October 22, 2007 - When Saints Row released for the Xbox 360, it was a pleasant surprise, especially considering the lack of quality titles for the Xbox 360 at the time. While most gamers expected little more than a derivative GTA clone, Saints Row went on to surprise everyone with fun gameplay that made it one of the must have titles of the time. Saints Row 2 Review Written Monday, October 13, 2008 By Dan Webb (GT: Webb x360a) Way back in 2006, a little unknown title called Saints Row dropped on to the scene and was hailed as a GTA beater. Saints Row 2 is undeniably rough around the edges, blatant with its recycling, and exhilarating in its craziness. It's a game that your brain knows has problems, but your heart doesn't care. Would this game exist had it not been for Grand Theft Auto's success? Awesome game, one of my favorites. Very similar to Saints Row 1, completely different from Saints Row the Third and IV, but amazing in its own right. Great, engaging storyline. Many new companions that.
System: X360, PS3, PC | Review Rating Legend | |
Dev: Volition | 1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid | 4.0 - 4.4 = Great |
Pub: THQ | 2.0 - 2.4 = Poor | 4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy |
Release: Oct. 14, 2008 | 2.5 - 2.9 = Average | 5.0 = The Best |
Players: 1-2 | 3.0 - 3.4 = Fair | |
ESRB Rating: Mature | 3.5 - 3.9 = Good |
As far as murder simulators go, GTA is king. However, it's not the only game town. Volition and THQ are looking to further cash in on GTA's success with the latest addition to the Saints Row franchise, Saints Row 2. We went ahead and took the Pepsi Challenge, but we weren't fooled by the competition's 'flava.' GTA is by far the more refined and worthwhile series, but Saints Row could work in a pinch.
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Saints Row 2 (SR2) takes place a couple years after the original title. After going through an impressive character customization utility that allows for near-limitless possibilities, players wake up to find themselves in Stilwater prison's medical facility. Apparently, you survived the horrific burns you sustained in Saints Row and have awoken from a coma. While you were out, several new wannabe gangs, including The Brotherhood, Sons of Samedi, and The Ronin, have taken over your turf and have all but obliterated the Saints' control. What's more, these poser gangs have not been able to keep the Ultor Corporation from gentrifying your former stomping grounds. As such, you'll first have to escape your incarceration, save your closest homie Johnny Gat from a date with the electric chair, and then find a new crib as a base of operations in order to reestablish the Saints as the true power in Stilwater, which, other than terrorizing the city and going on a virtual killing spree, is the ultimate goal of SR2.
Saints Row 2 takes place in a massive open world; Stilwater has grown significantly since the series left off and Ultor Corp came to town. The multinational has pumped millions into infrastructure, and players will benefit from this greatly as they wreak havoc throughout the now refurbished city. This open world is not nearly as detailed as Liberty City, but the resemblance between the two sand boxes is strikingly similar; the city is chocked-full of shops, leisure opportunities, and places to commit crimes.
Thankfully, getting around Stilwater is made easy by a detailed overworld map and waypoint system that is reflected on the ever-present mini-map. Using the excellent mapping tools to their advantage, players can easily occupy their time with various Diversions and Activities that help garner respect and money in the game world and take up hours of time in the real world.
Cash and respect are vital to your success in the main story. Missions that advance the overarching plot won't become available to you until you accrue a sufficient amount of respect, and getting these jobs done effectively requires the right tools, i.e. cash. The best way to advance the story is to take out rival gang members and tool around town, participating in the multitude of Activities.
Activities are extremely varied and over-the-top in SR2. Unlike GTA, SR2 is meant to have a much more arcade-like feel to it. Truly, the experience is meant to be out of this world. Accordingly, side missions involve running drive-bys for drug dealers, dressing up as a cop and stopping crime for a reality TV show, defacing public property by spraying human excrement from a septic truck, throwing your body at oncoming traffic to collect on the insurance, and even murdering rival pimps and taking over their stable of 'hos.' Of course, there are also more mundane activities like participating in fight clubs, tagging the Saints logo around the city, taking on work as a celebrity bodyguard, and racing around town á la Burnout Paradise. All these activities, and several more, will net you the requisite amount of cash and respect to advance the main story, which is only slightly less tongue-in-cheek.
One of the biggest things this game has going for it is its online play. Players can hop online and play the entirety of the campaign with a co-op partner. Unfortunately, there is no local co-op support; the days of split-screen action seem to be numbered. But I digress. Players can also participate in up to 12-player multiplayer battles that are either kill or objective-based. Online multiplayer functions smoothly, and the mix of modes will definitely keep gamers' guns blazing.
