Borderlands 2

Borderlands 2 was officially announced on August 3rd, 2011. The expected release date is currently set in Take Two's (2k's) fiscal year of 2013, beginning Q2 2012.

Gearbox Software will release a sequel sometime in 2012 according to a report from Eurogamer. A source close to the project told the website the game is coming to PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Borderlands 2 is being built on Unreal Engine 3

"Gearbox Software’s co-op lootfest is back with a host of exciting changes to the first game's addictive formula. The September issue of Game Informer contains 12 pages of exclusive details and screenshots from Borderlands 2, and outlines the numerous improvements the developer has in store for your return trip to Pandora. Don’t expect just a couple bazillion more guns this time around. Gearbox is introducing new and more diverse environments, smarter and more powerful enemies, and an improved mission system capable of delivering a better story. This and much more will be revealed in the story, as well as our full month of additional online content."

Plot synopsis
Set five years after the events of Borderlands, Handsome Jack, the game's main antagonist, has taken over the Hyperion corporation, has declared himself Dictator of Pandora and stolen all of the credit for finding the Vault, going so far to claim responsibility for killing the Destroyer. Jack has also blotted out much of the light on the planet by having a giant orbiting H-shaped base set in front of Pandora's stationary moon. The new team in Borderlands 2 is tasked with killing Jack and returning peace to Pandora.

The original characters will make appearances in the sequel as NPCs, each with their own backstory. They will each give the player characters quests to complete, furthering the main storyline. A good example of this is Roland. For his quest, he is being held captive in a floating cell named W4R-D3N (Pronounced - War-Den) and you must come to his rescue, while contending with bandits and Handsome Jack's robot sentries.
 * Anthony Burch of "Hey Ash Whatcha Playin'" is writing the story for Borderlands 2

Classes
Borderlands 2 will have four new player characters. Two new characters have been confirmed, Salvador the Gunzerker and Maya the Siren. Salvador will be capable of dual-wielding any two weapons in the game for a short period of time and of increasing the fire rate of his weapons by holding the trigger down. Maya's abilities have not been released at this time, but it has been confirmed that she is not a Phasewalker. However, she does carry a book in her left hand possibly signifying her skill.



Enemies

 * Handsome Jack - the game's main antagonist.
 * Arctic Bullymong - a six-limbed gorilla-like creature that will dynamically pick up objects (or rip up bits of scenery) and then throw them at the player.
 * Elemental skags - certain elemental skags are able to buff other nearby skags.
 * Marauder bandit - a large thug who makes intelligent use of cover, retreating to find allies when significantly damaged.
 * Surveyors - floating Hyperion bots who can quickly restore their allies to full health and summon more robots such as WAR Loaders.
 * Nomad - a slow rotund bandit sporting a large metallic shield that protects his entire body. On their shields attached by a rope is a Midget.
 * WAR Loader - a large Hyperion robot that can rapidly fire missiles and bullets. Can be summoned by Surveyors.
 * Thresher - a gigantic worm-like creature that is fought in vehicles and can open more parts of the map.
 * EXP Loader - a man-sized Hyperion robot that acts as a suicide bomber. The player may shoot off its legs in order to slow it down.

Note: CL4P-TPs are confirmed to make an appearance in Borderlands 2. They are upset over the happenings in DLC4 but hold no resentment towards the players but rather Hyperion.

Eridium
A new element, Eridium, has been confirmed.
 * New element Eridium augments other elemental powers.
 * Eridium is also a currency used to buy the most powerful weapons.
 * Eridium also can be used as in-battle temporary buffs.
 * Enemies can use their own Eridium, but it can be shot out of their hands before use.

Vehicles
2K and Gearbox are aware of the fact that gamers on the whole were unhappy with the driving mechanics from the first game, enough to quip, ‘because the driving in Borderlands was the best driving ever’. They started from scratch and improved the driving in a number of ways:
 * Party Truck: driver, gun turret and two in the back.
 * The suspension and physics were all redone, adding the ability to power slide. Hitting a rock won’t stop the vehicle dead in its tracks anymore.

Weapon Manufacturers
Hyperion will probably appear because the Hyperion army will be seen in Borderlands 2
 * In Borderlands 2, the bandits themselves have started making their own weapons under the "Bandit" manufacturer. Their weapons sport the largest magazines in the game.
 * Eridian weapons have not been confirmed for Borderlands 2.
 * S&S Munitions is not returning, their company having been replaced by the new Bandit manufacturer.
 * Atlas weapons will not be returning for Borderlands 2, due to the the fact that the Vault Hunters put it out of business when they defeated General Knoxx and the Crimson Lance invasion force during DLC 3.
 * Tediore weapons have a different feel for Borderlands 2, having been described as "Cheap, plastic pieces of crap" and "Wal-Mart guns" by Randy Pitchford himself during a demo presentation. Instead of reloading them, they are just thrown away and explode like a grenade (the more ammo left in the clip, the bigger the explosion), and then a fully-loaded gun regenerates in the user's hand. Due to their explosive capabilities, there is a chance they will explode in the user's hand before throwing it away.
 * Vladof continues with their tradition of weapons with extremely high rates-of-fire. . Vladof weapons have variable numbers of minigun-like barrels and fire rates that increase as the trigger is held down. The more barrels the weapon has, the faster it will fire.
 * Torgue will reappear as well, and will feature new rocket ammunition called gyro jets.

Additional Details

 * Contrary to what was originally reported, Borderlands 2 will not support split-screen for PC
 * The picture at right, from US-based retailer Target corporation points to a may 2012 release. However, no official release date has been announced. Release_date.jpg

Gameplay/Media
See this video for some Borderlands 2 gameplay:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQF7GQjTjsM

An article in Game Informer also talks about the release of Borderlands 2, as well as gameplay mechanics,plot,etc.

Media
thumb|left|Official Teaser