Gearbox, the creators of the newly-released RPG shooter Borderlands, have frequently expressed their admiration for Diablo 2, and talked about how their item system is heavily inspired by the slot machine system of the favorite title of many of us around here. They also included a monster that gives homage to one of the classic D2 bosses, Rakanishu.

The Borderlands version has a name that’s spelled slightly differently, and it’s a flying, fire-breathing demon rather than a squirrely, electified Fallen One, but it’s a nice homage all the same. Best of all, this boss drops a “cracked sash” which, despite the name, is actually a fairly useful item in Borderlands. You can see the Borderlands version of Rakkinishu flying and scorching in this video, at around the 1:40 point.

Thanks to GamerVision for the tip.

Update: In comments Noammr says there’s also a weapon called “Butcher” that has the line, “Ahhh… Fresh meat” in its description. K3wlz!