Gearbox: Borderlands 2 is a "no-brainer"

By Robert Purchese Published 11 November, 2009

But nothing planned yet, says Neumann.

Gearbox creative director Mike Neumann believes the likelihood of a Borderlands sequel is so strong it's a "no-brainer".

"Yes, I can probably confirm that there's a chance of a Borderlands 2," Neumann told VG247. "I mean, with anything, especially a new IP, if people want more and you can make more, and everybody can make money and do good business there, it obviously makes really good sense to do that.

"Obviously nothing so far is planned. We're working on DLC. We haven't really had any talks about a sequel, other than water cooler talk like, 'Wouldn't this be cool' kind of stuff.

"But yeah, Borderlands is really exciting. Everyone here loves the franchise, and it seems like the public is really coming back with praise and love. So yeah, if everything makes sense, Borderlands 2 seems like a no-brainer to me," he added.

Borderlands, an eye-catching role-playing shooter, launched on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in October. The charm of an endless randomly generated levels and loot mixed with adept co-op for four people is strong.

The game expands on 24th November with DLC add-on The Zombie Island of Doctor Ned, which brings new quests, enemies and loot to the table.

Head over to our Borderlands review to find out more.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (44) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • AgentBalti #1 2 years ago

    It has to happen, simple as that. For a game with next to zero plot, it's an absolute winner. They don't need to do too much to tinker with the format, just spit and polish. More baddies, More GUNS, More Loot, More Missions...that is all.

  • AgentBalti #2 2 years ago

    Can we ban "I, for one" as well. There is only one of anyone, so it's a no brainer. Oh look what I did there!

  • insincere_dave #3 2 years ago

    "So none of you go repeating this"

    Agreed, that's a no-brainer for me.

  • penhalion #4 2 years ago

    Nice to hear but, make sure the ending is worth it this time!

  • ChthonicEcho #5 2 years ago

    @AgentBalti

    "I, for one" refers to one person out of a certain number of people. "I, for one (out of many that are related to the addressed issue)..." It's fine. "No-brainer" isn't, though.

  • M83J01P97 #6 2 years ago

    I really don't get why people find the ending disappointing. Sure the story is paper thin, but the ending makes sense to me and works with such a subtle story line anyway. Your being 'conned' into believing a myth in order to save the universe by an AI programmed to stop the Destroyer from being released every 200 years. Simple, who needs a convoluted story like the Halo games when the core of the game is simply running around shooting stuff and leveling up in the process. It's a no-brainer for me.
    Edited by 2 at 11/11/09 @ 12:40

  • cianchristopher #7 2 years ago

    Yep, it's win-win for sure! That much is a no-brainer!

  • kangarootoo #8 2 years ago

    I was a little disappointed with Borderlands. The enemy AI was pretty basic, and for a game that is all about shooting enemy AI it felt like quite an important let down. Overall the gameplay just felt like grinding, which wasn't enough as the combat wasn't quite up to the job.

    That said, I welcome a sequel as that is when all the little issues get fixed (hopefully).

  • ps3owner #9 2 years ago

    Awesome

  • Vedfolner #10 2 years ago

    I would just like some time to enjoy the first game before they start talking about a sequel. Not least during this of year what with all the huge titles being released.

  • penhalion #11 2 years ago

    @M83J01P97

    Without giving too much away, it looks like you didn't get the ending either. The angel was herself one of thousands stationed god knows where and above heaven only knows how many other planets. My disapointment with the ending is in that you get absolutely nothing for your trouble. Not even a unique weapon drop or loads of cash. Nada! Zip! Not a freakin' sausage!

  • muscleblade #12 2 years ago

    The game overall was very good especially in coop. The way you had to constantly run backwards while fireing was kind of stupid though. I looved the graphics. Looked very crisp for a huge game like it is.
    Edited by 1 at 11/11/09 @ 12:44

  • penhalion #13 2 years ago

    Oh (and totally unrelated) L4D2 is pre-loadable from steam now....

    /Stewey voice
    "just sayin'"

  • thedaveeyres #14 2 years ago

    Huzzah! The best game I've played this year absolutely deserves a sequel.

  • kangarootoo #15 2 years ago

    "The way you had to constantly run backwards while fireing was kind of stupid though"

    That was pretty much my experience too. Poor AI that just runs at you, coupled with enemies that are too tough (big health bars making up for poor AI) for you to do anything other than keep your distance.

