Saints Row 2 Review

Anannya Sen’s Review

Gun toting mobile action.

I guess I better get a few things out of the way before I get into the detail of this review. Firstly, the review is late. I've had the game a while and should have put it up ages ago. Secondly, the game is frustrating. I haven't managed to get past a certain point and am sure that if I do, the game will get a lot better. And thirdly and finally, I'm going to have to review the game from where I am, which isn't very far.

The game is the usual street gangster warfare game that I guess we all know and have come to love. You play the part of a gang member who is looking to take back the Streets from rival gangs The Brotherhood and The Ronin. It's a fairly free form game with missions thrown in. You can wander around the cityscape which isn't that big, but if you count the other two areas, it's a decent playing area for mobile. You need to be a bit careful when venturing there though, because the rival gangs will definitely have a pop at you when they see you coming.

You can roam around your area and take people out for cash. Or if you feel like driving around you can kidnap people and hold them hostage. This involves you driving around to keep a meter at a certain level and once the hostage bar drops to zero, you'll start to get some money.

Money is the key thing too. It allows you to buy weapons from the weapons shop, food to replenish your health and guns from the gun shop. If you don't have any, you can always get some by running people over, mugging them or taking them hostage. You have to watch out though, as there are cops around. LOTS OF COPS.

I think this is one of the biggest drawbacks in the game. The area you start off in has far too many cops either walking the streets or driving around. They can be a real nuisance. If they see you commit a crime or you gently nudge their police car at all, they will be after you. Take a few people out and your wanted meter increases and more cops turn up. Of course, if you have enough money you could always drive through the car body shop to basically reduce your wanted level. But again this costs cash.

So effectively you have to avoid the police. Which is fine if you are driving around and they are on the street, but as I said, bump their car, even slightly and you better hightail it quick. This doesn't sound too taxing until you realise that cars in this game drive at about 3 miles per hour. Achingly slow, and sitting behind them is ridiculous. You could squeeze your car in between the lanes and manage to drive at speed without hitting anyone, but it's tricky to do all the time and you just never know when a police car will be turning that corner.

What this means is that some missions where you have to drive to a certain place are very very hard to do. So hard in fact, that I can't get past one of them. I'm currently on a mission where I have to blow up 2 vans in the Brotherhood area. Stealing the car is easy. Getting the C4 is easy. Blowing up the vans? Nope. After I get to the first one, if I haven't hit a police car by then it's a miracle. But the gang members will attack you and taking them out (by car or guns) will attract attention. So the cops are onto you. Failing that the gang members will converge on your car and if you are inside when it blows up you have to start again. I've made it to the second van quite a few times but am always being chased by so many people that I cannot complete this mission, no matter how many times I try.

I guess once done, you do more missions in enemy areas and begin to take back the streets. It's fun to drive around and run people over, but the roads are a bit too narrow for any real enjoyment of speed. Graphics are fine, reasonable 2D sprites, but a bit small to convey an entire cityscape. Your menu options are pretty decent with a map, items and listing of what you have to do.

The sound isn't bad, a tune on loading and in game, with some sparse sound effects. Even the controls are ok, driving can be either diretional or rotational so it's easy to pick a favourite method. I even enjoyed playing the missions, but alas, I am now very frustrated by the mission I am on. I'm sure if I get past it I will really start to enjoy the game, but unfortunately the game is at a save point where I start off with no money. If I get some, that attracts attention, and if I try and take out enemy gangs with my car while the C4 is being planted, that attracts attention. So I'm stuck either way.

Give this a go if you like these sorts of games and have the patience to drive at the speed of Miss Daisy. It's not an overly bad game at all, I just seem to suck at it. Which is unusual for me!