Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel gameplay trailer explores Claptrap's strange skills

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If Claptrap's behavior has ever seemed a bit erratic, this 11-minute Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel gameplay trailer recorded at PAX Prime might explain why. It turns out that his internal threat response software is actually still in beta, and doesn't always work quite as it should.

That means Claptrap will sometimes respond to situations in unexpected ways. He might lay out a little Claptrap turret that fires rockets all over the place, for instance, or he might suddenly whip out a "Clap in a Box," a huge, powerful bomb that's going to explode, one way or the other, in just a few seconds. All his abilities are useful, the developers say, but not always in the most obvious ways.

"We really designed it with his personality in mind," Eschler explains. "It's still beta software, and it doesn't run that well on his hardware."

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel comes out on October 14. To find out more about what's in store, check out our recent interview with Eschler and writer Anthony Burch right here.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.