    I want a combat game where a challenging enemy differs strategically from its weaker counterparts and can be outwitted in combat, not just worn down from afar.

  • TonyCocaCola #16 2 years ago

    I was looking forward to borderlands for over a year but got bored with it in over a week.

    The ending boss thing was exactly the same as half life oposing forces if i remember correctly
    Edited by 1 at 11/11/09 @ 13:00

  • sneetch #17 2 years ago

    @muscleblade
    The game overall was very good especially in coop. The way you had to constantly run backwards while fireing was kind of stupid though. I looved the graphics. Looked very crisp for a huge game like it is.

    Loving it in co-op and I haven't had to constantly run backwards much (except against higher level opponents, which I avoid). Against same level foes when I have a decent weapon it's been great.

    In single player last night I got an explosive sniper rifle (the bullets explode, not the actual rifle, that'd be a lot less useful ;) ) and the game is just broken now but broken in a very fun way.

    @kangarootoo
    That was pretty much my experience too. Poor AI that just runs at you, coupled with enemies that are too tough (big health bars making up for poor AI) for you to do anything other than keep your distance.

    They ain't the sharpest tools in the box but in my experience the humans/mutants tend to have enough sense to stay near or in cover. The animals tend to be of the "charge straight at em" variety but there's not much else they can do.

  • sesskie #18 2 years ago

    A game doesnt really need plot to be fun when playing it with some buddies. Borderlands and L4D proved that. Borderlands is exceedingly good value for money considering the length of the campaign, and that you can play a second time around up to lvl 50.

    For me it was perhaps a little easy, or maybe I was lucky with my drops, but even piped out in epic/legendary gear, taking on masses of spiderants, skags and crazy shotgun midgets never got old, when palyed with some friends in coop. Hell, its so fun that I even onjoy boosting lowbies though quests.

    BL2 cant come soon enough, its a day-1 purchase for me, until then, DLC will have to do.

    Edited by 1 at 11/11/09 @ 13:03

  • kangarootoo #19 2 years ago

    "You can one hit nearly anything with the sniper rifle"

    I don't find that very interesting though if that is all you can do over and over. And it isn't much of a solution against multiple enemies at different ranges. However I am able to kill enemies, there is always something lacking if those enemies are consistently dumb on the battlefield.

    The whole combat mechanic just felt woefully basic and unbalanced compared to a raft of other top flite fps games out there. Lots of other factors raised the game up, and I did enjoy it for a while, but it didn't cut for me as a combat game and in the end I just got bored of the grind.

  • kangarootoo #20 2 years ago

    @sneetch

    Maybe I didn't stick with it long enough. I only made level 12 or so, but the journey to get there felt quite flat.

    And where was all the weapon modification I was promised? Does that not kick in for ages or something? All I came across was slightly different versions of the same handful of guns, with the only mod I could make being a global increase in ammo capacity.

    I did play co-op for a little bit, and that was fun. But it still felt less fun that a bunch of other co-op games (Halo being the obvious reference, though god knows what mentioning it will do to this thread).

  • Optimaximal #21 2 years ago

    Fuck the sequel and DLC - lets get the PC match-making & voice-support working properly first without relying on obscene port forwarding & third-party utilities.

    Meh, who am I kidding...

  • Schiraman #22 2 years ago

    TBH what I want to hear about at this stage is a great big patch that fixes the massive, game-breaking bugs (like failing to save characters completely FFS) and sorts out all the annoying but simple to fix niggles (like there being no option to disable in-game chat and the fact that some guns have more abilities than will fit on the page, thus hiding some of their features).

    Oh, and making the networking a bit more friendly and reliable wouldn't hurt either...

    Great game mind, despite all the bugs.

  • kangarootoo #23 2 years ago

    Fair enough peeps, sounds like maybe I bailed too early to get a proper picture. I'm not saying its ok for opening areas to be worse than later ones, but no game is perfect.

    I'll dig back into it when I get the time and see how things improve.

  • mkreku #24 2 years ago

    Wait, I haven't even bought the first Borderlands yet!!

  • Phattso #25 2 years ago

    Just give me a list of people I'd have to fuck to get a sequel made and I'll do my part. :)

    /stocks up on vitamins

  • darleysam #26 2 years ago

    Just pleeeeeeeeeeeeease give it a story.

  • bratmandu #27 2 years ago

    Loving Borderlands so far, it's a hell of a lot of fun, I'll prob take a break for a while to play modern warfare, but it's nice to know when I finish that and come back to my level 32 siren, there's some nice DLC waiting too.

