Virtual reality feels like a natural fit for the craziness of Pandora, the crazy dystopian alien world that hosts the Borderlands series. So it’s no surprise that 2K Games is using Gearbox Software‘s hit Borderlands 2 to make its first triple-A VR release.
Today, the Grand Theft Auto and Civilization publisher announced Borderlands 2 VR. The action-role-playing game launches December 14 for PlayStation VR, and 2K said this will be no straight port, with new features and skills for the four player characters. In August, Sony announced it has sold more than 3 million PSVR headsets, and it continues to be a popular platform of this emerging technology because all you need to run it is a PlayStation 4, a camera, and a move controller — you don’t need an expensive gaming PC to play triple-A (aka blockbuster) VR games like Resident Evil 7.
Gearbox is handling the VR work itself, a 2K spokesperson said. 2K’s other VR release is Carnival Games VR.
Borderlands 2 VR’s most interesting addition is BAMF Time — it’s Gearbox’s version of bullet time, a mechanic aped from The Matrix films in which everything slows down so you can dodge projectiles. In Borderlands 2, this is known as “BadAss Mega Fun Time,” which certainly fits the tone of the silly-but-violent series.
Above: Borderlands 2 VR gives you a driver’s seat view.
In BAMF Time (also a popular sound for characters that teleport in games or comics, such as Nightcrawler in the various X-Men books), your speed and reflexes get a boost to help you can dodge bullets. But in a tone consistent with Borderlands 2, I interject — But wait! There’s more. You can use BAMF to pull off moves in combat, such as 2K’s suggested “360 no-scope headshot.” The four PCs also have BAMF abilities now in their skill trees — in 2K’s example, the assassin character Zer0’s Death Mark not only adds damage but restores 2 seconds of BAMF Time per kill as well.
VR will also bring Borderlands 2’s vehicle mode into first-person, and you can use your headset to aim guns.
