Saints Row 2

Aug 1, 2008

Saints Row was undeniably a big hit when it released two years ago. It satisfied the thirst for an open-world experience that GTA4 wouldn't be able to deliver upon for at least another 18 months. Taking the "bigger is better" approach, Volition is chugging along with its gang-themed sequel, which comes out in October. At E3, we got a look at its online co-op. A few days ago, we got our first hands-on with the PS3 version, and for the most part, it's exactly what you'd expect from a Saints Row sequel.

When we dropped into THQ's demo, we got a look at gang tags and customization. We dressed our gang as ninjas. You'll have quite a few options for the tag that you want your compatriots to throw around Stilwater. In addition to tags, you can customize your gang taunts with a variety of crass gestures that resemble the sorts of moves seen in the SmackDown! games, only with teabagging and the "Dumper" replacing crotch chops and menacing finger-pointing.

You can even take your personalizing touch to SR2's vehicle assortments, which let you make plenty of adjustments to your ride. Of course, it'd be impossible to maraud the streets as a pack of masked ninjas without the hand-to-hand combat skills. In this case, look for at least four fighting styles: Brawler, Brotherhood (think SmackDown!), Samedi (Capoeira-inspired), and Ronin, which we chose.

After showing off customization options, we got a glimpse at SR2's on-rails helicopter sections, which seem to splice the over-the-shoulder shooting mechanics with the chopper missions made famous in GTA: Vice City. For this mission, our black-clad warrior fired away at a Brotherhood field filled with chemical silos used to process drugs. There wasn't too much thematic difference from the wanton destruction of meth labs in trailer parks that we saw in the first preview. It's pretty simple fare: Aim, shoot, and blow up small structures filled with flammable material.

As your gang progresses, you'll gain more notoriety. It's also a good starting point for co-op games; you'll need to collect a quantity of clips to catch up with a friend if he or she is further along. In addition to boosted reputation, your power and prowess allow you to capture "hoods" around Stilwater. As you gain numbers, you can buy local businesses then get discounts on guns and other resources. Eventually, with enough businesses under your grasp, your face will show up endorsing your shops. How that keeps you from being a total cop magnet remains to be seen.

Saints Row 2 also boasts nautical missions. Volition showed us a jet ski, which touts Sixaxis steering on PS3. Many titles incorporate motion controls, and they feel pretty clunky and awkward. Right now, SR2 isn't the exception, and the steering needs some tweaks and fine-tuning before release. In any case, we hit a checkpoint race and moved from spot to spot alongside some fairly powerful waves. Volition also took the time to show off the weather effects. In the most violent storms, your jet ski will traverse anything but still waters.

The final section of our demo put us in a mission that comes sometime toward the end of the game. We started off inside an airport hangar, a stronghold of rival gang The Brotherhood, who were in the middle of an arms deal. First, we had to sneak in, kill a few gangsters, then jump onto a computer and transfer money from a weapons deal over to our bank accounts.

Volition allowed us to have a free-for-all with guns. We picked (no lie) "the most destructive thing humanly possible; we don't care if it kills us in the process." That meant rocket launchers, and lots of them. And of course, what ninja is complete without a sword? The violence in Saints Row is fairly gratuitous, and this sequel's no exception, as we jammed the blade into a gangster's head and kept right on slicing. Upon reaching the computer terminal, we triggered an alarm and kicked off a "protect the computer" sub-mission.

After successfully hitting a checkpoint, we moved to the next tier of the mission, which involved shooting our way through more Brotherhood, then blowing up a tarmac full of private jets. Easier said than done, however. The mission's late enough in the game that it felt a bit like being tossed into the deep end of a swimming pool. We noticed that as we fled for cover, Brotherhood gangbangers followed us back into the warehouse and kept firing at us. As we ran down the tarmac shooting at jets, Humvees full of gangsters would try to sideswipe at us. The AI's smarter than we would've given it credit for at some points.

At some point we tried out the human shield mechanic. It's pretty easy. As you're shooting at someone, you can grab him or her and protect yourself. It wasn't enough to save us, though. After we successfully destroyed all of the jets, we were felled by a truck full of Brotherhood before we could escape, and the demo came to a close.

We dug up some console-specific information about the PS3 version during our demo. THQ coyly confirms that it will support hard drive installation, though not if it's required. Multiplayer features over PSN should run similarly to Xbox Live, but co-op's the only thing THQ's currently willing to discuss. Also, trophies are still up in the air; there seems to be no confirmation that they'll make it onto the disc or if they'll come in a future patch.

Saints Row 2 is certainly grander in scope than its predecessor, whether it's visual improvements for Stilwater or the depth of customizable options. If open-world gangbanging, cartoonish violence and crass humor are your forte, then it's not a huge stretch to imagine that this sequel will deliver more of what you like. We still aren't completely sold on it beating up on GTA4, though. Will the audience that picked up Saints Row in droves come back for seconds? Will PS3 owners, who didn't experience the first game on their console of choice, latch on? It still remains to be seen if Saints Row 2 can come out as the king of sandbox bloodshed at the end of 2008. We'll have to see how multiplayer fares when THQ unveils it soon.