Volition Inc’s 2006 sleeper hit Saints Row was seen by many to be highly fun and addictive but lacking in originality to make it really stand out and was considered a GTA clone. Volition has come back for another outing with Saints Row 2 trying to capture its audience with humour, non-stop fun and lots of explosions whilst sacrificing in the Story aspects.

Following the explosive end of Saints Row your character wakes up from a 5-year coma. This is a great way to introduce the powerful player creation tool. This lets you remodel everything from facial structure to Sex and the way he/she walks. Apparently the plastic surgeons in Saints Row 2 are very adept at what they do. So once you have finished your remodelling of your character you get thrown straight into the action and have to escape the prison with the help of an interactive tutorial. Once you have finished that off you get free roam of the city. Immediately it is clear that the City of Stilwater is tiny in comparison to the latest GTA game however as you explore you beginning to realise that although the game seems smaller, there is a lot more stuff crammed into the area, which is used to good effect throughout the game. As you start completing your introduction missions for the 3rd Street Saints you realise that your mighty gang of thugs from the original has dissipated and you have to start from scratch. As you participate through the 4 campaigns you are given a very brief story that isn’t really fleshed out and is only really there to keep you motivated. This isn’t a problem as the missions are quite varied and are generally loaded with humour and more often than not very fun to complete unlocking you more cars, weapons, Homies and turf. The more you annoy an enemy gang however the more likely they will try and get there turf back resulting in some pretty interesting conflicts between you advancing through the story and keeping your turf in tip top condition. However, to do later missions you have to do some diversion quests. These are located all over the map and have you participating in Insurance fraud, riding a flaming quad bike down busy streets, firing faecal matter at houses to lower there value, brawling, destruction derby, protecting VIP’s, escorting hookers to locations to pick up pedestrians to give them a ‘good time’ whilst avoiding the media and more. Unlike most games that include side quests Saints Row 2 has made them remarkably fun, and most of them will make you laugh out loud. That’s not all though, the entire game is playable via Co-op allowing you to team up with friends to complete the diversions, do the story, and go on a random killing spree and what not.

Saints Row 2 is not limited to Co-op and single player however, there is a fully functional online versus mode built in where up to 12 players over box live or PSN can compete in 2 game modes: Strong Arm and Gangsta Brawl. In strong arm the two teams fight for control of the neighbourhood. To control the neighbourhood you need to earn money to buy it. Participating in activities and killing off the opposition earn money. Gangsta Brawl on the other hand is a straight Team Death match with a fancy name.

You now have the choice to be a girl

Interestingly the characters in Saints Row 2 are very well designed and as a result are all very likeable or hateable depending on which side of the conflict they are on. You run into a handful of such characters during the game and each one you meet is memorable and this helps push the story forward even if the story itself is rather weak. Unfortunately however, the you never really learn anything about the characters so you’re constantly wondering why Carlos or Pierce have joined the gang and you never find out. This is the same with all the characters, they never talk to you unless your in a mission, and when your in such a situation its usually a series of funny comments. This fits into the semi-serious tone of the game but it may leave you disappointed that they didn’t build upon such a solid foundation. Of course gangs are not made entirely from special characters and to fill in the ranks you have Homies. Homies hang out in your cribs, patrol the streets and guard the doors of your businesses as well as offer a fair amount of firepower and protection to you if you call them to your side. Homies are also fully customisable letting you alter there taunts, complements, appearance and what gang cars they use to patrol the streets. The more you do in game the more options you have at customising your gang letting you become a gang of 80’s gangsters of even a gang of ninjas. Its always enjoyable watching your ninja Homies driving around the streets in a super car, pulling over and whipping out a samurai sword and watching him slice up a old lady. This level of detail makes the generic characters your gang feel more personal rather than just being there for the sake of it. Furthermore, the Cribs you buy are equally as fun to customise. Although it is very basic the its always fun watching a rundown loft covered in urine stains and broken wood being converted into a ultra modern pimp house filled with 100 or so Homies and a few hoes to satisfy the needs of the masses. 

It’s a damn shame that the AI in Saints Row is board line abysmal. Sure, you get the odd scripted missions where you’re driven around town on a copper or in a car but generally speaking its rubbish. Enemies will ignore that your there, rarely take cover and often stand in one place shooting around you but not exactly at you. Intact the AI in the enemies is so bad you can run and gun most of the game without taking much damage, its only until you are surrounded by about 20 that you have be more careful in combat. The same AI is scripted into your team mates as well, special characters or not. They are more accurate than there enemy counter parts however the damage they inflict is so insignificant that you come to realise that they are only there to absorb bullets and make you look good.

Although the story and characters are weak so to speak, the equipment you get your hands on throughout the game is far from puny. You get a wide assortment of weapons that fit into various catagories, which have been assigned, to the handy analogue selection tool. You can use pistols, fists, melee weapons, Sub machine guns, assault rifles, special weapons, throwing weapons and shotguns. Using them however may take some getting used to if you’ve just stopped playing the latest GTA game however. There is no cover system or lock on command to help you in your aiming, so this may feel like a dated form of combat but Saints Row 2 has managed to work around this by making your guns recoilless thus making t