“Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt” begins with a relaxing hunting trip with Sir Hammerlock, which quickly falls apart as Professor Nakayama, a mad Hyperion scientist, makes trouble for the vault hunters. It will be up to players and their guns to help the scientist get over the death of Handsome Jack.

Unlike other big titles, Gearbox’s Borderlands 2 expansions aren’t exclusive to the Xbox 360 for weeks before they hit other systems. The DLC will be available today for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

As a side note, Gearbox has acknowledged that some Xbox 360 gamers have been getting errors when downloading the latest compatibility pack update. The developer stated that it is working with Microsoft to address the issue.

Gearbox, then, deserves some credit for releasing a new character class and two new campaign add-ons in the three months since Borderlands 2‘s release.

Today, the trailer for the third Borderlands 2 DLC was released. Titled “Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt,” the campaign add-on will take players on a big game hunt with the venerable Hammerlock. Of course, the outing is quickly disrupted by a Hyperion scientist who is still loyal to Handsome Jack and seeks revenge on the vault hungers.

At the near-monthly DLC release pace Gearbox is keeping to, it won’t be long before fans of the game are throwing their money at the company, demanding a second season pass for more quality Borderlands 2 updates.

The newest DLC for Borderlands 2 is titled “Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage,” and will see players enter a tournament to defeat Torgue’s bandits. Players will have to find a sponsor for the tournament and fight off enemies in more traditional Borderlands 2 missions, though, so the entire DLC isn’t just arena fighting. Of course, there are also new guns, enemies, locations, and character customizations.

The Torgue DLC is available today for $10 via the PlayStation Newtork or 800 Microsoft Points through Xbox LIVE. Players who purchased a Borderlands 2 Season Pass should be able to download now.

As expected, the launch trailer for the new DLC shows that the new content will be heavy on the explosions. Also, the diminutive explosive expert Tiny Tina will be training players for their tournament appearance.

In celebration of the new DLC, Gearbox Lead Writer for Borderlands 2 Anthony Burch is doing a Reddit AMA in the character of Mister Torgue. The thread is funny, though the caps throughout make it difficult to read.

This week, Gearbox revealed the subject of its next DLC. Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage will see players enter a tournament and defeat Torgue’s bandits. However, a twist will put players into a more traditional Borderlands-type campaign for a bit. A new in-game currency will also be included, called “Torgue Tokens,” meaning all that cash players have saved up over the past few weeks will be pretty worthless for the new vending machines.

The Echocast Twitter account, which had previously been tended to by Gaige the Mechromancer, has now been taken over by Mister Torgue:

Follow @ECHOcasts

MISTER TORGUE
@ECHOcasts

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH IT’S TORGUE TIME BITCHES

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21 hours ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

Judging by the type of weapons the Torgue company releases (they’re all explosive), the new DLC will almost certainly feature some nice explosions. This could mean a fan-favorite character from the main Borderlands 2 campaign, Tiny Tina, might be back to help the vault hunters create some mayhem.

The game features the cast of vault hunters from the original Borderlands – Roland, Mordecai, Brick, and Lilith. Those who purchase Borderlands Legends can expect to battle waves of bandits, skags, spider ants, and more while leveling up the individual characters, gaining new abilities, and loot cash to buy “thousands” of guns (down, sadly, from Borderlands 2‘s 87 bazillion). The game takes place from a top-down, isometric point of view and features a cover mechanic

Unfortunately, early reviews for Borderlands Legends aren’t spectacular. Still, take a look at the launch trailer below and see if it sparks your interest. It could be worth five bucks to be able to get a Borderlands fix while on the go.

Gearbox today announced that Borderlands Legends will launch on Halloween (October 31) for iOS devices. It will cost $5 for the iPhone version and $7 for the iPad.

The game itself will feature the cast of the original Borderlands – Roland, Mordecai, Brick, and Lilith. Gamers will be able to battle waves of badass bandits, skags, spider ants, and more from a top-down, isometric point of view. Just the same as the console and PC versions of the game, players will be able to level up their characters and gain new abilities.

Oddly enough, the look of Borderlands Legends (though not its graphics) resembles the joke 16-bit flash game The Border Lands, which was a marketing gimmick for Borderlands 2.

