the Xbox 360 version at various conventions, but I'll say without hesitation that the PC version is the definitive version. Gearbox has clearly learned a thing or two from the lackluster PC port of the first Borderlands—the sequel's PC version is a shining example of PC porting done right. It starts with the impressive array of PC settings—everything a PC diehard would want is in there, from tweakable FOV to an adjustable HUD size.

Everything in the game works flawlessly—menus are slick, controller integration is seamless, but if you want, you can switch immediately to the mouse and keyboard and back again. For example, you could do the first-person parts with a keyboard and mouse while driving with a controller.

(Click to embiggen.)

Functionality is only part of the success—Gearbox has also gone to great pains to make the PC version look better than its console counterparts. Not only does the game's colorful cell-shaded art style really pop in full 1080p resolution, but the explosions and water effects look unlike anything I've seen on either of my consoles. The draw-distance is a big notch above consoles, as well, which is great, since unlike the first game, Borderlands 2 features some breathtaking vistas.

Combine that with Steam's wonderful new big picture mode, and my PC really does feel like a next-gen console.

The video here is humorously short (and might not always stream in HD), but I wanted to post it just so you could get a sense of what I'm talking about. The crispness of the graphics, the sharp sky against the rocks, the way the mountain is reflected and skewed by my sniper-scope—it's all so colorful and rich. Though man, I'm frustrated with this video—it just doesn't convey how good the game looks in high-res on a big screen. I kinda of wish I could somehow have you all over to my apartment to show you what it looks like in real life. (Well, no, I guess I don't wish that. All the same, it'll never quite come across in a streaming online video.)

In Kate's post yesterday about Borderlands 2's PC settings, commenter TheApina remarked:

How can you tell that the industry is going to shits? When a famous gamer and a YouTuber has to make a video and an online gaming blog has to write an article about how the PC port of a sequel to a successful and famous first-person shooter doesn't suck. I mean, it's a bit a surreal, don't you guys think? Imagine if Kotaku had written an article about Half-Life 2 back in the day and about how its PC port doesn't suck, because the opposite is generally expected.

That's true—things really have flipped over the last ten or so years. Used to be, console ports of PC games were the terrible ones, and the PC version was king. But the ubiquity and relative power of consoles changed things, and suddenly, it became just as likely that a PC port would feel rushed and wouldn't take advantage of any of the PC's hardware advantages.

How nice, then, to see the tide turning again. Just as we saw a little while ago with the fabulous PC version of Sleeping Dogs, developers and publishers seem to have cottoned to the notion that a good PC version of a game can mean better sales on that platform. (What a conclusion!) What's more, and I'm only guessing here, it's also likely that developers have gotten so good at using sexy tech that current-gen Directx 9 consoles can't handle that it's relatively easy for them to make their PC versions truly superior, as opposed to up-res'd ports.

Of course, Borderlands 2 is still current-gen. It's a really nice looking, smooth playing current-gen game, but the PC version isn't substantively different than the console version. It doesn't have the amazing AI, vast number of interlocking systems, and other advanced features we're all hoping to see in the future, when consoles all have a lot more memory and processing capability. All the same, playing it with Big Picture on my TV tastes future-y to me. Who knew that the future would taste like candy-colored guns?

Bravo to Gearbox for dedicating the time and resources to make their PC version as good as their game deserves. Now, if only I could convince all my friends to get it on Steam, we could all play together…