Head-To-Head: Saints Row 2

Oct 20, 2008

About The Head-to-Head

The Head-to-Head is designed to let gamers know which version of a multiplatform game is worth your hard-earned money. We break down each segment of a game, and then tell you which platform reigns supreme when the dust settles.

Saints Row 2 is the follow-up to the thug-core hit that originally came out as an Xbox 360 exclusive in 2006. The sequel picks up five years after the end of the first game and tasks players with putting their gang, the 3rd Street Saints, back together after having fallen into disarray. Saints Row 2 is a brash riff on the open world Grand Theft Auto formula, but without the heavy melodrama and fixation on tragedy. You'll find an unapologetically comic rendering of gang turf wars brought to life with an outlandish cast of characters and enough thuggish one-liners to fill out a Wayans Brothers movie. For more thoughts on the game, click here to read Nate Ahearn's IGN review.

So you're ready to head back to Stilwater and rebuild the Saints but aren't sure which console to go with. Keep reading to find out about all the big and small differences between the two versions of the game to see which one will be right for you.

Price Points

Saints Row 2 is available on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 for $59.99. There is also a PC version which will cost $49.99. If you want to play on the PC, however, you'll have to wait until November. A Collector's Edition of the game is also available for PS3 and Xbox 360 for $79.99. For the extra twenty bucks you'll get an embossed tin, a money clip, a poster, an art book, and a bullet-shaped 512MB USB thumb drive.

Features

Saints Row 2 is a sprawling game, not quite the geographic colossus of GTAIV, but offering more modes and content than most games you'd find on store shelves. You can play the single player mode, building up the Saints, taking over neighborhoods, defending your turf, and exacting revenge. You can also play co-op with a friend online or through a LAN connection. There's also a huge competitive online mode for up to 12 players. While you can play deathmatch and team deathmatch, the core of the online experience is the new Strong Arm mode in which teams compete for control over various quadrants of the map with a different activity for each quadrant. These modes are all present in both the PS3 and 360 version of the game.

There is also a robust character creator mode where players can fully customize their own character. The creation tool is remarkably flexible and can be used to entertaining effect, allowing players to customize a huge array of categories including minute facial details, animations, and fighting style. Players can also customize their cribs where their gangs hide out with everything from stripper poles to big screen TV's. The 360 version of the game features 1000 achievement points while the PS3 version lacks Trophy support. This isn't a huge difference given how much content is in the game, but having achievements to guide your play during times when your next task in the open world is unclear is a definite plus. In this case, the small addition of achievement points adds enough extra value to the game to give the 360 a slight edge in the otherwise similar feature sets.

Overall

1. Xbox 360

2. PS3

Control

Saints Row 2 does some interesting things with its control scheme. As with most other third person action games, you'll move and aim with the left and right analog sticks. You go into a crouch by mashing the left stick in, and you go into aim down-site mode by mashing the right analog stick. Pulling the left and right triggers, or the L2 and R2 buttons on the PS3, throw left and right punches, and it feels satisfying to chain together over the top combos. You sprint with the right bumper or R1 button.

To change weapons, you'll hold down the B button or circle button to bring up a radial menu and then push the left analog stick in the direction of the weapon you want. Hitting the d-pad while in this radial menu will let you use healing items or smoke blunts (whichever you prefer). The PS3 version supports DualShock 3 so if you're a rumble junkie both versions will have you covered. The PS3 version also supports tilt controls in a few vehicles like the jet ski and helicopter. They aren't all that much fun to use and you'll be forced to grapple with them in the narrow corridors of race missions where the broad strokes of motion control are least welcome. You can chose to turn off the motion controls, though, so ultimately both versions of the game are equally playable.

Overall

1. PS3 & Xbox 360

Graphics

Designing open world games with only one initial loading screen must be one of the most difficult tasks in game development. Saints Row 2 probably won't impress your friends with its graphics on either console, but there are still some differences. Both versions of the game feature some nasty pop-in that you'll have to learn to deal with as it's present throughout the whole game. The PS3 version of the game is particularly prone to screen tearing and the draw distance isn't quite as long as the 360 version. You'll notice distant objects tend to look a little less clear in the PS3 version when compared to the 360 version.

The PS3 version also has some noticeable aliasing issues that the 360 doesn't. Both versions of the game have jaggies so don't expect a perfectly smooth look on the 360, but the PS3 seems to be lacking an extra anti-aliasing pass making it look a little less smooth. The framerate in both versions of the game is decent, but tends to dip and stutter with lots of enemies on screen or when driving fast through heavily detailed areas. Neither has an appreciable edge in framerate. Still, the cleanest and sharpest version of the game has to be the 360 version. The PS3 version is still more than playable and the average gamer would be hard pressed to tell the difference, but experienced gamers (i.e. you didn't have to look up "framerate" and "screen tearing") will want to stick with the 360 version.

Overall

1. Xbox 360

2. PS3

Sound

Saints Row 2 has a terrific soundtrack, filled with a great variety of licensed hip hop, rock, and alternative music. It's not quite the star-studded orgy that GTAIV's soundtrack was, but it's a lot more thuggish and gritty. The game also features a great amount of voice acting throughout all of the single player missions, including different dialogue for the main character, who can be played as a male or female. Sound effects and vehicle noises are less impressive and sometimes out of synch with weapon firing or accelerating. The game presents in Dolby Digital on both consoles. Volition hasn't done anything to take advantage of the added storage space on Blu-ray for the PS3. The sound design in the game is equally as good on the 360 as on the PS3.

Overall

1. Xbox 360 & PS3

Presentation

The PS3 and 360 versions of Saints Row 2 are laid out similarly. Menus are identical and offer similar options for filtering and customizing online play. Cutscenes play out identically. The PS3 version of the game requires an install the first time you boot the disc, which takes about 7 minutes. Curiously, the PS3 version still loads more slowly than the 360 version. I found myself waiting 5-10 seconds longer during loading screens on the PS3 version. Outside of the installation and longer loading times, the games present identically.

Overall

1. Xbox 360

2. PS3

Overall

Saints Row 2 is a heaping handful of a game. There is an almost overwhelming amount of single player content to grapple with, then there's 2 player co-op, and the 12 player Strong Arm mode to keep you occupied after you've finished the single player mode. You'll get a similar core experience on both the 360 and PS3, but there are a number of small issues that, when taken collectively, weigh in the 360's favor. The addition of achievement points serves as a good guidepost to keep players busy in the daunting open world environment when they lose the thread of the main story (which will happen). The 360 also has the advantage in graphics, with less screen tearing, fewer aliasing issues, and a cleaner draw distance. Even after an install, the PS3 still has longer loading times than the 360, making the Xbox the clear choice for gamers with both consoles. You'll still have a fine experience if the PS3 version is your only choice, but the 360 looks and runs just a little bit more cleanly.

Overall

1. Xbox 360

2. PS3