Saints Row 2

Having played both past GTA games and the first Saints Row I do not buy into the whole you can only like one or the other.

First of all lets get the comparisons out of the way. GTA IV looks better and for a critic would be well ahead of Saints Row 2. However GTA IV is based on realism, Saints Row 2 is based on fun and that is the main theme of the game fun.

The graphics a bit more cartoonish than GTA IV and the cars handle in a different way (yes GTA IV's cars are more realistic). However I found Saints Row 2 more fun to play.

The story continues five years after the first game ends, you are just waking up from your coma. The city has had some changes but the main layout of the city is similar. There are a few new gangs and some new missions to try out (the respect aspect is the same, gain respect before trying out the next stage). I like this effect as it makes you try some of the sub games. In GTA IV there is no incentive to carry out the sub games but in this you must play some or you can't continue with the mission. The missions themselves have a great feature: if you die or fail in a mission you can 1) restart from the last checkpoint 2)replay the whole mission 3) continue the game. This is great as you don't have to spend half your time driving round the city again and again if you are getting stuck on a mission.

The attention to player detail is amazing. You can customize any part of your body you wish. You also have a wide variety of shops to spend your money on as well as cribs (you have to buy these) and customizing them. Also cars, bikes, jewellry and tatoos can also be purchased. I wish they would bring in an option to create your own tatoo.

Overall I probably agree that it is not as well programmed and written as GTA IV, there are still some glitches but these are minor (eg pressing Y in the car immediately pops you out of it) but I feel that there is too much fun to be had here to put this game down.

All in all a fun title, worth buying, but if you want a realistic game then stay away.

First up, I never played the first Saints Row, so no comparisons from me about that one. Secondly, I have played GTA 4 so I can make the inevitable comparisons.

Before GTA 4 came out, I was so taken in by the immense level of hype surrounding it, and was expecting something that would blow me away (with an RPG). What happened was that it confirmed what we all expected deep-down, that nothing really new or original could be added to the series. The only thing they could add (or try to add), was a sense of realism. This is what, in my opinion, turned GTA from an awesome game into an ok game.

Saints Row 2 changes all that. One word sums this game up from start to finish, fun. Everything about this is about making sure that you, the player, has fun and doesn't have to spend hours driving around the map repeating missions every time you die etc. People have been moaning about the driving/handling in this game, but why? It's arcadey, and matches the game perfectly! If I wanted a realistic driving simulator I'd play Forza/Gran Turismo.

Graphics wise, ok, it's not as good as GTA 4, but again, so what! They're colourful and vibrant, unlike the drab gray-brown that was Liberty City. Glitch-wise, yes this game has glitches, but name one free-roaming game where there aren't any glitches at all. This is easily outweighed by the sheer number of improvements made in this compared to GTA:

When you die you keep your weapons, so no worrying about dying and having to re-stock your arsenal.
Once you put a car in your garage, it will always appear there, no matter where you leave it/what you do with it.
If you die during a mission, it doesn't re-set you back half-way across the game map to have to drive there again.
etc.

But without doubt, the highlight of this game is the co-op mode. Anything you can do in single player, missions, side-missions, whatever, can all be done in co-op. It also works extremely well, and runs very smoothly considering everything that's happening on the screen.

Overall, I believe this is the game that GTA should have been, as it shares much the same fun-ness of Vice City and San Andreas. If you want a serious, well-written gaming experience, then look elsewhere, but if you want to have fun and a laugh with your mates on the (frankly awesome) co-op, then this is the game for you.

I paid full price for this on pre-order as I was a huge fan of the first game, so a little annoyed at how low it is now :-( Been playing for some time now, and wow! It has all the great points of the first game, and seems to have ironed out a lot of the bad points like having to replay a whole mission with no checkpoints. Other improvements are autosave and much improved graphics and character customization. If you have never played the first, it's basically GTA with attitude! You return as your 'hero' from the first game, busting out of jail to find a world that has changed massively whilst you have been away. One small problem, it has frozen on me a couple of times, but not sure if that's my 360 or the game. 5 stars at this price!