Around the Hawk: Saints Row 2 User Review

Well I rented Saints Row 2 this week, and it's a pretty solid game. There is, in my opinion, much more action and more missions than GTA IV, however the graphics aren't as impressive. Here are a few positives and negatives about the game:

Positives:

• Story Line: An amazing story line with several side missions that will keep you busy for hours. The great thing about the story line is that it's not repetitive like GTA IV was. I thought GTA IV to be like a Hitman game more than a GTA game. In Saints Row 2, each mission variates in several different ways. There may be a mission where the soul purpose is to execute a particular person, or you might go and free somebody from jail, or go hijack a bus. There's so many different types of missions, the story line never gets repetitive.
• Cut Scenes: The cutscenes are extremely impressive with massive amounts of action and dialogue. In this Saints Row the main character that you create talks a lot, and it's really cool how much dialogue was recorded in the game considering that there's six different voices you can give your character (3 male, 3 female). The cutscenes really keep you on the edge of your seat, and effect you emotionally on several levels if you're really into the game. Some cutscenes are just plain halarious, others very dramatic, some are extremely sad. The cutscenes are done brilliantly, it really makes you feel like you're in the game.
• Graphics: The in game graphics aren't amazing like GTA IV, but they're fairly solid. The graphics really shine in the main cut scenes, but they can be impressive when playing too, especially the explosion effects.
• Customization: There is so much in-depth customization in this game, you'll find yourself tinkering around with your character for several minutes if not hours. The character creation is extraordinary, as you can change everything about your guy. My character looks pretty close to me, but I could do better. It's pretty cool too that you can not only change everything about his face and body, but also his facial expression, voice, taunts, fighting style and how he walks. Once in the story mode, you can customize your cribs, your gang's attire, and your gang's cars as well as cars you steal. You can unlock more cutomizable options as you progress through the game, making you want to play through the game to see what else you can change.

But like all games, they have their flaws. Here are the negatives I've found so far in Saints Row 2:

• Bugs/Glitches: There are WAY too many bugs and glitches throughout the game. It makes me wonder: Did they even test this game?! It's crazy how many times cars will dissapear, random objects will appear or dissapear, and it's annoying watching the game continually load up the background. I was hoping that with the 360 we wouldn't have to experience the constant changing background, but it still happens. Some missions I've done I had to start over because the game would glitch up, causing the mission to not go as planned. This can become very flustrating to the user, making you want to eject the game, especially when you're almost done with a mission.
• Graphics: Yes I listed this as a possitive, but it's still a negative because it doesn't compare to the graphics in GTA IV. Even though they delayed this game a few months, the graphics don't match up in some areas, taking away from the good this game really has to offer.

That about sums up my review for this game. My overall score: 8 out of 10.

All in all this is a pretty good game that will give you hours of entertainment and quite a few hearty laughs, but some bugs in the game may make you put it down.

Thanks for tuning in.