You can choose from a number of different fighting styles and elaborate rude gestures, and there's no stopping you from mixing male and female body parts and wardrobe. You can eventually take over the entirety of Stilwater, but Saints Row 2 is less concerned with creating a living, breathing world than it is with providing you with a giant sandbox to go nuts in, and the character creation is pretty indicative of this mindset. These investments pay back dividends on a daily basis, and it doesn't take long for them to start racking up, to the point that money isn't much of a concern at all. You'll gain turf as you take out your enemies, and you can also buy an interest in any shops in your territory. You'll earn some scratch running these missions, though real estate is the best way to build your fortune. In a different context, a good amount of the stuff you can do in Saints Row 2 would seem fundamentally abhorrent, but the florid visuals and campy tone neutralize any potential for seriousness. Not all of these side activities are winners, but there's enough variety that you're never stuck grinding on an activity you don't much care for. Take that, mass transit!There are are also some ridiculous diversions, such as streaking, basejumping, anonymous bathroom sex, and car surfing. These can include performing insurance fraud by taking a dive in front of a moving car, lowering property values by spraying sewage, running drugs, protecting prostitutes, impersonating an officer, and riding a flaming ATV through the city streets, setting off explosions. To take on these primary missions, you've got to have a certain respect level, which you can build up quickly by taking on the occasional side mission. The main missions concern you with taking out rival gangs, and while this can be as simple as wasting a building full of dudes, sometimes you'll have to blow up the building itself, or at least fly a helicopter into it. While GTA IV strove for dramatic weight and verisimilitude, Saints Row 2 instead tries to pack in as many ridiculous activities as possible. This was most noticeable for me with Michael Dorn as the insane biker Maero, though I won't deny getting a kick out of going up against a dude who sounds like Worf. There's a fair amount of celebrity stunt-casting in Saints Row 2, which can make it difficult to separate the character from the actor. Aside from the appearance of a few returning characters, Saints Row 2 doesn't really bother to resolve anything from the first game, which makes its overly familiar references to past characters and events that much more confusing. The rest of the game focuses on you getting the Saints back together, taking down the other gangs of Stilwater, and eventually, Ultor itself. You wake up from your coma with a new face and with the city of Stilwater being overtaken by the oppressive Ultor Corporation, which has turned the gritty Saints Row area into a quasi-futuristic glass-and-steel paragon of corporate greed. The game picks up several years after the end of Saints Row, where your character was apparently blown up in a boat explosion. As much as it is a sequel to Saints Row, this is the logical extension of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, more so than GTA IV, and not just because of the similar street-gang premise. One of many blinged-out looks you can give the Saints.The original Saints Row didn't always benefit from comparisons to the Grand Theft Auto series, though with Saints Row 2, it's apparent that the two franchises are going in two very different directions.
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