Saint's Row 2

Take back the streets in this contender for the sandbox gaming throne.

It’s pretty hard not to play Saints Row, and its sequel Saints Row 2 (how did they come up with that name... wow!), and think of the ‘other’ great sandbox title. In fact, it’s so hard not to, that I’m not even going to try. The pedigree linking SR2 to the Grand Theft Auto games is obvious. Which is not to say that SR2 is eclipsed by GTA4’s shadow, but the game may well have some... sibling rivalry issues.

Up front, however, the games are merely superficially alike – both are sandbox city simulators, but as soon as you start up SR2, the hamfisted gangsta rap tells you you’re in for a different take on the genre. Character creation – which GTA doesn’t even bother with – is another departure, and a remarkably fun one at that. You get the chance to choose pretty much every facet of your un-named protagonist’s persona, from facial features, build, hair style and colour, to walk and voice. Like MMO City of Villains, a lot of people are going to spend more time with the character creator than the actual game, it’s that much fun.

I mean, can you ever truly get tired of creating effeminate overweight Hispanic pimps?




After that process, though, you’re locked tightly back into the game’s plot, which takes things up five years after the last game’s hectic climax. You’ve been in jail, in a coma, all that time, and the banter of two guards who are surprised to hear you’ve woken up fills in some of the intervening background. A fellow inmate – who, incidentally, shanked himself so he could get into the infirmary and close to you – fills in the rest of the blanks as you and he break out of the Alcatraz-like prison.

Essentially, it’s a simple story. Your gang is pretty much no more, the city has changed (man!), and the evil Ultor Corporation has everyone under its thumb. From there the plot spins out into a classic hero’s journey of killing gangbangers and glassing innocent civilians while surfing car hoods to impress your buddies.



The game never really takes itself seriously, and is quite willing to poke fun at the problems of continuity (an old friend you rescue from court, for instance, gleefully points out “Hey, you look different.”) alongside making fun of just about everything else – from cops to fast food to, well, just about everything, SR2 has a joke at its expense.

While the game does have a strong plot, there are many side missions and mini games to engage in on your climb back up the gang ladder. To progress the main plot, you must earn cash and reputation to unlock each stage, by either taking on odd jobs around town, or engaging in out and out gang warfare. All the while you can open up new cribs, customise the ones you own, and shape the general look of your gang. Want a psychopathic clown squad following you around? Easy.



The racing and combative parts of the game are similarly loose. Where GTA4 tightened up those gameplay elements (though not too much), SR2 seems to revel in how over the top they are. The driving is loose and fast, though it does feature a cruise control function that makes drive bays much easier (and for more elegant and enjoyable), and there are a number of animations for shooting badguys (and, to be honest, goodguys) in different spots. Who can deny the joy of crotch-shotting a row of prison guards, and watching all of them grab their nether regions in unison, like some blood-soaked Michael Jackson review.

There is a lot of game under SR2’s hood, and many ways to play it, but ultimately your enjoyment of it is going to be limited by the game’s rather... broad sense of humour. GTA4 is more about story and character (and blowing up cars with rocket launchers), while SR2 edges more college humour and fart jokes. Is that a bad thing? That’s up to you.