Saints Row 2 (PC)

Saints Row 2 is enough to make a guy use the F-word
1/12/2009 8:36 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 4

I've been reviewing games for 16 years. The entire time, I've tried to avoid using the word "fun" because it's so subjective. It's a fine concept when you're just shooting the breeze with friends. But as a critical observation, it's simply not helpful. Since it means different things to different people, it says more about the person using the word than the thing he's describing. I consider it a crutch for lazy writers.

Today, I'm going to make an exception: Saints Row 2 is fun. It's so fun that I'm not sore about all the times it did something glitchy or just locked up. It's so fun that I don't mind the so-so graphics. It's so fun that I can easily look past the crass and occasionally tasteless writing. It's so fun that it doesn't need good driving physics. It's so fun that I didn't care if certain parts were poorly unbalanced or maybe even broken. It's so fun that if Crispy Gamer put numbers on its reviews, I'd be tempted to give it the highest number plus one. This is currently the paragon of open-world, city-havoc sandboxes, and it's a pitch-perfect example of a game that accomplishes exactly what it intends to accomplish. Like the first Saints Row, it out-Grand Theft Autos the best of them: Mercenaries, "The Godfather," "Scarface," Bully, Grand Theft Auto itself and even Crackdown.

Still only in Stillwater

The setting is Stillwater, which you might notice is mostly the same Stillwater from the original game, aka Generictown, USA. Fans will recognize certain neighborhoods ("Hey, that used to be my house!"), updated with better graphics. But the engine still struggles mightily, particularly in the PC version. You're going to have a hard time striking a balance between an acceptable frame rate and good visuals. As with the recent PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV, this isn't a very graceful port. Expect bad frame rates; pop-up in the distance; texture pop-in and that same old ghost car problem that no one can seem to solve, where cars appear out of thin air and vanish again.

Although Stillwater isn't that attractive, it's entirely serviceable once you accept whatever compromises will get the frame rate manageable. It's Stillwater, with plenty of traffic, pedestrians, explosions and even aircraft gameplay. There are even some nice views: you can watch a gathering thunderstorm, cruise between buildings in a helicopter while providing low-altitude air support, walk through a fancy downtown mall, or look out over a nighttime skyline. But Stillwater is no Liberty City, or even Venezuela. Instead, it's better because its priority clearly isn't aesthetics. Its priority is keeping you busy with fun -- yes, I said it again, fun! -- activities.

This is a game about running prostitutes, customizing a cool car and keeping it in your garage, going up to a high building to see if you can base jump, watching fights that have nothing to do with you break out on the street, trying to fly a plane under a bridge, or plugging away at a difficult challenge because you know something good is going to be unlocked when you finally complete it. This is a city built as a bustling amusement park or a lively arcade. This is your virtual playground.