Gearbox makes 16-bit version of Borderlands 2

One of the most anticipated games coming out this year is Borderlands 2, and the hype machine just doesn’t seem to stop. After last week’s weapon’s trailer, developer Gearbox has now released a 16-bit version of Borderlands 2 that can be played on the browser. The game can be found on wubwub.eu, one of the best URLs ever in my opinion.

The flash game allows you to pick a class out of the four that will be available in the full game. The 16-bit recreation is a top-down shooter with monsters spawning at the sides. The main aim of the game seems to be just to survive for as long as possible. The game rewards you with a chest with two weapons and you have to pick one.

There seems to be quite a bit of variety of different weapons you can get, including a regular pistol, a machine gun and a flamethrower among others. The game also has 16-bit recreations of the enemies that you will face in the game, including the regular bandits and their dogs.

Hype machine keeps going...

Earlier this month, Gearbox had announced via Twitter that the PC version of the game will not get the ability to play split-screen co-operative. “No, split-screen is not currently supported on PC due to technical reasons,” tweeted the company. PC is hardly the best platform for split-screen gaming, but it’s always nice to be able to play with a friend in the same room and on the same system.

Here are some of the details of the game that are known:

• Co-op will probably be 4 players
• Vehicles will have variety
• One vehicle: Bandit Technical
• One vehicle will have four seats
• Eridium – enhance weapons
• Eridium is a form of currency
• Salvador: Gunzerker, can dual-wield with any weapon
• Vault Hunters from the first game will be NPCs
• Bandits can access their own type of weaponry
• Unique styling, colour, personality for each manufacturer
• Custom decals/ enhancements for weapons
• More responsive enemies, more varied, better AI, improvement so that they interact with each other better
• NPCs will also be improved, will move around more
• Interacting dialogue for players
• Skill tree will be similar to the first game (3 branch system)
• Claptrap seems to be returning
• Apparently there won’t be any old weaponsStory missions won’t be static
• Some pickups will provide temporary buffs

The first game in the Borderlands series was the world’s first role playing shooter (RPS) -- it was in equal parts a role playing game and a first person shooter. The game also boasted of literally a bazillion guns, all with stats and looks so randomised that you could find a shotgun that shoots rockets. For the sequel, the general direction and style still stays the same, which means the game is still an RPS that offers four player co-op.

Borderlands 2 will be released for the Xbox360, PS3 and PC on September 18, 2012.