Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 3:05 pm
Otherwise known as why I haven't been playing TF2 or Zombie Panic lately.
I'm at 35% completion despite having only completed about 10 of the main story missions. I've been focusing on the extra curricular stuff like Fight Club, Races, Demolition Derby, Escort, Assassination, etc. Completing the side stuff not only gives you cash and respect in game (both needed resources), but you also earn achievements and gain additional bonuses such as new contacts, better accuracy, new weapons, new vehicles, quicker countdowns, etc.
Anyway, for those who don't know Saints Row had the same game play as Grand Theft Auto only the story focused on a street gang called the Third Street Saints. Part 2 picks up years after part 1 in which your character wakes up from a coma caused by the finale of part 1. The Third Street Saints are off the radar in the town's gang scene due to the storyline from part 1, but that's all about to change now that you're back.
Saints Row 2 claims to have a story that doesn't require you play part 1, and technically that's true, but you won't have a clue who anyone is if you haven't played it. Quite a few characters return from the previous version and the developers give you zero background info on them, so they apparently assume everyone remembers every minor character from a video game released a few years ago. Hell, I don't even remember the ending that put my character in the coma, how am I supposed to remember some second tier character from a rival gang?
That's not to say the story, what I've seen of it, is horrible here. In fact, there are quite a few really interesting characters within the story thus far. I just wish the game would've given me some sort of rundown on what happened in part 1 since part 2's storyline is so heavily influenced by it.
This is one of the reasons the GTA strategy of starting each new game with a new protagonist and storyline is smart. Knowing the series history is not needed even remotely.
The sound and graphics are not Grand Theft Auto 4 levels which were unexpectedly fantastic (although it must be stated that they weren't Crysis good. I mean, it was a console game...), but they're decent. I was especially impressed with the smoke effects. Flying above the nuclear power plant is one of the most impressive displays of smoke (steam in that case) I've ever seen in a game.
As for the controls, this is pretty much a GTA clone with the exception of the VASTLY DIFFERENT driving controls. With GTA4 people complained about the sliding during turns. The GTA4 folks really tried to give driving a lot of realism in terms of physics. The SR2 people went the other direction. There is no realism when turning corners and sliding out of control. Here you can literally turn and stop on a dime. If I'm full speed in a Lambourgini (called something else in game) and want to turn, I simply tap the hand brake and I'm now driving in that direction without a massive slide or any sort of loss of control. I can even stay in my lane.
Oddly, they went the other way with bigger vehicles. Get in a fire truck and get it up to speed then wait 10 minutes for the beast to stop once you hit the brakes.
So far, this has been a lot of fun, but it's missing the "life" that GTA4 had. The streets are damn near vacant compared to GTA4. I walked through a 4 story parking garage that was actually connected to a second one and saw two cars parked in the entire double complex. Another example is a major hospital that had two cars parked in the lot. Unlike GTA4, this game just doesn't have that "living city" feel. I've never even come close to just wanting to stop and watch the world "exist" around me like I did in GTA4.
SR2 is a lot of fun and probably the second best GTA style game on the market, behind GTA4, of course. In fact, SR2 actually does a lot of the little things better than GTA4, it just doesn't do the big things better.
As for right now, I'd give SR2 an 8 out of 10.
I'm at 35% completion despite having only completed about 10 of the main story missions. I've been focusing on the extra curricular stuff like Fight Club, Races, Demolition Derby, Escort, Assassination, etc. Completing the side stuff not only gives you cash and respect in game (both needed resources), but you also earn achievements and gain additional bonuses such as new contacts, better accuracy, new weapons, new vehicles, quicker countdowns, etc.
Anyway, for those who don't know Saints Row had the same game play as Grand Theft Auto only the story focused on a street gang called the Third Street Saints. Part 2 picks up years after part 1 in which your character wakes up from a coma caused by the finale of part 1. The Third Street Saints are off the radar in the town's gang scene due to the storyline from part 1, but that's all about to change now that you're back.
Saints Row 2 claims to have a story that doesn't require you play part 1, and technically that's true, but you won't have a clue who anyone is if you haven't played it. Quite a few characters return from the previous version and the developers give you zero background info on them, so they apparently assume everyone remembers every minor character from a video game released a few years ago. Hell, I don't even remember the ending that put my character in the coma, how am I supposed to remember some second tier character from a rival gang?
That's not to say the story, what I've seen of it, is horrible here. In fact, there are quite a few really interesting characters within the story thus far. I just wish the game would've given me some sort of rundown on what happened in part 1 since part 2's storyline is so heavily influenced by it.
This is one of the reasons the GTA strategy of starting each new game with a new protagonist and storyline is smart. Knowing the series history is not needed even remotely.
The sound and graphics are not Grand Theft Auto 4 levels which were unexpectedly fantastic (although it must be stated that they weren't Crysis good. I mean, it was a console game...), but they're decent. I was especially impressed with the smoke effects. Flying above the nuclear power plant is one of the most impressive displays of smoke (steam in that case) I've ever seen in a game.
As for the controls, this is pretty much a GTA clone with the exception of the VASTLY DIFFERENT driving controls. With GTA4 people complained about the sliding during turns. The GTA4 folks really tried to give driving a lot of realism in terms of physics. The SR2 people went the other direction. There is no realism when turning corners and sliding out of control. Here you can literally turn and stop on a dime. If I'm full speed in a Lambourgini (called something else in game) and want to turn, I simply tap the hand brake and I'm now driving in that direction without a massive slide or any sort of loss of control. I can even stay in my lane.
Oddly, they went the other way with bigger vehicles. Get in a fire truck and get it up to speed then wait 10 minutes for the beast to stop once you hit the brakes.
So far, this has been a lot of fun, but it's missing the "life" that GTA4 had. The streets are damn near vacant compared to GTA4. I walked through a 4 story parking garage that was actually connected to a second one and saw two cars parked in the entire double complex. Another example is a major hospital that had two cars parked in the lot. Unlike GTA4, this game just doesn't have that "living city" feel. I've never even come close to just wanting to stop and watch the world "exist" around me like I did in GTA4.
SR2 is a lot of fun and probably the second best GTA style game on the market, behind GTA4, of course. In fact, SR2 actually does a lot of the little things better than GTA4, it just doesn't do the big things better.
As for right now, I'd give SR2 an 8 out of 10.