Saints Row 2

 Xbox 360
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 411 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 337 out of 411
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 411
  3. Negative: 40 out of 411
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  1. Sam-i-am
    Apr 10, 2012
    7
    The playability of the game is almost endless, even though the graphics are poor and the game breaks so much. This is down to making the game itself fun, you can do silly things like take on an entire army of zombies or drive a plane into any thing you like and so on and so forth.( Im sure you can come up with a further list of crazy things you can do)

    The game has many missions and even    The playability of the game is almost endless, even though the graphics are poor and the game breaks so much. This is down to making the game itself fun, you can do silly things like take on an entire army of zombies or drive a plane into any thing you like and so on and so forth.( Im sure you can come up with a further list of crazy things you can do)

    The game has many missions and even more side misssions with crazy objectives such as insurance fraud (by hurting your self as much as you can in a small space of time), running fight clubs and again so on and so forth.

    A negative part of the game as stated earlier was the game breaking such as being trapped with in the car (I was standing in the bonnet) constant game crashes, spawning area is so tiny which means chasing a car you want is incridaably hard. This game you shouldn't compare with a game like Grand theift auto, Grand theft auto is taking the crime life in more of a dark and in a way more sensible, theres a sense of reality within the Grand theft auto games as on the other side you have Saints row (The acid trip of the crime games) which takes the whole crime genre and pumps it up into a bouncy castle. The two games yes cover the same genre and have similar game play but it would be like comparing Mario cart with games like Pgr4 or Forza 4.

    All in all this game is good fun, some thing to kill your brain cells for a while, and buy now you can pick up a copy from under $10 or £10 and its gonna last you longer than a book or a film so in my eyes it now has its value for money and has great playabilty value.    … Expand
  2. UliWarwick
    Oct 20, 2008
    7
    Great fun but what is all this better than GTA4 talk? HELLO! GTA4 poos all over this game, as this game has copied everything from GTA4 and diluted into a mindless warzone, which is great man. But graphics are poor, A.I poor, driving poor, and story.....well what story. Great at killing things and having a laugh, but relax with GTA4 beater as GTA is game of the year.
  3. ShaneP.
    Jul 23, 2009
    7
    It's a good game and it is definitely fun (especially in co-op) but it lacks polish and it is rather buggy at times. It's made my Xbox crash about 3 times and it has made my friends crash at least twice. There's also some bugs in the physics that sometimes send you flying miles for no reason. I did disliked being FORCED to do the side missions especially as it breaks up the It's a good game and it is definitely fun (especially in co-op) but it lacks polish and it is rather buggy at times. It's made my Xbox crash about 3 times and it has made my friends crash at least twice. There's also some bugs in the physics that sometimes send you flying miles for no reason. I did disliked being FORCED to do the side missions especially as it breaks up the storyline a lot. The car handling is awful and there's no real weight to any of the cars. Hitting a small car while driving a truck will still make your truck veer out of control. On the plus side there's a ton of stuff to customise and there's tons to do if you include all the side missions. A good distraction, but ultimately it's no GTA killer.… Expand
  4. zotune
    Dec 19, 2011
    7
    There's so much content in this game, having an incredible amount of things to do, and you are able to customize just about anything in addition to being able to choose from a wast selection of ways to level up. And the game has a fun factor that is beyond most games. It's not a critical darling because it doesn't try to be, instead what it succeeds at is bringing as much over-the-topThere's so much content in this game, having an incredible amount of things to do, and you are able to customize just about anything in addition to being able to choose from a wast selection of ways to level up. And the game has a fun factor that is beyond most games. It's not a critical darling because it doesn't try to be, instead what it succeeds at is bringing as much over-the-top nonsense action as possible for your enjoyment. That said, the DLC content was way overpriced.… Expand
  5. bthockey
    Sep 5, 2011
    7
    Pretty good game all around, there are a couple things that are keeping me from giving it a 10 though. The game is extremely glitchy and sometimes freezes on me causing me to loose all my gameplay. This especially sucks when you've played through a whole mission and loose everything.
  6. watithink123
    May 31, 2012
    7
    This is a fun game. It's a lot like Gta and it's not as near as good as Gta. Fun weapons to kill with. The multiplayer is good but it's a lot like Gta so I sort of felt buying the same game but a weaker campaign but still is worth getting. Campaign 7/10 Multiplayer 7/10 Saints Row 2 7.4/10
  7. Broyax
    Apr 13, 2017
    6
    Alternative très valable au sacro-saint GTA 4 -lequel est qu'une tornade dans un verre d'eau tiède d'ailleurs- cette suite de (l'éternel) challenger ne démérite pas malgré une technique très en retrait. Saints Row 2 reste évidemment encore trop proche du jeu de Rockstar mais son gameplay dans les phases à pied est indéniablement supérieur avec une maniabilité digne d'un vrai bon TPS.

    A    Alternative très valable au sacro-saint GTA 4 -lequel est qu'une tornade dans un verre d'eau tiède d'ailleurs- cette suite de (l'éternel) challenger ne démérite pas malgré une technique très en retrait. Saints Row 2 reste évidemment encore trop proche du jeu de Rockstar mais son gameplay dans les phases à pied est indéniablement supérieur avec une maniabilité digne d'un vrai bon TPS.

