The first Saints Row dared to tackle the mighty GTA head on and it had a very mixed reaction from those who played it.  Let’s keep things in perspective, it wasn’t as though THQ saw a large hole beside the Grand Theft Auto franchise and made an attempt to fill it, there was no such opportunity as proven by the many failed GTA clones.  In order to make a dent in the market, THQ had to get out the crowbar and attempt to prise open a space for their game and in order to do this they offered us some nice new toys which we couldn’t find elsewhere.  This approach just about worked as the new additions were welcomed by many but the game didn’t quite come together as it should have and perhaps they tried too much too soon which they can’t be blamed for as it’s exactly the tactic they had to employ.  If you saw potential in the first game you’ll be very happy with this sequel as it takes all the good elements from the first, tightens and tweaks them and, when combined with the additional features, the outcome is a much more enjoyable experience.

The character creation is far more advanced than in the first Saints Row and in this respect it seems that THQ, a company much praised for their expertise in this area thanks to their Smackdown series, have learned from their mistakes in that game.  You’ll be happy to know that you can now create all kinds of good looking female characters but, remember, there’s more to life than being really really ridiculously good looking.  As a man of the longer-haired persuasion it was refreshing to find proper long hair when creating my male character, and additional eye make-up from the cult classic, The Crow, made it extra satisfying for me.  It’s a shame I couldn’t choose a Glaswegian accent for my character but the choice of a rough Cockney accent more than did the trick and I couldn’t resist playing a psychopathic Eric Draven look-alike with a Cockney accent, it’s the thing of dreams.

This is all very impressive but it is, after all, just the character creation section at the very beginning (although, you can visit a plastic surgeon and alter your appearance during the game!) and, trust me when I say this, there is so much more to this sequel.  In fact, Saints Row 2 has so many great little features crammed into it that this review will almost certainly read like a shopping list of greatness, which is convenient because after reading this you should do yourself a favour and head straight to a shop and purchase the game 

The story is very enjoyable, the voice acting is top-notch, and the dialogue is well written and often very funny, but for me these things aren’t as important as how alive the city feels and this is something which the sequel excels at.  Although, having said that, I must point out that this game features the voices of Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Dr. Horrible, which I’m sure you’ll agree is quite an impressive cast.

Now, let’s begin with a few of the activities which are on hand to entertain you as you play through the game.

The Insurance Fraud activity makes its return but now it feels much more accessible as the frantic act of running to various tiny point-scoring areas has been replaced with a much larger area and within this there are certain points which will help you fill up your new adrenaline meter more quickly.  This meter fills up as you take damage from vehicles and once this is full you’ll be able to be thrown around the streets in a manner which feels similar to the crash mode in Burnout as the aim is to cause as much point-scoring damage as possible. 

Also making a return are the Hitman missions which have also had the makeover treatment and are much more fun than in the first game.  I found that these missions in the original Saints Row were nowhere near as enjoyable as they should have been and this mainly came down to a photograph which depicted a target who looked exactly like dozens of other people walking the streets, this has been ironed out as there is now much more variety in the citizens of Stillwater.

The best part about these improved missions is that the targets know that someone must be after them and so act accordingly.  As an example, I was out for a casual stroll in the park (fine, if you must know, I had just been released from the Police Station after shooting up a trailer park) when I noticed a man and woman sitting on a bench.  As I walked past, minding my own business, the woman jumped up and started shooting at me because, as it turned out, she was a member of a rival gang, so I acted according to basic rules of self defence and riddled her with bullets from my SMG.  At that point the most random thing happened, the man sitting beside her jumped up and also started shooting at me, which confused me as he wasn’t a gang member but I was having none of it and, in true Capone style, I filled him full of lead.  It turned out that he was one of the targets on my Hitman list.  Good times. 

That’s another great thing about this game, seemingly random events do happen, on one occasion a streaker came running up to me with a big grin on his face only to turn and run off and, while this will probably make me sound like a total Psychopath, chasing after him and beating him up proved to be incredibly satisfying. 

One last activity I want to draw your attention to is a new addition, Fight Club, which actually better resembles the Thunderdome from Mad Max than the film of the same name since various weapons are dropped into the ring during battle.  This is a lot of fun and as you face more and more enemies in the ring with each new stage it can easily get completely out of control.  What I like most about this activity is the finishing moves which you’ll be asked to perform on your downed opponents after you’ve served up enough damage to them.  This is a very enjoyable activity but, there’s one thing you must remember at all times, you’ve not to talk about it. 

The customization doesn’t stop at the impressive character creation and instead carries on throughout the game.  The clothes shops have been improved over Saints Row which was already far superior to the GTA series and that includes number IV which, to be honest, had a terrible selection of clothing on offer.  The first thing I noticed about the clothes shops is that you can now purchase a T-Shirt with an optional logo from a selection of around 100 and I ended up choosing the one with a zombie climbing out the ground because, quite frankly, I rock.

You will also unlock clothes as you progress in the game and complete certain activities, such as a leather biker jacket and a pimp outfit, and you’ll be rewarded with a nice item when you finish the Zombie Uprising mini-game which is a hell of a lot of fun itself and can be found in a bar and is then playable from the TV in your crib.  

You can purchase cribs around the city and you can customize these in various ways, from larger TV screens, which make your crib look more impressive, to poles which attract exotic dancers in various states of undress.

Car customization has also been improved as you can now upgrade pretty much anything you can get your hands on and this includes Police cars and armoured SWAT trucks which already come complete with a handy mounted machine-gun.

The gang customization is also an interesting addition and you can now change how your gang will dress, what vehicles they will drive, and their gang call-sign.  The choice of gang outfits, as with the vehicles, will be updated as you unlock more options.  The Ninja outfit is my particular favourite at the moment as it reminds me of the video for Wu Tang Clan’s Gravel Pit which I find hilarious

I was really excited, probably more visibly than a grown man should be, when I discovered that you can ride a motorcycle while wielding a samurai sword and, to be perfectly honest with you, if that notion fails to excite you then I’m afraid you’re dead inside and I want nothing more to do with you.

Another thing which I am impressed with as it works so well is the introduction of skill points which add to your reputation over time can be obtained in fun ways such as killing gang members in a stylish manner and performing stunts such as wheelies while riding a motorcycle.

Yet another feature I really like is the ability to purchase shops which will grant you a discount on items and also give you a daily income which is something I liked in the Godfather game.

A couple of really nice touches while in your crib is that the TV can be used to access all the cutscenes you’ve unlocked in the game and there’s also a Newspaper icon which will let you replay any of the missions you’ve completed up to that point. 

The bottom line is that this is a very good alternative to GTA IV and a much better game than the first Saints Row title which, when compared with this, now looks more like the opening act for a very impressive main event.  In fact, if I had to choose one word to sum up this game it would have to be “Impressive” as that’s exactly how I’d describe the amount of effort and care which has clearly gone into creating Saints Row 2. 

9/10

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