I’ve heard a lot of people complain about the rep system in Saints Row 2, but it really hasn’t hindered me at all. Sure, I couldn’t do a story mission as soon as I started, but I just did a couple of activities, and now I’ve got more rep than I’ll ever need. Considering you can get rep by simply driving down the street like a maniac, you’re not going to be waiting long before you’re able to start taking on the story missions.
Speaking of the story, Saints Row 2’s story is nothing to speak of, but it keeps you interested and the characters are genuinely funny. The missions themselves are varied enough and most of them feature checkpoints, meaning you won’t always be restarting from the very beginning when you die seconds before completing your objective. I’m not sure just how long the main story will take you to complete, but if you’re only playing to blast through the story, you’re not going to get the most out of the game.
Saints Row is just fun, that’s all there is. There are some weird glitches and bugs, but none of them are game breaking, and they fit in perfectly with the over-the-top nature of the game. It controls beautifully, the guns are a blast to use and quite plentiful, and while the graphics aren’t top-notch, they’re pretty good. If you miss the old days of GTA where you were more worried about having fun than experiencing a story, Saints Row 2 is a perfect throwback to those titles.
Whether you’re playing through the activities with your buddy in the co-op mode, flying around town in an attack chopper while listening to “The Final Countdown,” or just messing around town and exploring, Saints Row 2 is extremely fun and if you’re a GTA fan, you owe to yourself to at least try it. Is it worth $60 with all the other games out there right now? I wouldn’t suggest it. But if you can rent it or get it on the cheap, you shouldn’t be disappointed.
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Is there any difference in the combat/gunplay?
That’s what turned me off of the first one.
Very professional “review” Annie. I will definitely get this game, but it’s gonna be on the list I’m making called “Games to Get When the Next Xbox Comes Out” it will feature lots of single player games because I’m not gonna pay for Live on an old system and I probably won’t get the next system for a couple of years (just in time for that one to die out).
@caffeinedisaster – Unfortunately for you, the gunplay and combat is almost identical to the first one. I don’t remember being able to take human shields or throw people in the first one, but that’s the only difference I’ve seen.
If you don’t like the combat, then you’ll definitely be turned off from the game.
I’m a huge fan of this game so I feel obligated to comment here. While I do think this a good review of the game certain things really stuck out to me.
I disagree with your opinion of the story. I think the story is more compelling than the first as you get more in-depth into the character development. I also love how it thrusts you into the story immediately and it makes sense whether or not you played the first. I found an instant connection to the gang and characters even though I never finished the first game.
Secondly was the point about bugs in the game. While I do agree that it’s buggy, as are most open world sandbox style games, it’s not all forgivable. Most don’t break the game or even effect it but one place stands out to me. Whenever you get a high wanted level or gang notoriety the frame rate drops significantly. That would be okay if you weren’t forced to do that in some missions.
This stands out most notably in the later missions, especially in the end when you’re battling Ultor Corp but even before then. The mission where you intercept The Brotherhood’s weapons shipment was completely ruined for me. The number of enemies on screen caused a severe drop in the frame rate and the only way to compensate was to stay on the inside of the ship and slowly pick off the baddies. To be honest that situation and other like it really pissed me off.
Overall though good review, or non-review. You hit the key points but seeing as I loved this game so much I felt the need to comment. It makes me feel important, let me have that.