Here's a Look at Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel's Ruthless Gladiator in Action

Over the next few weeks, GameSpot will be giving you an extended look at three playable characters in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. Today we begin with gameplay video of Athena the Gladiator.

Who is Athena? Well, anyone who played The Secret Armory of General Knoxx from the first Borderlands may just recognize her as a foe-turned-ally who helped the vault hunters take down that DLC's titular villain. But this time around, Athena is more than an ally. She'll be butt-stomping enemies on the moon as one of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel's main characters.

Athena employs an action skill called Kinetic Apsis, a shield that lets her absorb incoming damage and throw it right back at her enemies for double the damage. Upgrades to this skill let her store elemental damage, as well allow her Apsis strikes to chain between a group of foes should they be standing in close proximity.

But as the tank of the group, Athena's skill tree lets her focus on frenzied, close-quarters combat. Maelstrom is a stack system that lets her chain together more and more elemental damage so long as she continues dishing it out in rapid succession, while Blood Rush is a skill that turns her standard melee swipe into a full-on charge attack designed to let her quickly close the gap between enemies.

Watch the video above and you can see for yourself just how Athena performs out in the wild. And as an added bonus, you'll be able to get a look at a new single-person hoverbike making its debut in the Borderlands franchise. Want to see more? Be sure to come back next Thursday for a look at another playable character in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.