Where Borderlands revolved around the hunt for a vault filled with alien treasures, at the end of Borderlands 2's vibrant and explosive rainbow lies no pot of gold but instead an ancient beast capable of wreaking planetary-scale destruction -- exactly what Handsome Jack is after.

The exquisitely coiffed Jack is on hand to taunt and goad, while Borderlands' veteran heroes hand over to this sequel's awesome foursome: the extradimensionally empowered siren warrior Maya; rugged, turret-toting commando Axton; blade-wielding loot ninja Zer0; and steroid-stunted, gun-hungry powerhouse Salvador.

And while Borderlands became an unexpected success, word of mouth buzz leveraged by game expansions and canny sale pricing, Borderlands 2 is a shot at establishing a solid and reliable series for its developer and publisher, the irreverent offering making a stand against upcoming proven names such as Assassin's Creed III, Halo 4, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

Watch the trailer on YouTube.