|
|
|
|
|
|
::PUBLISHER::
THQ
::DEVELOPER::
Volition
::GENRE::
Action/Adventure
::RELEASE DATE::
10/08/08
::PLAYERS::
1-12
::LIVE::
Xbox Live play, Leaderboards, Downloadable Content
::COST::
59.99
::FEATURES::
720p/1080i/1080p, In-Game Dolby Digital
Good: New world, same city, fun new activities, great cut-scenes and voice acting, enjoyable multiplayer.
Bad: Unpolished clothing, physics, and other odds and ends.
|
0 reviews
0/10 average
Submit your own review!
more images >
|
Saints Row 2 Review
|
|
You’ll thoroughly enjoy leading the Saints back to the top of Stilwater.
|
|
|
All of that being said, while very interesting to me as a gamer, Saints Row 2 is no digital masterpiece. It is, as has often been said of it, pretty clearly a GTA clone offering similar gameplay to GTA within a very similar narrative structure. That narrative is hardly as compelling as the often thoughtful, often clever and often wickedly satirical plotlines of the GTA series. Saints Row 2‘s plotting is familiar. Its humor pales in comparison to GTA‘s, and often jars a player because of its more sadistic and brutal approaches to other elements of the plot. I realize that GTA also walks a fine line between gritty brutality and satire, but it can walk that line largely because there is something redeeming in its characters and something romanticized about its approach to criminality. Saints Row 2 offers a protagonist often characterized by little more than brutal animosity. You won’t find a C.J. Johnson, a troubled thug who does what he does ultimately in order to protect his family, or a Niko Bellic, an immigrant struggling to fit in with a grim past that drives but also explains some of his less pleasant behavior. Saints Row 2 is a game about criminality and makes little excuse for reveling in the kind of freedom that an amoral lifestyle provides.
To the multiplayer side of things, SR2 boasts sixteen players online, and the new Strong Arm mode is worth the cost of the game itself. In Strong Arm, teams compete in random game types in specific areas of the map. The game warns a new type is about to begin, it then points to the area you need to be in to start the mode and what you need to do. These tasks can include Insurance Fraud, Racing, plundering goods, mayhem, or even tag domination (much like king of the hill except with spraying graffiti tags and protecting them). Without spoiling too much, multiplayer will bring a huge amount of replay value to SR2. Aside from the Strong Arm mode, Saints Row 2 introduces open-world co-operative play for up to two players. Players are completely untethered and can wander around Stillwater independently as they place. The best part about co-operative play is that the entire game, including every mission, can be played with a friend - adding a ton of replay value.
| Share this: |
|  | | | |  |
|
|
|
8
|
|
|
10
|
|
|
9
|
|
|
7
|
|
|
10
|
|
|
9.5
|
|
|
|
|
At least in that sense that final line quoted at the top of this review is true, the city of Stilwater that Saints Row 2 represents is one that belongs to the player, and, in terms of any ethical concerns, it does allow the Saints and the players that inhabit them to do “whatever the fuck they want.”
|
|
Discuss this in the forums!
|
| No one has posted a comment yet. Be the first one by logging in if need be and submitting your comment to the right. Be aware that we do not tolerate those who post "First" comments. If done enough times, you could be banned from posting comments. |
|
|
|
|
|
