Borderlands 2 is quite a lot like the original Borderlands. There have been some smart evolutions and additions, but some of the same problems persist. However, the changes that have been made affect the experience so dramatically that the issues that plagued the original game seem more like minor hindrances this time.

Borderlands 2 brings players back to the wonderfully deadly world of Pandora, the most appropriately named hellhole in the galaxy. Five years have passed between this game and the original, and during that time, the first game’s group of Vault Hunters (the previous player characters of Roland, Lilith, Mordecai, and Brick) gained a skeleton of an army in defiance of the President of the Hyperion Corporation Handsome Jack, the new de facto ruler of Pandora.

The story follows one of the four new Vault Hunters, including Salvador the Gunzerker, capable of dual-wielding guns and mowing down the hordes, Zer0 the Assassin, able to slip into invisibility after dropping a decoy hologram, Axton the Commando, with his arsenal of turrets, and Maya the Siren, a woman with the power to lock enemies in another dimension, as they attempt to liberate Pandora from Handsome Jack’s clutches.

The first game’s plot was nebulous to say the very least. It existed, as many game stories do, to get you from place to place without providing a decent reason why. Borderlands 2’s most significant and apparent addition is that you know why you’re doing what you’re doing.

But Jack’s the kind of character that’s fun to hate. He loathes you, but not as much as he loves messing with you. He offers to name his new pony made of diamonds (which he bought ‘cause he’s rich) “Piss for Brains” in your honor. He insists that in this story, he’s the hero sent to save the world, and that you’re the villain, resisting your impending demise at every opportunity.

The presence of a fun, powerful central character (even more so than the Vault Hunters) is what makes Borderlands 2 a more compelling game than its predecessor, but the great writing doesn’t end with Jack.

Each of the new Vault Hunters has their verbal tics, such as Salvador grunting “In the Hall of the Mountain King” or shouting “I’M SHOUTING!” whenever he starts gunzerking, Zer0’s haikus for hopping in and out of stealth, and Axton referring to his turret as “The Missus.”

Scooter, proprietor of the Catch-A-Ride vehicle service, returns, along with his sister Ellie, the original four Vault Hunters, Doctor Zed (who’s obligated to tell you that he’s not a real doctor), and Marcus Kincaid, weapons dealer and poor customer service agent.

Claptrap, the robot that greeted the original Vault Hunters in the first game, is back and is now the last of his kind. He’s also under the impression that he is the hero of this story, and that you are his trusty minion.

There’s an entire quest that’s a nonstop Top Gun reference. We’re talking shirtless Val Kilmer look-alikes, volleyball, and Danger Zone. I haven’t seen referential humor so artful outside of Community.

The game gets DARK in the final third or so, where Handsome Jack goes from being a voice in your head, taunting you constantly, to becoming a harbinger of doom, determined to exact his vengeance on you. The game even manages to make various aspects of the previous game’s story less terrible, such as the egregious ending and somewhat obnoxious twist, which is a grand feat if you ask me.

All in all, the story is extremely entertaining and a lot of fun, despite how sinister and, at times, depressing it can get.

The moment to moment gameplay from Borderlands hasn’t changed much at all between the iterations. The game adds a randomized Diablo element to the somewhat standard gunplay, resulting in a truly absurd variety in the weapons you will be wielding.

The first game suffered from pretty sub-par design for the individual pieces of each gun, meaning that the guns you started with looked a lot like the guns you would end the game with, excluding the Eridian weapons found in the late game. The second game, while still suffering from the issue that the guns start to become slightly familiar after a few hours, improves significantly.

Borderlands featured guns made by specific companies, such as Torgue, Jakobs, and Tediore, but the visual styles and weapon features were largely independent of their manufacturer.

In Borderlands 2 every manufacturer has a set of quirks and aesthetic touches that differentiate them and make their presence more meaningful, and as a result, allow you to grow attached to a specific brand.

Torgue guns essentially shoot rockets, even from pistols and shotguns, but they spend ammo like no one’s business. Jakobs guns fire as fast as you can pull the trigger, but they will never do elemental damage. Tediore has been described as the “Walmart of guns,” creating decent-to-poor weapons that are literally disposable; when you reload, your character tosses the gun and it explodes, as if it were a grenade.

The reason Diablo-likes work is that they are constantly rewarding you, either with levels or newer, better gear. In Borderlands 2, that cycle is a little more drawn out. Guns drop frequently, but it’s rare that they can even compete with what you’ve currently got. The levels last longer, which makes each individual level feel like more of an accomplishment, but it feels like such a grind just for one more skill point. It’s not terrible, but it’s not quite as well oiled as some of its contemporaries.

Quests return unchanged from the previous game, with the exact same frustrating problems. The interface for going into your quest log to change between quests is clunky and slow, so having the ability to track multiple quests at once would’ve be a real help.

The game also shares the first game’s cel-shaded aesthetic, with the notable exception that this one seems to be fonder of color than its predecessor. Instead of exploring a dirt brown wasteland until the last zone in the game, Borderlands 2 primarily features snow in its environments, at least for the first half of the game. After that, however, the game goes from a pristine, high-tech city to grassy highlands to acidic wastelands and more, introducing a lot more variety as it goes on.

The audio presentation of the game is outstanding. The voice acting is some of the best I’ve heard since Portal 2, both the licensed songs (including “Short Change Hero” by The Heavy in the game’s introductory cutscene) and the original soundtrack are fantastic and reminiscent of the game’s tone, and the guns all sound appropriately powerful.

Borderlands 2 is a truly tremendous improvement over its predecessor in most ways. It’s more compulsively playable, more narratively intriguing and fun, just more polished and creative overall. Fans of the first Borderlands have every reason to go nuts over this title. As for those of you who missed out? Don’t do that this time. Jump in. Pandora awaits.