Why It's Still Worth Playing Borderlands 2

Borderlands 3 is officially out, but that doesn't mean the past games aren't worth playing-- far from it. Not only does Borderlands: The Handsome Collection include an insane amount of content, it's all possible to purchase a piece of DLC through the title that canonically paves the way to Borderlands 3. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection includes Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Borderlands 2 and all of its DLC (aside from Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary.) The title includes a free "texture pack" to make the games HD and a way to import your Playstation 3 data of the game. Not only that, The Handsome Collection is currently sitting at around 20.00. With that being said, here are all the reasons you should still be playing Borderlands 2.

You'll be shooting things for a while.

The main story + extras will net you 52 hours on just Borderlands 2, and that's just with one character. By completing one character's playthrough (The character Siren, for example, can immobilize an enemy in the air and gain health back by shooting them) players will earn "Badass tokens" that can be used at the start of the game to power up your next character, should you feel inclined to play the story again. It isn't a huge increase (one badass token will net you less than a 1% increase in any particular area) but in the high-stakes world of Pandora, even 5% more gun damage can mean the difference between life and death. Guns can even be transferred between save files. Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary is the only DLC missing from the title-- that was included for free early on, but it's now 15.00.

Borderlands 2 Commander Lilith DLC promo shot lilith with phoenix wings

The feedback loop still feels great.

Borderlands 2 still feels amazing to play. The enemy variety ranges from poor guys tied to shields carried by hulking muscle men to Goliaths, which seem unassuming until you shoot off their helmet. After it loses its helmet, the "Raging Goliath" (which has a long, grotesque neck with a tiny head on top) will go on a rampage, killing enemies around it and getting progressively stronger. If there are enough enemies for its bloodlust, they will eventually become a God-liath, which prompts an achievement when killed. The question then is whether it's worth conserving ammo and letting the big guy take your kills, knowing that there will be an added threat down the line when he finishes and charges at you.

The gameplay loop of going out on a mission, looting every gun you can find, selling all but the best ones off and heading out again is still incredible, and having a rare weapon drop at your level without ever having to spend a dime of real world money (given the prevalence of lootboxes these days) feels great. Borderlands 3 carries on this tradition, however, so don't worry-- Gearbox Software knows what players like.

You're still going to laugh.

The humor is over the top in Borderlands 2, and that carries to The Pre-Sequel, which takes place on the moon. One mission has the main character jumping for photographs while saying inspirational quotes, then taking those posters and putting them up in an active enemy base. By the time the posters are up, there's no one alive to inspire anymore. There's also the added humor of delivering the cheery "don't give up" posters to someone the quest-giver is planning to have you kill during your next active mission.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel takes about half as long to beat as Borderlands 2, but as always there's replay value in trying new characters-- even playing as Claptrap, the annoying robot, if you so choose. Playing on the moon with zero gravity is fun, even if there's an added annoyance of conserving oxygen (players can hover by letting out their spare oxygen, but that reduces the time left before needing to refill.)

Borderlands 3 is basically just more Borderlands, so if you haven't seen all there is to see on Pandora and its moon, paying 20.00 for an entry that has supported multiplayer is a great financial decision, especially for those who prefer to play games on sale. By the time you've looted your last legendary weapon and seen everything the two titles have to offer, Borderlands 3 just might be in the Bargain Bin.