In an effort to share some of my ‘guilty pleasures,’ I must admit that my latest ‘game crush’ is Borderlands 2.

I snagged it on the latest round of Steam deals at 75% off for my iMac.

I love it when that happens. 😀

I’ve wanted a good FPS. It can be a really good stress reliever.

Borderlands 2 offers some great gaming elements that I enjoy—aside from shooting everything. It has a:

• Sci-fi backdrop
• Decent storyline
• Large world to explore
• Ridiculous amount of guns, shields and equipment modifications
• You can choose to play one of multiple characters that have very unique fighting styles
• RPG leveling-up mechanics (hands down my favorite aspect)
• And a solid co-op online gaming experience (so I’ve heard—you can hit me up via Steam).

After 20-plus-hours of gameplay with one character (there are 4-6 total depending on your DLC) and reaching level 15 out of 72, I know that I’ve just barely scratched the surface. But I am already looking forward to playing through it several times through again as some of the other characters and skill trees. I imagine some of them will be more challenging as their fighting styles don’t match-up to my natural approach of Commando.

But be warned.

Borderlands 2 is violent.

I haven’t played something this violent since Resident Evil or Half-Life 2, but it is a different kind of violence.

The cel shading art style tones it down—far less life-like—and there is an option to reduce it, although I haven’t used it.

http://youtu.be/zfwmby3razI

Ironically enough, it was the violence and cover art (I still hate the cover art for this game) that prevented me from considering playing Borderlands 2 originally. I also ‘drank the kokool aid when it came to video game violence. Funny thing, though, whenever I played ‘violent video games’ as a kid, I never had problems with sudden violent outbursts, so I’m not sure why I never questioned this idea in the first place.

In fact, it turns out the opposite may be true:

“The first long-term study has been completed on the link between the consumption of violent media and real-life violent acts, and has found… there is none. In fact, the only possible trend that cropped up over the last century was that an increased consumption of violent video games correlated to a decrease in youth violence.”

So, yeah, there’s that…I now digress…

[Keep in mind that Borderlands 2 is rated ‘M’ for mature—and it’s not just the violence. So if you’re sensitive about that or play in front of your kids, you better pass on Borderlands. I sometimes shake my head—“Tsk-tsk, that wasn’t necessary.”]

Borderlands 2 is awesome.

I want to snatch up all the DLC for this gem. I think a video game developer has done something really cool when they create a video game that spurs the fan base to purchase more content, oppose to a studio responding by only developing a sequel to the franchise. Sometimes game studios build this into their development model, but in this case, the DLC just gives you more of what you love.

So there you have it.

Borderlands 2 is my latest game crush, what’s yours?