Borderlands 2 Gunzerker detailed, sounds awesome

The Gunzerker class was one of the first things we saw when Gearbox Software officially unveiled Borderlands 2 earlier this year, and today we learn just a bit more about the dual-wielding powerhouse.

As many may have already expected, The Gunzerker's dual-wielding mechanic is his unique ability, and as such can only be done for a short period of time, akin to the powers found in the original game. However, after learning about the class' three skill trees, there's plenty on offer to make the timed dual-wielding experience much more deadly.

The Gunzerker's first skill tree, Rampage, acts as a buff to the character, granting more damage to the dual-wielding act. The "Yippe Ki Yay" skill, for example, allows the player to have more time in the Gunzerker mode for each kill acquired, effectively making large groups of enemies a breeze to overcome.

Those who tend to play in groups ought to go for The Brawn skill tree, which has skills like "Come at me, bro." Similar to the tank class in MMOs, this enacts a taunt that will have the enemies attack you first and foremost, which in turn allows your team to lay waste from behind or afar. 

Gun Lust, the last skill tree, is all about even more buffs and abilities. "No Kill like Overkill," for example, converts any extra damage done to an enemy to health regeneration for you. So when an enemy is near death, swapping to a weapon more powerful than the one equipped will deal extra damage, which then goes to your own health bar.

But wait, that's not all. Combining the perks of "Money Shot", which makes the last bullet of each clip more powerful, with the aforementioned "No Kill like Overkill," will produce deadly and healthy results.

Grenade tossing while in Gunzerker mode will chuck two grenades, though the second doesn't deduct from the ammo count. Combining that with grenade-spamming mods makes clearing a room become a "boom, boom, boom, boom, boom" experience, according to lead writer Anthony Burch. 

Borderlands novel, The Fallen, out now

Borderlands 2 may not hit until next year, but you can fulfill your Pandoran fix by checking out the new Borderlands novel which is in stores today!

Written by BioShock: Rapture's John Shirley, Borderlands: The Fallen follows Roland, who you should know as the "Soldier" class from the game, as he attempts to "scrape a living out of the most dangerous planet in the galaxy."

Although the original game wasn't very story-driven, this brief glimpse at the novel has me rather intrigued. What say you?

Late Borderlands fan eulogized by Gearbox Software, added as NPC in sequel

A Borderlands fanatic by the name of Carlo wrote Destructoid yesterday and shared the story of his late friend Michael John Mamaril. Michael, Carlo's partner-in-crime in Borderlands, passed away last month due to cancer at the age of 22, and in honor of him, Carlo messaged Borderlands developer Gearbox Software and asked if the team could give a eulogy for Michael read by the game's wacky mascot, Claptrap.

Well, Gearbox responded to Carlo, and not only did they give a sincere eulogy, but they are also going to add Michael as a non-playable character in Borderlands 2. 

Destructoid has the eulogy posted on their site, and the breaking point for myself when I heard it was when Claptrap slowly broke out of his cartoonish character, becoming more serious in tone as he went along, and eventually the voice actor--who I assume was Randy Pitchford--spoke normally. It shows how serious the team at Gearbox took the request, and I'm sure it made Carlo's day. 

Our hearts go out to you, Carlo. 

Gearbox asks whats you want to see in the Borderlands 2 Collectors Edition

There couldn't be any more hype for Borderlands 2 at this point. First of all, the game is finally announced, something we've all been waiting for. Second, there's been A LOT (okay, a nice chunk) of coverage and news for it, getting us even more hyped. Lastly, those who attended Gearbox Software's PAX panel were actually given the game for free, thus causing a hype bonanza the likes of which we've never seen. 

Well, Gearbox Software is asking gamers worldwide to concentrate that hype into great ideas--ideas that may eventually land in the Borderlands 2 Collectors Edition. If you've got a suggestion that you deem worthy of said collectors edition, tweet it to Gearbox! Maybe, just maybe it will be that special suggestion that lands in the hands of every Borderlands 2 Collectors Edition consumer.

Here's the Borderlands 2 gameplay demo from PAX. [Watch now before it's pulled]

Weren't able to attend PAX Prime this year? Bummer. The good news is somebody snuck a camera into the event's Borderlands 2 demonstration, and captured a little over fourteen minutes of Gunzerker gameplay.

I expect this video will be taken down at some point, so it's a good idea to clear your calendar for the next fourteen minutes and watch the demonstration in all its glory.

Borderlands 2 split-screen allows connectivity to online players

Being a co-operatively based game, it shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody that people love to play Borderlands with buds, and sometimes those buds don't have their own copy of Borderlands, meaning they'll have to occasionally mooch off of you. But what if you wanted to play with others online? Well, great news is, Borderlands 2 will allow split-screeners to also connect to two other player online, as announced by Gearbox Software's Steve Gibosn at Gamescom.

There's one slight kicker though, with the split-screening players being unable to host online servers, as Gibson says split-screeners use a lot of CPU.

Lastly, the split-screen's interface has been revamped, allowing for easier inventory management.

Teasing Borderlands 2 teaser teases dual-wielding

This teasing Borderlands 2 teaser trailer teases some gameplay, teases some logos, teases a killer beard, and most of all it teases some awesome gameplay which teases dual-wielding. It also teases the idea that this guy loves the punk group Dead Kennedys, as he's sporting a teasing pin on his right shoulder.

Borderlands 2 is official, releasing sometime after April 1, 2012

2K Games and Gearbox Software have officially revealed the development [and existence] of Borderlands 2, the sequel to 2009's sleeper hit role-playing-shooter hybrid. The game will return to Pandora as players explore new areas and "reveal secrets, and escalate mysteries of the Borderlands universe," and will feature all new characters, skills, environments, weapons, enemies, and equipment.

Borderlands 2 will be shown at both Gamescom 2011 and PAX Prime, and, as with most big announcements, GameInformer has an exclusive blowout detailing the game, including the reveal of one of the several new character classes.

There's a scheduled release date for sometime after April 1, 2012, during Take-Two's fiscal year 2013, and will be available on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Well, we now have a good eight months to clear our calendars.

Rumor: Another sign that leads to Borderlands 2

A "source close to the game" has confirmed the existence of Borderlands 2, and it will release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC sometime next year, says Eurogamer. They've also heard that an announcement from Borderlands' publisher, 2K Games, will be made soon.

Although Borderlands 2 has been talked about for quite some time now, nothing has been concrete as of yet, though Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford reminds us that the team "LOVES" the original, and that they're going to want to "do a lot of things with Borderlands in the future."

"If we haven't announced it," Pitchford says, "it doesn't exist." So, this "confirmation" will still have to be kept in the rumor mill.