Gearbox claims that the touch-based game controls are “intuitive” and “slick.” The developer also mentions that the game will have a “layer of strategy that is popular on mobile devices.”

Entertainment Weekly, which got an exclusive look at the title, reports that the game will be driven by randomized, objective-based missions. Also, the game will feature Marcus the weapons merchant, a “second wind” mechanic, a strategic cover system, and boss battles.

As is customary for a Borderlands game, this DLC looks to be filled with the series’ trademark ribald humor. It also features new characters, new enemies (mostly pirate-themed, such as the “grogmaster”), new challenges, a new vehicle (the sandskiff, which can fire harpoons), and, of course, new guns. Lots and lots of new guns.

The DLC is 800 Microsoft Points through Xbox LIVE or $10 via the PlayStation network or PC. Gearbox is also still offering its Borderlands 2 Season Pass, which lets players get all four of the planned DLC campaign add-ons for $30 or 2400 Microsoft Points. Though I would only recommend the pass to those who know they will be playing Borderlands 2 well into next year, Gearbox’s offer is a steal compared to Call of Duty: Black Ops 2‘s $50 season pass.

Gearbox released a launch trailer today to coincide with the DLC’s release. It gives an overview of who Captain Scarlett is, what players will be doing, and what sort of action players can expect.

Tomorrow, Gearbox is releasing the first major DLC for Borderlands 2. Titled Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty, the DLC will feature new locations, a new story, a new vehicle (the sandskiff, which fires harpoons) new enemies. It will have – wait, you know what? It’s pirates. Borderlands 2 with pirates. Pirates in the desert, so, as Gearbox Game Designer Jon Hemingway says in the video below, they are “sand pirates.” Anyone familiar with the Borderlands series will know that the games’ trademark humor will shine through and there will be plenty of booty (loot) for the taking.

IGN got the scoop on the upcoming DLC and the videos below show exactly what players can expect from the content. Gamers who can’t wait until tomorrow should study the videos closely and plan their assault on the pirate strongholds.

Today, Gearbox President Randy Pitchford announced that Gaige ,the Mechromancer DLC class for Borderlands 2, is now available – a full week before it was scheduled to launch. Pitchford made the announcement through his Twitter account:

Follow @DuvalMagic

Randy Pitchford
@DuvalMagic

So – here’s the surprise, Mechromancer for Borderlands 2 is ready about a week earlier than I promised. Oct 9, all platforms. Woo!

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7 hours ago via Twitter for iPad · powered by @socialditto

Follow @DuvalMagic

Randy Pitchford
@DuvalMagic

Should be available for download on all platforms by the end of the day. #GaigeFTW

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7 hours ago via Twitter for iPad · powered by @socialditto

Any gamers who pre-ordered Borderlands 2 got access to the “Premiere Club” for the game and will have free access to the new class today. Those who didn’t pre-order will have to download the class as DLC for 800 Microsoft Points or for $9.99 on PC and the PlayStation Network.

Before making the surprise announcement, Pitchford also revealed the skill tree for Gaige, which features a defensive tree, an elemental damage tree, and a tree that uses stacks of “Anarchy” to unleash different powers. Some backstory on the Mechromancer can be gleaned through the Echocast recordings released by Gearbox this past week.

The only question that remains for gamers is whether they are yet so addicted to Borderlands 2 that they will begin leveling a new character rather than play Dishonored, which was also released today. What a dilemma. Joy-puking through Pandora is fun, but it doesn’t exactly scratch that itch for stealthy, subtle gameplay.

Gaige’s special powers will be derived from summoning a personal guardian robot named Deathtrap, or DT. This past week, her personality has also begun to take shape.

Gearbox last week began releasing “Echocast” logs for the young vault hunter, exposing what her life was like before she left for Pandora. Unsurprisingly, it turns out she was a genius mechanic and scientist who created DT all by herself, though her speech patterns portray her as the same type of teenage girl who would make overly-excited YouTube video diaries. She also has a loving father, who tiredly puts up with her inventions and Echocasting.

The first two recordings, seen below, are innocent enough, though I suspect subsequent installments will become darkly comic, as all such things in Borderlands 2 tend to.