Saints Row 2 Review

Yeah, I know, it’s not GTA IV, but what this review wants to do is push everyone’s boundaries of Volitions sandbox game and treat it as its own. This anticipated sequel has had the ever towering presence of Rockstar’s epic franchise looming, but it’s decided to take a turn in the opposite direction, away from its shadow. What you get as you load up the disc and begin to play through it is something which has been almost sidelined by its peers and rivals, namely a hugely enjoyable sense of fun, as well as a tongue-in-cheek, innuendo filled repertoire of gags and storyline just gagging to be played through.

Stilwater has changed since you were almost killed in that awful boat explosion a few years back. The present sees you lying on a prison bed, having been drifting in and out of a coma since arrival. Once word spreads of you starting to come to on a more permanent basis, a young inmate fakes injury to come down and see you and help you to break out of jail. Once free, the battle to retake your city begins in earnest and so commences a tale of double-crossing, death and….well, you can pretty much figure it out.

As the game starts, you get a sense the way the first Saints ended was wholly on purpose JUST to get you the chance to fully customise your character. It’s almost as insanely intentional as TNA Impact’s intro (review here), but this one is a bit more believable, although I haven’t really been involved in something of a scale such as an explosive ship, so I can’t say I’ve been there. The amount of things you can do to your character feel almost limitless, with a sense of freedom not seen in similar titles. Girth, hair, facial features, some really crazy hairstyles and much more can be modified and edited to your own specification. My weapon of choice is a black lipstick wearing Goth with a nice, clean hoodie, but as they always say, the choice is well and truly yours.