Now that "Borderlands 2" has finally made its way to European PS Vita systems, it's about time to put the game to the test. Because, as is so often the case these days, the big question is: Is it worth spending more money on?
For those who haven't yet had much contact with the story of "Borderlands 2," here's a brief summary: The train carrying the four characters Axton, Maya, Zer0, and Salvador through the game world's wasteland is attacked and destroyed by angry robots. You must now choose one of the characters, each with their own unique ability and class. With this character, you roam the landscape, completing countless tasks for the various and often bizarre individuals and robots you encounter. As you progress, your chosen character evolves, eventually becoming the ultimate fighting machine.
Gameplay and controls
What worked well on the PlayStation 3 was almost perfectly transferred to the Vita. All menus, maps, and other gameplay features were transferred unchanged; only the controls were minimally adjusted. Sprinting and melee attacks were moved to the rear touchpad. However, the controls on the Vita system feel significantly worse than on its predecessor, not least because of the Vita's analog sticks, which are slower and less precise. This can lead to considerable frustration and definitely detracts from the enjoyment of the game.
Although "Borderlands 2" places a special emphasis on multiplayer, this is precisely where the most compromises have to be made. For example, you can't join a four-player team, only two, and even then, only between Vita systems. The only possible reason for this is the Vita's limited processing power, but that's hardly an excuse and quite disappointing.
Otherwise, "Borderlands 2" is the perfect game for on the go. Thanks to its relatively short missions and frequent save points, the game is ideal for commuting to work or school, as well as for longer gaming sessions on the couch at home. If the small screen ever proves insufficient, you can easily transfer your save data between the two systems using "Cross-Save," ensuring you always have the latest progress on both platforms. This is also the main reason to buy the PS3 version for those who want to blast their enemies' brains out while traveling.
As a special bonus, the Vita version includes all released story DLCs from the start, further expanding the already excellent and very funny story. This guarantees over 60 hours of gameplay.
Graphics, sound and atmosphere
Graphically, "Borderlands 2" makes a good impression on the Vita, thanks to its cel-shaded graphics! The visuals are perfectly suited to the small screen, even if they can't quite match the PS3's graphics. Enemies and objects are easily recognizable; the only real issue is that some text is unnecessarily small and barely legible. Furthermore, the subtitles rarely match the spoken dialogue. A magnifying glass and larger font size would have been a welcome improvement for players. Additionally, the Vita suffers from frequent performance drops, which, combined with the long loading times, are frustrating and extremely annoying.
The game's sound is just as perfect with headphones as in the original. All sounds are clearly audible and blend seamlessly into the overall atmosphere, exactly as it should be. Without headphones, the sound is solid, but not particularly outstanding. This is largely due to the Vita's limited speakers and its two small outputs.
Developer: Iron Galaxy Studio
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release: May 28, 2014
Official website: www.borderlands2.com
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