Saints Row 2

Saints Row 2 is an upcoming sandbox-style action-adventure video game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Saints Row 2 is the second game in the Saints Row franchise. It is being developed by Volition, published by THQ and is due for release on October 14, 2008.

Plot

The game is set 5 years after the end of Saints Row.The protagonist barely survived a boat explosion devised by former 3rd Street Saints members, and was wasted away in a dingy prison hospital, in a trauma-induced coma. Meanwhile, the 3rd Street Saints have fallen apart, Johnny has been captured by police and awaits the electric chair, Troy has become Chief of Police and Julius has abandoned his gang and is determined to live the quiet life. Lin is dead, and Dex is missing and has not been seen by anybody. It is unknown whether he is alive or not. Three new gangs control Stilwater, who have some secret alliance with the Ultor Corporation. After this time, the protagonist wakes up and meets a Hispanic fellow inmate, who recognizes the protagonist and helps him/her escape from prison. In a bloody prison break, the protagonist and the Hispanic friend find a speedboat, and successfully escape from the island. They arrive in Stilwater, only to find that it has been completely revolutionised. As the protagonist settles in, he finds that his old friend Johnny is on death row. The protagonist helps Johnny escape his courtroom precession and the Hispanic inmate introduces them to his friends, who are very willing to work under the protagonist and rebuild the “New” Saints.

The Saints now operate underneath an abandoned hotel, determined to rise against the key factions that have since set out to eliminate them forever.

Location

Over the years, Stilwater has grown rapidly. Ultor Unlimited is a citywide corporation that has supposedly helped clean the streets of Stilwater, and has expanded the city at its own expense. Stilwater, according to Ultor, has been turned into an “urban utopia”, with many dilapidated sections of the city rebuilt. The Saints Row area, for example, was reconstructed and a booming commercial industry now stands there. Six new above-ground, and four new below-ground districts will be seen in the new Stilwater, and some new projects located around the city include a graveyard, trailer park, university, marina and a nuclear power plant. The land also features many underground segments- enormous caves, which attract tourists from all around. A prison island has also surfaced off the coast of Stilwater, completely isolated from the world, very similar to Alcatraz Island. A hidden sex cave has been rumoured to inhabit in Stilwater, and it is stated that the player may find a sex doll there and use it for a weapon. Expansion is seen in the far-west of Stilwater, which includes a trailer park, and an expansion to the Suburbs district. The new Stilwater is said to be 150% of the size it was in Saints Row.

Gameplay

The game will include additional weather effects. Pedestrians will be much more responsive to both environmental stimuli (such as opening umbrellas at the sign of rain) to possibly crowding around someone that has just been shot, allowing the player to use the distraction to get away. Alternatively, the player can attempt to use other characters in the game as human shields, and can either kill the person with a headshot, or throw them away. Saints Row was well-noted for its dark humour, and such has returned in Saints Row 2. It has also been stated that the police force will no longer use spike strips, instead relying on tactics and firepower to subdue the enemy. Car physics have been stated to be majorly improved from those seen in Saints Row. Crashing, braking, turning etc has developed, with use of the rebooted physics engine. Also, it has been revealed that the entire map in Stilwater will be revealed, except for the shops. There are roughly seventy shops to explore, and it has also been revealed that shops may be bought, allowing the player to gain income. Once the player buys an entire chain of shops, billboards around the city will have his face appearing on it.