    A contrario les phases en voiture marquent clairement le pas. On peut ajouter qu'il est bien plus déjanté que son concurrent, que la personnalisation est toujours aussi poussée et qu'on peut enfin incarner une nana dans un jeu à la GTA, ce qui ma foi change du cul de Lara Crott pour une fois ! Les activités annexes soufflent le chaud et le froid et les quartiers contrôlés qui se font régulièrement attaquer finissent par lasser. Cependant, ce second épisode est en très sensible progrès par rapport au premier et demeure assez sympathique (dans l'ensemble).    … Expand
  8. ElSeano89
    Jun 9, 2018
    7
    Whilst SR2 was never going to age gracefully; it didn't look brilliant when it was new 10 years ago, it's still the same fun romp that it ever was. This was without doubt the peak of the SR series which was likely the most successful GTA clone series ever made. The first game capitalized on the gaming worlds longing for an open world game during the wait for GTA IV. This second game cameWhilst SR2 was never going to age gracefully; it didn't look brilliant when it was new 10 years ago, it's still the same fun romp that it ever was. This was without doubt the peak of the SR series which was likely the most successful GTA clone series ever made. The first game capitalized on the gaming worlds longing for an open world game during the wait for GTA IV. This second game came out around 6 months after the release of GTA IV and that works to it's detriment and to it's benefit.

    One thing GTA IV left a lot of people wanting was just some good old fashioned mayhem, carnage and violence. Whilst it is a technological marvel of its time IV was very heavy going and a departure from the sheer zaniness of San Andreas. IV's gritty realism meant that you couldn't really go on rampages or the like without it feeling like a massive departure from the games tone. SR2 certainly doesn't opt for gritty realism, in fact it tries extra hard to be extra zany.

    This is a game where you are ranked for shooting people in the nuts, a game where you can throw people from high bridges, spray houses with excrement, help a suburban housewife sell drugs, watch as a crowd of pimps gets into a brawl with a mob of cops. Ragdoll physics abound and are as entertaining now as there were then. SR2, then, is a game where you don't really feel bad about running about 8 people on your way to the clothes store. It encourages you to be a psychopath and that is a large source of its fun. Combat is simple but fun and engaging with a good variety of weapons.

    In fact there is a good variety of absolutely everything in SR2. You can customize nearly everything you come into contact with, cars, planes, boats, bikes, helicopters and of course yourself. The character customization to this day is quite in depth and helps you create the sort of character that is likely to drive around killing and maiming all he sees. It leads to a further level of hilarity when in a semi serious cutscene your character is delivering lines with a bright pink bandana, kibuki make-up, no shirt, jean shorts and sandals with socks. The whole game panders to the idea that it is comically absurd. It's only very loosely based in reality but this was the perfect mix they came up with. Later games were zany to a fault and felt like they were trying too hard, this version was just right.

    The game-world is unquestionably the best one Volition ever made. For its time it is huge and they did well to add such a diversity of locations in the different districts. From the college campus to the museums, the undergrounds caves, high end shops to the projects even the cemetery and suburbs. Every area looks and feels different and is populated with NPCs to match. 10 years on this is still a gameworld worthy of praise and for all the realism of Liberty City I still think that between the two game worlds this was the better setting.

    Where it falls down however is graphically. Even for its time it wasn't great and now it has aged to the point of being pretty terrible. Textures are jagged, pop in is constant and blatant, cars are boxy and their designs are uninspired. There is a wide variety as there is with everything in this game but there isn't really any designs that made you stop and think that time and effort went into them. The driving physics and controls likewise were and are awful. Admittedly they are tuned more towards fun than realism but they take a lot of time to get used to the sensitivity of turning. Whats more cars all sound terrible, reach their top speeds very quickly and then play the same droning note of noise at top speed which gets old very fast.

    The story is hilariously juvenile. One thing I've never understood is the praise the rest of the world gives the games story. It's laughably poor and really what puts it on a different, lower tier than GTA IV. The dialogue is corny and awful. They don't really try for laughs too hard too often and when they do the jokes fall flat. With this in mind the cut scenes are all mostly skippable nonsense. The three gangs and the final Ultor storylines are dull, poorly scripted and not engaging in the least.

    But that isn't what SR2 was ever about. It was about being a true sandbox, a place to just have fun, blow stuff up and not think about the consequences which, ironically, was what GTA was when it began before it made the step to blockbuster AAA gaming and starting focusing more on storyline and narrative.

    10 years on this is still a great game and one I just spent 20 hours completing again. It is the best of the series and despite it's aging graphics and a couple of bug issues it was a blast to play through again. It doesn't take itself seriously nor does it encourage the player to do so whilst playing it and along the way it makes you have a lot of fun. This is probably still a better open world than some attempts nowadays (Mafia III...) and it speaks to its quality that it still holds up well today.    … Expand
  9. Avey123Avey
    Mar 19, 2023
    6
    Very fun GTA clone with amazing multiplayer implementation. The game offers an incredible amount of variety and activities to do. There's quite a bit of customization here too which really sets it apart from other GTA clones. The biggest issue is that the gunplay is rather basic and mediocre. This starts to drag the game down a bit when doing main story missions which are mostly just madeVery fun GTA clone with amazing multiplayer implementation. The game offers an incredible amount of variety and activities to do. There's quite a bit of customization here too which really sets it apart from other GTA clones. The biggest issue is that the gunplay is rather basic and mediocre. This starts to drag the game down a bit when doing main story missions which are mostly just made up of combat. Still a fun game and has aged very well… Expand

Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2008
20
#20 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2008
54
#54 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 75 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 65 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 75
  3. Negative: 0 out of 75
  1. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    80
    This is a truly entertaining game. There's no pretension - just enjoyable mayhem. It doesn't claim to be the Messiah, but it is a very naughty boy. Volition has tapped into nearly every wanton act we'd want to commit in an open world and more besides. [Nov 2008, p.67]
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  2. IGN
    82
    The technical shortcomings are the only truly bad part of Saints Row 2, but the core gameplay experience is extremely enjoyable.
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  3. IGN AU
    80
    It's big dumb fun, Saints Row 2 isn't going to redefine any aspects of game design - but in doing so it does deliver on Volition's biggest promise: Saints Row 2 isn't Grand Theft Auto.
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