Publisher: THQ
Developer: Volition Inc.
System: Xbox 360
Genre: Action
Release date: Available now
Review by: Andrew Clark

The open-world genre has become the next-generation standard, perhaps because giving gamers the freedom to go anywhere and do anything can be seen as indicative of a console’s power. We witnessed humble beginnings on the PS2, shuffling our “hero” through the muddily textured streets of Liberty City, the neon glow of Vice City and the expanse of San Andreas, but when the Xbox 360 hit there was no standard option, no Rockstar-like haven where the chaotically minded could enact their brand of free-form bedlam. So when the original Saint’s Row finally popped a cap in 2006, the Microsoft adopters finally got their chance. Now, developer Volition continues the free-form Saint’s Row experience with the much-anticipated sequel, Saint’s Row 2.

Comparisons between the Saint’s Row and Grand Theft Auto franchises are easy to make. Take, for example, the GPS navigation that Volition put into the original Saint’s game, or the nifty cell phone that allowed you to contact your homies and other fun stuff. Let’s not forget the much-lauded free aiming system that made GTA’s targeting look archaic. GTA IV has these luxuries too, and they’re even a bit more functional, but GTA IV was released long after the streets of SR’s Stilwater were already paved and Saint’s had gone to the platinum hits line. Folks like to identify Saint’s Row as a GTA clone, but it’s really the other way around.

The first Saint’s game was a rousing action romp in the gangbanger-dominated streets of a fictional metropolis. The player, who was cast as nothing more than some guy in the wrong place at the wrong time, found himself face to face with gang violence, only to be ironically rescued by members of another gang, the 3rd Street Saints. As the game progressed, the player gained respect, a huge pile of money and all the glory that went with it. That is, until the abrupt and rather shocking ending left us with apparently little room for a sequel. Without spoiling it entirely, I’ll say that the player was left worse for the wear, which is why the story of Saint’s Row 2 opens in a prison hospital.

Things have changed since the Saints ruled the streets of Stilwater. Ultor, a mega-corporation, has pretty much gutted your old haunting grounds and replaced the well-worn ghetto atmosphere with the shine of progress. Also, another trio of rival gangs has risen to prominence in your absence. The Brotherhood, the Ronin and the Sons of Samedi rule the streets now, with Ultor owning anything that’s not under the gangs’ direct control. The chances of recovering, breaking out of prison and reestablishing the Saints as a dominant force again are about as good as turning oneself into the opposite sex and back again on a whim (which, as it turns out, is easier than you might expect, at least within the game).