“Borderlands” was a game that followed four adventurers searching the ruined planet of Pandora for a rumored alien Vault. The game was truly innovative, with unique and eye-catching cell-shaded graphics and an engine that randomly generates creatures, weapons, and loot throughout the game world.

Unfortunately, issues like horrible co-op connectivity, a feeling of isolation in the world, very similar desert environments, and only one available vehicle caused “Borderlands 1” to receive criticism.

When “Borderlands 2” was announced, not much information was released. But trailers, interviews, and announcements trickled in, exciting fans and non-fans alike. The highly-anticipated game appeared truly fantastic.

On Sept. 18, Gearbox, the game’s developer, released the game with rave reviews and an applauding fan base.

“Borderlands 2” opens with a unique introduction describing events that occurred after “Borderlands 1” ended. After opening the Vault, the Hunters discovered that instead of riches and treasures, the vault held only a giant alien tentacle monster that had to be killed. Vault Hunters were unhappy, so they decided to split up, convinced that the Vault held no treasures. But they were wrong.

After opening the Vault, Eridium, a valuable and powerful alien element, began to emerge across all of Pandora, attracting adventurers and bandits of all kinds. However, it also attracted the Hyperion Corporation, whose army of highly advanced robots swept across Pandora, killing everything in their path. But in its quest for wealth, Hyperion uncovered evidence of an even greater vault. The story begins with four new Vault Hunters, on a quest to beat Hyperion to the prize and claim the riches for themselves.

These four new Vault Hunters of “Borderlands 2” are similar to the four original Vault Hunters of “Borderlands 1,” yet unique in their own ways.

Axton, the Commando, wields the powerful Sabre turret, a device capable of single handedly clearing an entire room full of hostiles.

Maya, a Siren, is an alien from another dimension. Sirens have unique abilities, and Maya can isolate a single enemy in mid-air for a few seconds for an easy kill.

Salvador, the Gunzerker, possesses the power to dual-wield two weapons.

Zero, the Assassin, can turn invisible while creating a self-hologram to distract his enemies. While invisible, he can sneak up behind enemies and melee them, with a 600% damage boost.

These new adventurers are all introduced through a beautiful opening cut scene. “Borderlands 1” is famous for its opening cut scene, but this one undoubtedly tops it. Unfortunately, after the opening, the game’s only flaw reveals itself- an hour long tutorial mission.

Thankfully, once the tutorial ends, “Borderlands 2” really gets the ball rolling. Beginning with the usual fun and challenging missions from the first game, the second installment features several hilarious missions and dialogue. After a few humorous episodes, the character reaches Sanctuary, the last bastion of resistance against Hyperion.

Once arriving in Sanctuary, it becomes clear just how great “Borderlands 2” is. All the hand-holding is gone, leaving the player alone, which means things get a lot more fun.

But while looking around Sanctuary, it is obvious that Gearbox fixed issues from the first game. Sanctuary has every lovable character from “Borderlands 1” conveniently in one place. The town alone has more people in it than all of “Borderlands 1” did, giving the game a lively and active feel.

The “Borderlands 2” biggest improvement over “Borderlands 1” is the modified loot generating machine. The machine in “Borderlands 2” surpasses that of “Borderlands 1” so much that even the developers had to invent a new number to communicate the amount of guns in the game, an absolutely crazy amount.

The game includes sniper rifles with two-foot long machetes on the bottom, shotguns that shoot fireballs, shotguns with robots inside that talk as you shoot things, and a sniper rifle with bursts of fire.

The possibilities are endless. Some guns shoot lightning. Others shoot fire. Some even shoot corrosive acid.

Can “Call of Duty” do that? Did not think so.