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Developer: Volition
Publisher: THQ
Genre: Action
Sub-Genre: N/A
Release Date: Oct 14th, 2008
Additonal Info: Also available on Xbox 360.
Developer: Namco Bandai
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Genre: N/A
Sub-Genre: N/A
Release Date: June 10th, 2008
Additonal Info: None
Developer: Gearbox Software
Publisher: TBA
Genre: Action
Sub-Genre: N/A
Release Date: TBA 2008
Additonal Info:
THQ’s hoping that by the time August 26 rolls around, gamers will have played through GTA IV. After all, Saints Row became a hit last year, in part, because Rockstar Games delayed its next gen GTA game until this April. This year, developer Volition’s sequel will essentially go head-to-head with the best-selling crime franchise of all time. But they seem to be up for the challenge, based on hands-on gameplay at a recent Editors’ Day event. Scott Phillips, lead designer of Saints Row 2 at Volition, took some time to talk about what’s new for the sequel.
PSU: How big is Saints Row 2?
Scott Phillips: The game offers three rival gangs and an overarching enemy that’s revealed as you progress through the story. Each gang has over 10 missions. There are over 60 missions in the game, although some will have to be searched for.
PSU: Can you talk about the new combat in this game?
Phillips: Combat was cited as one of the strengths of the original game. That over-the-top craziness has been upped a notch with the introduction of human shields, which can be used to absorb bullets and then discarded like yesterday’s trash.
PSU: That new chopper was fun to fly. What new vehicles are in the game?
Phillips: We have planes, motorcycles and assorted boats, including jet skis, speedboats and yachts. Players get to experience Stillwater from all angles this time around. The game now features verticality. Flying around in the air adds a whole new dimension to gameplay. We’ve incorporated vehicles like the chopper and motorcycle into the mission structure of the game.
PSU: How did you balance the right side of the law with these new vehicles?
Phillips: To balance the new vehicles, police have choppers as well. And rival gangs can shoot down your shopper with rocket launchers. Police also have jet skis and speedboats. The police are more dangerous in this sequel. They have pepper spray and stun guns, which they use first and ask questions later. In addition, they have shotguns and other standard weapons.
PSU: Can you talk about the new cooperative gameplay?
Phillips: There’s a cooperative story with jump-in/jump-out gameplay. Two players work together cooperatively to complete the game. The gameplay is about both players moving the story forward in the game, rather than just having two players existing in the same world. Teamwork is essential for this mode.
PSU: And two players can jump into these new vehicles, as well?
Phillips: Choppers allow for co-op gameplay with one player shooting the weapons and the other piloting the chopper through the city. There are cooperative options for every vehicle in the game, which really builds on the camaraderie and adds another layer of fun to co-op play.
PSU: What’s new on the weapons front?
Phillips: We have more explosive weapons like shotguns. You can now duel wield pistols and sub machine guns, which is less accurate but offers twice the firepower. New weapons like the satchel charge can be stuck to anything and then set off with a trigger. You can stick one of these to a car and get a two-ton guided missile to off any enemies.
PSU: What type of customization is there in Saints Row 2?
Phillips: In the character customization mode, we allow you to pick a sex and create every aspect of a character. We’ve added a lot of new stuff from clothing to compliments to taunts. Even the way you walk can be customized. You can choose your age and we make the character look that age by stretching the skin for younger characters and making it saggy for older characters. Characters have new normal maps that show just how ripped or fat they are, depending on how you create them.
PSU: What are the new cribs like?
Phillips: There are nine full cribs in this game. Larger ones are multilevel like the yacht. These bigger, multi-room cribs are very expensive, but are available for purchase from the beginning of the game. You can store clothes, cars, ... (continued on next page)
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Saints Row 2
Saints Row 2
Saints Row 2
Saints Row 2
I'm so getting this game!! After i beat GTAIV of course...
this game is sounding better everytime news pops up about it
This game is sounding better, but its gonna take a lot more to dethrone GTA IV.
might be decent but probably nothing like GTAIV
I will play this when i'm done with gta... which will probaly take a lot of months, however it still sounds awesome
wow more gang banging..dosent meen its good..just a knock off wanaB like grand theft auto...its nothing special, just cant get as hype as gta III (first of its kind and best of its kind)
PsStedUP..Dont call this game a "GTA wannab" you should be saying "Thank God for this game" as long as games like this come out we know GTA will push to be better.. The day there isnt a "GTA wannab" then GTA will start to get old and with less and less improvements with each game.. I mean crap look at Madden!
Y do some developer like to copy rockstar? well i never play this game at all so im guessing ill be buying saints row 1 and 2 after i buy the GTA4 first and then i will beat it hahaha lol
i knew it you guys want play it right ha ha ha ( but of course after GTA4 )
i MIGHT rent it....if it is ok...maybe a bargain bin...
hah I love people who worship a single game like a religion and get angry when other companies give it a try.. I mean nothing ever goes wrong when only one company makes games I mean look how awesome EAs games are! ya in the nex madden they might just add a new play! WOOT
gta stays improving no matter what game comes out. they can try to B like gta , all i see is them trying to B like gta, they jus wont
B like gta ever. i know wen a game is a waste of money , and i know wen a games better that the other... 3 spectactular games in 4 years with out any competition that mattered inbetween each year. they know how to make good games and they blow the competition out of the water every time someone trys to imitate
@ Solidus_Snake223: You're right. Competition creates innovation. While I believe GTA is the best of its kind, I still think it needs to have competition to make Rockstar keep their heads in the game.
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As long as this game doesn't have any issues, game wise or price wise (I heard the 360 version is cheaper), I might pick this one up. I've always liked games where I could customize my character.
you cant compete with gta. they know what their doing, their not new to this, they dont look at what other people are makeing or what the next games got, they dont care, they made it happen year after year and i was never dissapointed, all im saying is they got knock off competitors that they dont need for them to improve, i playedsaint row 1, yea its not bad, but what game is when it has the same theme as gta, they cant top it, so why waste the living money when you got gta
Im interested because the coop and the editor, but Im afraid of two things in the interview:
-When they asked how big, they talk about the history and no the size of the world.
-When they asked about coop, they talk about two player in the same vehicle and not driving two vehicles.
Sounds like evasives to me, maybe the coop it's similar to the San Andreas two players mode, the cant take two vehicles at the same time and can't get too far one from another.
Sure that im wrong, but the answers, I don't know, sounds like they are hidding something.
I enjoyed the first Saints Row on the 360, very fun game. After GTA4 has been played to death I'll be willing to revisit the city of Stillwater for sure!
Cant wait hurry hurry it sounds so good.
Sounds like a sequel to San Andreas to me. I never played Saints Row (cus I don't have a 360) but this game seems to pick up where San Andreas left of, and not moving in a different direction like GTA IV. So I think both will be great games in their own way.
This does sound quite impressive, hopefully it will play well.
I'll probably be at that stage with GTA where all i want to do is destroy everyone and everything anyway !
i guess im unique, i dont turn to impersonatas for a different yet the same experience i can get in gta, gta never steered me wrong.....why turn on them now. why start makeing sales for their competitor, thats not how i play the game.
it only seems fair that if xbox gets gta we also get saints row
looks like a good game (Y)
love the amount of customisable options ;)