I rented this game three days ago because I had heard good things about it. I haven’t even played the original, which was at the time of its release, arguably the most critically-acclaimed GTA clone ever, and perhaps was even a big factor in the decision to make Grand Theft Auto IV take a more serious direction.

Saints Row 2 is  like GTA: San Andreas and Vice City, but on speed. The game doesn’t take itself too seriously, has a delicious sense of humor throughout, and is definitely not a game for the children. What I loved about it was its dedication to the player, as it affectionately attempts at almost every corner to make the game a smooth, fun experience.

Let’s start with the good, as usual. The graphics are nowhere near GTA-caliber, but they certainly get the job done. Some textures, like the material of clothing, might even border on impressive, and the city looks beautiful at night from a helicopter or plane.

Much like San Andreas, Saints Row 2 focuses heavily on player customization. Every aspect of your character can be customized, including his hair, his skin color, etc, all the standards are there, but it’s the unique choices that make things interesting, like choosing your characters voice, his facial expression, how he walks, his taunts, and his complements. Coupled with the hundreds of articles of clothing and tattoos to choose from with usually about 2-3 colors you can change, your character is most likely completely unique.

The story isn’t as riveting as GTA IV, or San Andreas, and probably has more similarities with Vice City in that the protagonist, the nameless man or woman referred to only as “Boss”, has a lot more in common with the sociopathic Tommy Vercetti than the sympathetic, more good-natured Carl Johnson. Occasionally, Boss does show some good qualities, like his almost fatherly affection for Carlos, his hinted-at attraction to Shaundi, and his loyalty to Gat.

Now, if you haven’t played the original game, it might be a tad difficult to follow the plot, as the game is a direct sequel following the ending of the first game. This means that characters will be introduced that you won’t recognize, and you won’t understand how they’re connected to the main character. Johnny Gat is one of the first characters introduced, and I had no clue who he was or what role he plays in the series.

It would have been nice if there was a little bit more of a recap throughout the story, to explain. However, it’s not the biggest deal. Watching the Godfather Part II without watching the first is much different from, say, watching Beverly Hills Cop II without watching the first. Playing SR2 without playing the original falls into the latter category, and the lack of depth in the story compensates for a lack of backstory. All you really need to understand is, you run a gang that used to be at the top of the food chain, that’s  disbanded in your absence. Now, there are other gangs to compete with, and you’ll have to reach the top of the Layer Cake once more by liquidating them, preferably with the largest firearm you can find.

One thing I love about this game is how ridiculous it is, with the clothing you can pick which appears in all the cutscenes. Nothing like having a conversation about a casino heist, while strutting around completely naked except for a gladiator helmet, complete with censor blur to cover your junk. What makes it even funnier is that all the other characters are always oblivious to what you’re wearing, or they make a comment about you looking different, a change of hair perhaps?

That humor crosses throughout the game, and almost all the cutscenes have a dry, dark, GTA-like humor to them, and I found myself laughing out loud more than a few times. That’s rare for me.

Also what makes the game a little bit better to play is the checkpoint system. It’s (for some odd reason) a completely new concept in sandbox games, to have checkpoints. It’s a little flawed in SR2, as there aren’t nearly enough checkpoints, or rather, they aren’t placed strategically enough. The first boss fight of the game had me  drive to a bar to kill a bunch of goons before fighting the boss. The checkpoint only comes when you finish driving there, so if you die in the boss fight, you have to redo the same five minutes of work until you get it right. It should be a cardinal rule that there’s a checkpoint immediately before every boss, no matter how easy he may be to kill.

But, at least the game gives you the courtesy of recharging your health after a few seconds, a standard feature these days, but nonetheless suspiciously missing in the GTA series.

Now, the bad.

The in-game soundtrack is, for the most part, boring and mind-numbing. Obviously the budget couldn’t allow for an allstar soundtrack, but when the most recognizable artists are Paramore, Bach, and Beethoven, there’s a serious problem.

Also, pop-in is a problem, because it isn’t simply aesthetic, it affects gameplay. You could see things on your radar like recruitable gang members, and go looking for them, only to realize they aren’t there anymore. The game has a serious problem figuring out what to load and what not to, and obviously what it shouldn’t load is everything out of sight of the player. I’ve also recruited gang members, who can, themselves, jack nearby cars and follow you, but suddenly on the radar, I see them start to slow down and come to a halt before getting the on-screen message that I’m about to abandon them. I wonder why they slowed down, is it because they’ve gotten stuck on something? No.

The game actually unloaded his car right from under him, because things unload out of the gameworld once they get a certain distance away from the player, which is the game’s way to disguise the fact that it’s constantly loading the area around you, making the world seem seamless as advertised: without a single loading screen. It was never really a problem, my gang members are faceless, nameless, replaceable fodder, but it’s still a hassle if you want all the back-up you can get.

I also ran into a few more glitches. Clipping is obviously an issue because of the outrageous articles of clothing you can wear, like a massive sombrero or pimp hat, which clips through everything. Plus, constantly failing a mission is the fact that it’s too easy to get your car stuck, on anything. Stairs, random bits of the terrain, the odd gully on the side of the road in a suburb. Your car will often stop dead in its tracks, motionless and unable to be moved unless you ram it with another car, and in the heat of a big shootout in the middle of a mission, this will get you killed. Worse yet, is if the car you got stuck in is a car you need to finish the mission with.

Occasionally, a random event will occur which will offset the game in such a way that it doesn’t know how to handle it, and therefore, responds by shooting your character hundreds of feet into the sky. You land safely, with only a bit of health taken from you, but in a mission, it can be annoying or even costly if you need to stay in the mission area, but are launched miles away. It’s a pretty crucial bug, and during my intensive three days of speeding through the single-player campaign, its happened a good five or 6 times. An average of twice per gameplay session isn’t a good ratio.

None of these issues really detract from the gameplay however. I love this game because it knows exactly what it’s trying to be: a silly, insanely fun, and amusing violent rampage through an unsuspecting city of innocent people and gangsters. It’s definitely not as good as GTA IV in a lot of ways, but it’s certainly a lot more fun in some respects. The ending wasn’t depressing, the Boss isn’t a soul-searching victim of violence and war, and he just wants to rule the city and kill anything standing on two legs, in funny, inventive ways.

There’s a lot to see and do in the city, and almost countless activities and mini-games to take part in even after the story is finished, and you’ll definitely want to go back to see what else you can unlock. However, I’m sad that the story wasn’t a little longer, as I’ve grown somewhat attached to my Cockney Caucasian Rastafarian homicidal maniac. I’ve been playing the game for almost 72 hours straight though It’s probably for the best.

The game is damn good, and it’s an 8.5 from me.

Rating:

My apologies for the review being a little bit shorter than usual, but it’s 3:00 AM, and I want sleep.

If you’ve got 60$ to spend (probably even less now that the game is a year old), go for it. You won’t be disappointed with this game, in an age where most games can be beaten in an evening. This game brought back good memories of Vice City, as it took damn MONTHS to beat for most normal people. And you can’t put a price on pure, unfiltered fun.  Bravo, Volition.