(CNN) -- "Borderlands 2" wants to raise the stakes and improve upon its signature art style and outlandish weapons while broadening the story on the planet of Pandora. At a hands-on demo, a pre-alpha build of the new title showed off two classes of characters -- one new and one familiar. It also demonstrated how the development team at Gearbox Software learned and applied lessons from its first title and subsequent downloadable content releases. The "Gunzerker" class is all about the weapons -- the more, the merrier. This tank of a character can wield two weapons at once, bringing more firepower to fights and dishing out the pain.
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The art style remains the same, with familiar hand-painted looks and dark outlines
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The action takes place five years after the conclusion of "Borderlands"
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Gamers will have to wait until September 18 to get their hands on "Borderlands 2"
Varnell said "@placeholder" is significantly larger, broader and deeper than its predecessor.