    It's also one of those games where I felt - the sequel is going to be incredible.

  • grayn #28 2 years ago

    Fuck the sequel and DLC - lets get the PC match-making & voice-support working properly first without relying on obscene port forwarding & third-party utilities.

    Fucking this.

  • smartgun #29 2 years ago

    Really enjoying it at the moment. Every time I open one of those big red gun crates I get so excited a little bit of wee comes out.

    Although I like their special abilities, the four characters are pretty awful though. I'd like to see some more work in that area, or a Mass Effect style character creator.

  • JahB #30 2 years ago

    I really don't get why people find the ending disappointing.

    because the entire game people tell you about "the vault" and the insane riches and the alien technology inside it. i expected shitloads of money and loot at the end, not a ha ha, you're fucked..

  • Nephirion #31 2 years ago

    How about fixing the broken PC mulitplayer and the stats reset bug or do we have to buy the sequel to get those fixes? My advice is ask Valve how you make a 4 player co-op game work, retards.

  • TheRook21 #32 2 years ago

    "Borderlands, an eye-catching role-playing shooter, launched on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in October. The charm of an endless randomly generated levels and loot mixed with adept co-op for four people is strong."

    Was that feature left out of my copy (ps3)?

  • FWB #33 2 years ago

    Cool. But please give us loads of BL1 DLC first.

  • metalangel #34 2 years ago

    But unless me and my friends all have characters around the same level, we can't play together as host's level might mean someone will be one-hitted by the enemies. And if we're not at the same stage of the story, when I do come back to my own playthrough, I'm now several levels higher than I should be rendering the various quests far too easy. So let us adjust our level down temporarily for a friend's game, because you need to ensure you only play the same playthrough with the same people otherwise. That should be a no-brainer.

  • sublitterat #35 2 years ago

    You do get loot and a cash reward at the end, but only if you exit the credits, hoover up all the goodies, then head back as instructed to Turn In the last mission.

    On second playthrough now, and it's much harder going. Suspect it'll be a long haul to level 50...

  • yegon #36 2 years ago

    >>"No-brainer" is the most annoying American phrase to come to these shores.

    Nah, "Could care less" and the horrid abortion that is "addicting" take that dubious accolade.

  • Goodfella #37 2 years ago

    @ yegon

    I totally agree. I swear through gritted teeth at the monitor every time I read those words being used.

  • Apostle #38 2 years ago

    No brains.

  • sneetch #39 2 years ago

    @Schiraman
    TBH what I want to hear about at this stage is a great big patch that fixes the massive, game-breaking bugs (like failing to save characters completely FFS) and sorts out all the annoying but simple to fix niggles (like there being no option to disable in-game chat and the fact that some guns have more abilities than will fit on the page, thus hiding some of their features).

    I haven't had it forget to save my character thankfully but I completely agree with the lack of options for things like disabling voice being annoying. It's not like adding a checkbox would take a couple of man-months.

    It is possible to disable it though. If you haven't found out how yet then this is paraphrased from:

    [link url=http://gbxforums.gearboxsoftware.com/showthread.php?t =78993
    ]http://gb xforums.gearboxsoftware.com/sho...[/link]

    Go to: My Documents>MyGames>Borderlands>Willowgame>Config< br /> Edit WillowEngine.cfg.

    Find:
    bHasVoiceEnabled=true

    Change it to:
    bHasVoiceEnabled=false

    @TheRook21
    Was that feature left out of my copy (ps3)?

    Aye, it was also left out of my PC version. By a process of elimination I can only say: bloody Xbox owners have all the luck. Apparently. ;)

  • yegon #40 2 years ago

    ...and end up looking exactly like a kajillion other brown games. Great idea!

    Like Wind Waker, these graphics will age fairly well.

  • zisssou #41 2 years ago

    Borderlands = GOTY for me

  • craigm #42 2 years ago

    @yegon
    i agree totally, could care less is a bit annoying but i hate addicting i doesn't even sound right said aloud what the hell is wrong with addictive anyway?

  • kongzi #43 2 years ago

    I tried it and altough I liked it's style, the game itself doesn't appeal to me, I have to agree with kangarootoo there. But I can definitely see why people wanna play it. And it's the first original game Gearbox did that has had this kind of reception.

  • Spekingur #44 2 years ago

    Sooo... there won't be any brains featured in Borderlands 2?