User:Group21/sandbox

'Borderlands' is a First-person shooter Video game franchise which currently has two released games, Borderlands and its sequel Borderlands 2. Both games have elements of Role-playing and have received wide critical acclaim. The game series is developed by Gearbox Software for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3, and by Feral Interactive for Mac. Borderlands was released in the US on most major platforms on October 20th 2009 and on other dates worldwide. Borderlands 2 was released in the US on September 18th 2012 and other dates worldwide.

Borderlands
Borderlands is a First-person shooter that has a Role-Playing game like leveling system in its game-play. The setting is on the resource rich planet called Pandora, the player arrives on the planet as a "vault hunter" who is searching for a legendary vault that is said to contain alien weapons technology and similar treasures. The player can choose one of four different characters each with their own attributes and special ability. The game allows players to select a second play-through upon completion, allowing the player to continue increasing their characters level.

Character List
Roland: Highly trained soldier, has preferences towards assault rifle and shotgun type weapons. Can also deploy a defensive turret (scorpio turret) when in need. As the game progresses you can build on three specific sides of him, The soldier side builds his offensive abilities. The support side builds shields and shield regeneration while the medic side is for supporting your group and increasing health regeneration.

Brick: Fighter of the berserker class. Likes to fight with his fights and explosive weapons (most notably weapons such as the rocket launcher, grenades etc.), most strategies are based upon sheer strength as he has the ability to go into a "berserker rage" mode where his melee damage is vastly increased. His resistance to attacks is increased and his health regenerates making him very formidabble in close combat. As Brick's level increases he can choose between three different skill paths. The first is "Brawler" which increases his offensive abilities. The second is "Tank" which increases his defensive ability's such as health and regeneration of shields. His third path is "Blaster" which essentially acts as a support gunner increasing his reload rates etc.

Lilith: Of the siren class, she is a much stealthier fighter and can use her "phasewalk" ability to move with increased speed and invisibility. Lilith is the only character you can choose who is in fact not human she is a "siren" and is one of six in the game. She favours elemental damage from weapons such as revolvers that are heavily modified to bring various effects such as poison, fire damage etc. She also favours the use of other lighter weapons such as SMG's. This combination of skills allows her to a be a better stealthy close range striker. Her three skill paths upon levelling are "Controller" which increases shield regeneration, reduces cool down time for phasewalk and such. The next is "Elemental" which increases the offensive and defensive effects of elemntal damage either making her more efficient or more resistant. The third is "Assassin" which boosts things such as critical hit power and how often they occur.

Mordecai: Of the "Hunter" class. Prefers to deal damage as much more of a marskman, long range sniper rifles etc. He also hunts with a bird of prey named "Bloodwing". Tactically speaking he prefers to cause damage from a range and keep out of harms way, he is very stealthy. As he levels up his three skill paths are: "Sniper" which increases the damage dealt with sniper rifles and reduces the recoil of the weapons. "Rogue" which increases the damage etc dealt by his companion "Bloodwing" and finally, "Gunslinger" which increases the chance of critical hits and provides various weapon bonuses such as "when firing a pistol there is a chance that you will fire two bullets in the space of just one".

Release Date
Playstation 3 & Xbox 360
 * NA - October 20th, 2009
 * PAL - October 23rd, 2009
 * JP - February 25th, 2010 (Xbox 360 only)

Microsoft Windows
 * NA - October 26, 2009
 * PAL - October 30, 2009
 * JP - December 25, 2009

Borderlands 2
The game is set 5 years after the events of the first game, the planet Pandora is now ruled by by Handsome jack who wields absolute power over the planet. The player assumes a vault hunter is given the mission of killing handsome Jack and trying to find another rumored vault that is even bigger than the last. Borderlands 2 is very similar in game play to the first game however they have made improvements such as a dynamic mission system, improved on the customization of weapons from the first game and altering the vehicle physics. Borderlands 2 has a different set of main characters to choose from however the main characters from the last game will make appearances an Non Playable Characters.

Character List
Borderlands 2 features five new playable characters, with characters from the previous game appearing as Non Playable Characters.

The first of the five characters is Salvador, the character from the “Gunzerker” class. He is the heavy of five characters, with the ability to dual-wield any combination of guns in the game using his Action Skill, "Gunzerking." All of his skills are focused around weaponry and muscle.

Maya is the second character in the game. She is a siren, with abilities resembling those of Lilith from the first game. Her abilities all revolve around the game's five elements (fire, electricity, corrosion, explosions, slag).

The third character is Axton who is a commando character, taking place of the "soldier" class seen in Borderlands 1. His skills all revolve around his turret, his main weapon. Most of his upgrades also revolve around this, with upgrades to increase accuracy, range and damage.

Zer0 is the fourth character in the game. He is in the Assassin class, and has a look resembling a ninja. His melee weapon is a sword which is used in his "Deception" action skill. For range attacks, Zer0 makes use of a sniper rifle. His upgrades can be used to improve both of these.

The final playable character in the game is Gaige, however she is only available to play via downloadable content. She is a half-cyborg girl, and part of the "Mechromancer" class. Her skills mainly revolve around her "Deathtrap", a weaponized machine originally designed as a school project to prevent bullying.

Release Date
Playstation 3 & Xbox 360
 * NA - September 18th, 2012
 * PAL - September 21st, 2012
 * AUS - September 21st, 2012
 * JP - October 25th, 2012

Microsoft Windows
 * NA - September 18th, 2012
 * PAL - September 21st, 2012
 * AUS - September 21st, 2012
 * JP - October 25th, 2012

Mac OS X
 * Worldwide - November 20th, 2012

Reception
Borderlands was received well by gamers, and as such received many positive reviews. GameRankings, an aggregating game review website gave the xbox 360 version 85.80%. Borderlands 2 was able to beat this, the xbox 360 version receiving a rating of 89.26%. IGN, one of largest internet based service/media provider with a focus on video games, also awarded both games with high scores, rating both relatively high. Borderlands receiving a rating of 8.8, Borderlands 2 recieving a rating of 9.0.