May 30, 2010 by Simon Wigham
Filed under Reviews & Features, Xbox 360, Xbox
Filed under Reviews & Features, Xbox 360, Xbox
Saints Row 2 Xbox 360 Review Cnet
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Grand Theft Auto IV may very well be one of the highest rated games on the planet, but there’s no getting away from the fact that there was seemingly almost as many people disappointed with it (Chris was amongst them, as you can see in our review) as there were people who thought of it as the next coming of Christ. The disappointed camp, cited various reasons, such as lack of things to spend their cash on, few interesting diversions away from the story missions, the move towards a more realistic experience as opposed to the somewhat OTT nature of its predecessors, oh and then, of course, there’s that annoying socialising feature. But enough of that I’m not here right now to criticize GTA IV (and yes it’s a really good, but flawed game) but rather to heap praise on Saints Row 2, a game that like its predecessor bears plenty of similarities with old style GTA.
Saints Row 2 has many connections to the previous game, so if you haven’t played that one, I suggest you do so as it complements it nicely and makes certain aspects feel that much more important. If you happen to have an aversion for playing older games however, its still largely self contained, so it’s hardly a requisite. There isn’t really one true story here, but rather each gang have their own story arc, making it feel a little disconnected, though the crazy cast of characters are likable enough and provide plenty of laughs throughout the story.
Before you’re able to wreak havoc in the city of Stilwater, you must first make yourself an avatar (this time you have a choice of both the male and female variety) through an extensive array of options that rivals EA in the sheer possibilities available. Almost everything can be tweaked, and you’re even able to change the accent of your character as well as the way he or she moves. But character crafting is just the tip of the personalization iceberg in Saints Row 2.
Your cribs can also be spruced up, cars can be customised, you are given the chance to choose the tag of your gang, as well as the clothes they wear and the vehicles that they drive around in. It’s certainly a game that is nice enough to allow you to stamp your own mark on it, and in this regard its generosity sets it apart from similar games, not to forget the fact that this all costs money, which in turn means there’s not a lack of things to spend your cash on in the city of Stilwater. Continuing this trend, there are also business’ and vehicles to be purchased.
Structurally, Saints Row 2 is identical to the first game. The story missions are still locked away until you gain enough respect from playing the activities. Speaking of those, all of them from the first game return (most of which are even better) whilst there’s also a smattering of new ones to try your hand at. Highlights include Fight Club, which, as the name suggests, is a series of melee brawls. The fighting mechanics may not be able to compete with the best specialist fighting games, but that’s to be expected, and what’s there is adequate enough and certainly better than anything that any similar game has to offer. Crowd Control sees you protecting celebrities from fans and homicidal maniacs, by tossing them into objects with the all new throwing manoeuvre (which has to be amongst the most satisfying and hilarious of actions in any game). With all these activities in mind, as well as the story missions, there’s potential for plenty of mileage from Saints Row 2.
These activities are worthy of play for more than just, evil grin inducing, enjoyment, as advancing through them will get you various rewards for your efforts. Punching power and shooting accuracy can be increased, explosion damage can be lessened, gang members can be gained, amongst other perks. It’s hugely rewarding and gives even more incentive to work through as much of them as possible.
Saints Row 2 Xbox 360 Review 2020
The story missions themselves are hugely enjoyable, even if they sometimes lack the imagination of some of the more outrageous activities. Thankfully there are checkpoints on the bigger missions, which considerably cuts down the level of frustration, keeping things on the joyous side.
The original Saints Row refined many of the uglier aspects of the GTA games, but, of course, since that game was released there has been an advent of a little game called GTA4, which itself has tidied up many of the series’ past flaws.
Saints Row had a much tidier FPS like control scheme in place for its shooting mechanics, making it a far less frustrating and more pleasurable experience than GTA games of past. For this sequel it’s virtually identical to the original, though there’s an all new over the shoulder perspective, which is helpful for distant targeting. The game lacks a true cover system, though enemies can now be grabbed and used as shields, which can be a real lifesaver in a heated gunfight. The shooting, with it’s refinements is even better than the first games already sound system.
The driving aspect still has the emphasis placed firmly on arcade style accessibility, which will please those who were disappointed with the additional layer of realism that GTA IV’s driving model had. Different vehicles have a satisfying variance to their handling too, whilst cruise control makes it easier to maintain speed whilst shooting at the same time. Motorbikes and flight vehicles have been introduced, which further extends your options.
There’s few problems in Saints Row 2. Technically it’s fairly average, but does have a largely steady frame-rate, whilst the poor path finding of the team-mate AI can frustrate on occasion. There’s also a number of minor bugs, but this has come to be expected from such ambitious projects as sandbox games, fortunately, as far as I could see, there’s nothing game breaking.
Just like the first game, Saints Row 2 has online play. Gangsta Brawl (which has both solo and team variants) is the games’ version of death-match, whilst Strongarm sees you and your team attempting to complete activities, before the other team does. Both modes are hugely enjoyable, but the biggest draw to many will perhaps be the co-op mode, which allows for you and another player to work through the primary mode together online or via system link. In regard to online lag, my experience with the online as a whole has been a bit mixed, but when it’s smooth, there’s much enjoyment to be had.
Saints Row 2 is explosive, juvenile fun, with a sizable city that boasts plenty of things to do and an impressive level of customisation options. It’s the perfect tonic for those who think GTA has went all serious and boring on them, but more importantly it’s just an immensely enjoyable game to play.
9/10