mozidesign.com Unorganized Thoughts of a Game Designer

Saints Row 2: First Impressions

First thing that comes to mind with Saints Row 2…GTA clone right? Wrong! In the 4 hours of playing the game I can honestly say that Saints Row 2 (SR2) blows GTA 4 out of the water…why? Well first off the game let’s you dick around with ease, and do crazy shit without getting the attention of the cops for a good while. GTA 4… you pull out your gun…10 cops on your ass…lame and not fun (Ok that was a stretch but for those that have played GTA 4 you know what I mean)

Second reason, side missions.  Side missions will be and always have been fluff to the core game, in GTA you could ‘hang out’ with people and play pool or get drunk… all good, annoying but it’s a side mission, what else could one possibly do? You know what would make for a good GTA 4 side mission, being a fake cop and wreaking havoc around town for a camera crew to film…I wish that was there or some game did that…oh wait… SR 2 does let you do that! Yes there are side missions were you can be a cop and go ape shit on the city of Stillwater for a camera crew. Good times! Though I don’t want to give away any spoilers about this game mode for those that have not played, I will say one thing, the camera man following has a twisted mind. For one encounter of quelling a domestic distrubance he suggested I use a chainsaw… the rest I leave to your imagination.

There are plenty of other side missions, which I have not gotten to yet but I assume they will all be more rewarding and fun to play than taking out a ‘friend for darts’. Oh and Insurance Fraud is still in the game, one of the best side missions from the first Saints Row.

Third reason why SR 2 kicks GTA 4’s ass…the radio stations. The first car I jack happens to have the Final Countdown from the band Europe playing….eff yeah! 80’s synth metal for the win! Then while browsing the other radio stations came across the rock station and guess what was playing… freaking Opeth, ‘Ghost of Perdition’! Does GTA have Opeth no… it does not! Almost everything on that station had big explosive metal tracks with double bass going and amazing riffs! GTA does not have mind bending metal tracks on their radio stations!

Just for my own curiosity and to share here is the entire track list of the metal station in SR 2: (I am fan of most of these bands!)

Anthem by Trivium
Bat Country by Avenged Sevenfold
Colony of Birchmen by Mastodon
Milk Lizard by Dillinger Escape Plan
Nothing Left by As I Lay Dying
Ghosts of Perdition by Opeth
Stars by Hum
Resurrection by Chimaira
Unsung by Helmet
What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse by The Black Dahlia Murder
Redneck by Lamb Of God
Deadly Sinners by 3 Inches of Blood
Barnburner by The Agony Scene
Woman by Wolfmother  (Ok Wolfmother is not mind bending metal but they still freaking rock)

So as you can see from my initial impressions SR 2 has cleary gotten my attention and hooked me in more than GTA did in the same amount of time. However, is GTA 4 a bad game no it’s not, it’s ground breaking in it’s own right but somethings about that game just bored or annoyed me (i.e. not being able to mess around an open world with out cop interference)

That’s it for now… once I beat this game I’ll post a more detail review but with Gears 2 looming over the horizon I don’t think I’ll be beating SR 2 anytime soon!

Cheers,