Product Description

Saints Row 2 brings true freedom to open-world gaming. Players can play as who they want, how they want, and with whomever they want in this sequel to the much acclaimed and tremendously successful Saints Row. Set years after the original, the player finds himself in a Stilwater both familiar and strange and challenged with bringing the Saints back as the rightful kings of Stilwater and bringing vengeance to those who wronged him.

• Limitless Customisation - Play as fully customisable characters that are male, female or something in between. Vehicles can be visually customised as well as performance tuned. Cribs and even gangs all have an amazing degree of detailed customisation options.
• Multiplayer - Co-op full story campaign has seamless integration, for example one player drives while the other shoots. Competitive multiplayer pushes the boundaries of immersion in a living Stillwater environment fully populated with police, innocent bystanders and rival gangs.
• Killer Combat and Awesome Vehicles - Planes, helicopters, motorcycles, boats and cars can be piloted and used as weapons. On the ground new combat options include melee, fine aim, and human shield.
• Freedom to Explore - More missions, activities, diversions, races, weapons, vehicles, cribs, city districts, and interiors than ever before. Over 40 story missions with additional bonus missions take place in a transformed Stilwater that is over 50% larger than before.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #633 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: THQ
• Released on: 2008-10-17
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Format: Unknown format
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Amazon.co.uk
Saints Row 2 brings true freedom to open-world gaming. Players can play as who they want, how they want, and with whomever they want in this sequel to the much acclaimed and tremendously successful Saints Row. Set years after the original, the player finds himself in a Stilwater both familiar and strange and challenged with bringing the Saints back as the rightful kings of Stilwater and bringing vengeance to those who wronged him.

Customer Reviews

More fun than a drive-by shooting.........
First up, I never played the first Saints Row, so no comparisons from me about that one. Secondly, I have played GTA 4 so I can make the inevitable comparisons.

Before GTA 4 came out, I was so taken in by the immense level of hype surrounding it, and was expecting something that would blow me away (with an RPG). What happened was that it confirmed what we all expected deep-down, that nothing really new or original could be added to the series. The only thing they could add (or try to add), was a sense of realism. This is what, in my opinion, turned GTA from an awesome game into an ok game.

Saints Row 2 changes all that. One word sums this game up from start to finish, fun. Everything about this is about making sure that you, the player, has fun and doesn't have to spend hours driving around the map repeating missions every time you die etc. People have been moaning about the driving/handling in this game, but why? It's arcadey, and matches the game perfectly! If I wanted a realistic driving simulator I'd play Forza/Gran Turismo.

Graphics wise, ok, it's not as good as GTA 4, but again, so what! They're colourful and vibrant, unlike the drab gray-brown that was Liberty City. Glitch-wise, yes this game has glitches, but name one free-roaming game where there aren't any glitches at all. This is easily outweighed by the sheer number of improvements made in this compared to GTA:

When you die you keep your weapons, so no worrying about dying and having to re-stock your arsenal.
Once you put a car in your garage, it will always appear there, no matter where you leave it/what you do with it.
If you die during a mission, it doesn't re-set you back half-way across the game map to have to drive there again.
etc.

But without doubt, the highlight of this game is the co-op mode. Anything you can do in single player, missions, side-missions, whatever, can all be done in co-op. It also works extremely well, and runs very smoothly considering everything that's happening on the screen.

Overall, I believe this is the game that GTA should have been, as it shares much the same fun-ness of Vice City and San Andreas. If you want a serious, well-written gaming experience, then look elsewhere, but if you want to have fun and a laugh with your mates on the (frankly awesome) co-op, then this is the game for you.

Volition Inc. 1, Rockstar 0
This game is heavily inspired by GTA and with SR3 announced to be in development, it looks like these two series will be rivals for the long-term. After completing the campaign in co-op, Saints Row 2 in my opinion must be considered the market leader in this genre.

Advantages:

Co-op: its a seamless well designed experience. you can play by yourself, invite a friend to your world, and carry on whilst they join. nearly all of the missions and activities are structured so you both can contribute, with one driving and other other shooting, or doing different tasks..playing with a friend is an absolute blast and really takes this game to a new level.

Story: i played saints row 1 recently and the story carries on from it well, and has the excitement that GTAIV so lacked - each section feels much more like a proper campaign than a series of disjointed missions. The frequent videos are often laugh out loud funny.

Fun/Ease of Play: the whole game is designed for fun, rather than realism. not everyone will like that, but for me a major factor. when fail a mission, you start from a checkpoint or the beginning of the mission, so no more having to restock ammo and drive to the mission. it reduces realism but makes it so much better to play.

Breadth of the Game: campaign mode is long and doesnt get boring, with a excellent range of different missions to do, and with excellent side activities. youve actually got something to do with your money in this game - buy jewelry, clothes, tattoos, cribs, boats, shops - and is well connected so as you increase your style get more respect points to unlock missions. your character can be anything you want he or she to be, with the best customization model ive seen in a game.

Driving: i cannot understand the review which criticises the driving in this game. its fantastic. theres a wide range of cars and bikes, good handling, points for near-misses crashes etc which provides another element to simply driving around.


Disadvantages:

Lack of originality: although SR2 does it extraordinarily well, there isnt a great deal in this game which hasnt been done before. many of the cars have simply been copied from SR1.

Graphics: they arent as good as GTAIV, but then they arent the same repetetive grainy realistic surroundings than that game. i found the environment a much more pleasant experience to be in than Liberty City.


Conclusion: most fans of the genre will probably accept, once they have played the co-op with a friend, that this is the new leader of the genre. i highly recommend it.

Spraying Septic Waste? Check!
So Saints Row I came out and everyone said "Oh another GTA rip off" and yes it seemed that way, drive cars shoot cops and bad guys, all very GTA. There were differences You we're part of a gang, The Third Street Saints, and you wanted to take over the city but in essence it was GTA3 1/2. Still it was enormous fun to play and it had so many options (clothing car customization etc) that there was so much replay value I still play it now. So Saints Row 2 arrives and everyone said "Oh another GTA rip off" but NO I SAY, this game make GTA4 look like a bunch of students made it, ok GTA4 may look pretty (though the brown/grey tones of Liberty City give me a headache) but where in GTA4 can you do any of the following, Spray people with septic waste? jump in front of cars for insurance money? drive hookers around whilst they entertain? Protect drug dealers whilst they do their thing? and these are just the side missions! The character customisation has improved 100% you can spend hours in a plastic surgeons changing everything about your character, their looks, body size, hair, walk, voice. Shop at dozens of shops for that perfect outfit, then jump in your pimped out car and take on the other gangs of Stilwater. There is so much to do in this game that I've been playing for over 160 hours now and I'm still loving every minute!
If you want a shoot em' up with enough tongue in cheek to rival Benny Hill this is the game for you!