Reviews// Saints Row 2

Announced at E3 in 2005, the original Saints Row promised the first taste of a GTA-style game on Xbox 360 before GTA even got a look in. Attempting to distancing the game from GTA, developer Volition claimed that in Saints Row "the player is not forced to follow a linear story in a pseudo-sandbox world. The purpose is to provide choice and freedom" and that it was game of "choice and consequence".

The game was a success with gamers, but for better or worse, the reality was that Saints Row borrowed much from GTA and when it came down to it the "choice", "consequence" and "freedom" was only superficially different.

Two years on since the release of the original game, Saints Row 2 picks up the story where its predecessor left off. You continue as the same character, though given that the original game came to a rather explosive conclusion you're given the opportunity to carry out a little cosmetic surgery before you begin play. The series continues with the same fine control over character customisation, seeing large portions of hours slip away as you trying your damnedest to make the player character look like George W Bush. No matter how you try, you can never quite make you character look convincingly human - waxy skin, glassy eyes, strange kinks around the mouth - so opting for Bush proved a good start.

The reintroduction to the city of Stilwater tells of an earthquake that struck during your enforced downtime in the local penitentiary. The seismic ruckus has thrust land out of the sea revealing a new, larger rendition of the city. Other less fortunate areas were consumed by the quake, creating new caves and hidden subterranean shanty towns. Overground, the Ultor corporation has resurrected the city, building gleaming spires and taking ownership of the police force. It's a neat twist to explain what is basically a larger city based on the environment of the first game.

All this commotion and your character's incarceration has led to the demise of the 3rd Street Saints - the gang from which the series takes its name. Back at square one, Saints Row 2 is in essence retreading the same ground, where you must take back the city, one district at a time. Facing three rival gangs - the Brotherhood, the Ronin and the Sons of Samedi plus, of course, Ultor's Stilwater PD, the game doesn't stray far from the recipe of the original. In fact, this recipe is pretty much bang-on the same, not only in ingredients but also in the method;

Auntie Ed's Stilwater Turf Pie
1. Take several Activities and pursue until Respect has sufficiently risen.
2. Once Respect has been proven, select choice Missions against enemy gangs.
3. Perpetrate vicious crimes, gaining turf until Respect has been knocked back.
4, Return to step 2 and repeat, spreading an even frosting of 3rd Street Saint's love over the city.