Please, no Borderlands sequel.

I love Borderlands. I love it for so many reasons, chief among them being that it was a sleeper hit. No one saw it coming. But when I play it, the experience is tempered by this impression that the developers really loved the game, too. It wasn’t a throw-away project. Someone really loved this game all the way through. The hardcore nature of its shoot-dudes-in-the-face action and the game’s unique sense of humor really help it stand out, too. And don’t forget the loot. Oh, the loot!

So yes, I love Borderlands…which is why I want to save it. I want to save it from certain doom that will be brought about in the event that Gearbox decides to make a sequel. And it sounds like a sequel could be right around the corner. Back in December, Take Two’s head Vault hunter himself, Strauss Zelnick, said that Borderlands is a longterm franchise.

Shit.

So here’s my plea to Gearbox and to 2K/Take Two: Please, for the love of Pandora, don’t make a sequel to Borderlands. Instead, keep pumping out quality DLC expansions. Why? I’ll give you five good reasons:

1. Sequels are now the norm, and Borderlands is anything but normal. This game built its character and reputation on being quirky, abnormal, and often offensive. Borderlands is not a triple-A title, regardless of what the sales numbers indicate. It’s a cult hit. The characters are outlandish. Even that cel-shaded design style is something of a oddity, especially given that it is executed well. At a time when the Antichrist itself—it starts with an A, ends with an N, and has “ctivisio” in the middle—is whoring out every franchise it can get its hands on, Gearbox and Take Two could draw a line in the sand and mark themselves as the hardcore gamer’s cult leaders by not producing Borderlands 2.

2. There is no narrative to continue. Let’s be honest here: Borderlands is about hunting for and hording loot and shooting hatchet-wielding midgets in the face. I’ve finished the game twice now, and I still can’t tell you what the hell happens. There is no story. And that is FINE. I’m perfectly okay with that. Fans don’t play Borderlands to see what happens next. We play it for loot, to level up our characters, and to shoot bad guys. In fact, we’ve come to accept and welcome the lack of a cohesive story. That’s not to say there is no room for narrative elements. The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned had a neat little tale to tell with some humorous characters. But in the end, it’s about the hardcore shooter/looting action. Pretending like there is some kind of chronicle to carry on here will only reduce the game’s cred.

3. No additional gameplay elements are needed. The underlying premise of Borderlands is sufficient in and of itself. You carry out quests. You get XP. You level up. And maybe you find an orange gun or two. We saw what happened when a new gameplay element was introduced—namely, Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot. Now, while I appreciate the bank that was included in that DLC, it was very obviously an attempt to capitalize on the growing “horde mode” trend in gaming. And it flopped. Hey, we all make mistakes. But Gearbox and Take Two would have done well to stick with what made the game popular in the first place: loot and crazy-ass bad guys.

4. A perfect DLC delivery system is already in place. You don’t get more efficient than Borderlands’ fast travel system. Combine that with the segregated zones on Pandora, and you potentially have infinite possibilities for expansion. The guys at Gearbox could keep churning out new areas to explore and just add them to the list of quick-travel stops. Pandora is an entire planet, after all. I’d love to see Gearbox’s developers try and fill it up. And the distribution costs would be limited by not having to produce additional disks. It’s a win-win for everybody.

5. Hardcore players don’t want to start over with the grind. If you’re like me, you’ve put hundreds of hours into building up your characters. You’ve been through the game once, twice, maybe more times. You’re knee-deep in the DLC. You’ve invested a lot of time into this game. Now imagine going to the story around holidays 2010 and seeing a brand-spanking new game that you’ll have to start all over. Does anyone really want that? I don’t. Look, the whole point of Borderlands is the loot and the levels. So why would anyone who has devoted their time and attention to acquiring as much as possible want to start all over again. They wouldn’t. And that means fewer sales for Borderlands 2.

In an era where every game, no matter how inexplicable, is given a sequel, Gearbox and Take Two could make a very salient and powerful point by flying in the face of that convention. What’s more, they could become champions of the “real gamers,” the hardcore grinders who made Borderlands what it is today. We don’t need a sequel to Borderlands.

Instead, keep giving us the goods via DLC. Zombie Island and General Knoxx are great expansions. Hell, I’ll even admit to enjoying Mad Moxxi’s expansion—for a little bit. You’ve proven it can work. Keep it coming.

So please, Gearbox, 2K, and Take Two…stick to the digital expansions. And forget the sequels. Leave that tired old shit to Bobby Kotick and his minions. Give the gamers what they want: more quality downloadable content, and not another pointless sequel.