14 DAY TRIAL // The open world sandbox genre of games is currently dominated by Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto franchise. It took realism and story telling to new heights with its recent iteration, Grand Theft Auto IV, but, as some fans and critics said, it lost its amusing features and it took itself too seriously.
That's why Volition decided to follow a new direction with its sandbox game Saints Row 2, which promised to deliver a great experience, in which you could customize almost any aspect and partake in hilarious side missions. It was launched in October for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles and has recently arrived on the PC platform. We got a chance to test this game and see if it was really a worthy opponent for the massive Grand Theft Auto IV. Here's our one hour spent with Saints Row 2.
13:00 We start up the game and from the opening screens you can tell that the gritty realism from Grand Theft Auto IV won't be present in this title.
13:05 After taking a few settings to the max, we start the game. Let's see if it will live up to the hype that has been made around it and if it can take on Rockstar's magnum opus.
13:15 Well, it sure does feature a lot of customization options regarding your player. You can choose either a male or a female one and you can finely sculpt almost any part of his/her body. This reminds us of the things that you could have done to CJ from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. We went with a slightly well-built black man with cornrows and a British accent.
13:25 Well, this is refreshing – instead of driving around your cousin or saving him from tough guys, you break out of prison as part of your first mission. You also get acquainted with the control scheme, which is a bit different if you've been playing a lot of GTA IV lately.
13:35 A fine Asian friend named Carlos (ironic right?) introduced my player to the wide open world of Stilwater, a pretty big city in which you can explore every part of it right from the start. No supposed terrorist threat that closes the bridges or anything like that.
13:45 Now I got my character out of his inmate clothes and into something a bit more sporty, which increases my style rating. Time to go and check up an old friend who just happens to be in court, accused of about 400 murders.
13:50 The cars handle extremely differently from the ones in Grand Theft Auto and give a very arcade feel to the driving part of Saints Row 2. The collisions aren't too realistic and seem like a considerable disappointment after coming from GTA IV.
14:00 After busting my buddy out of the courthouse it seems that I'm free to explore Stilwater and fight with the various gangs in it. Now I'm off to steal some cars, assassinate some people and discover the finer points to living in this city.
All in all, Saints Row 2 offers a pretty interesting experience. It's certainly more amusing than Grand Theft Auto IV, but the graphics and the way it handles on the PC aren't something to brag about. In some ways it reminds me of GTA: San Andreas, which was a great game, although a bit obsolete considering the other titles that appeared at the same time with it.