Saints Row 2 Preview

It doesn't look as good as GTA 4, but it has its own style.

Stillwater itself has received a facelift. It's now roughly 45 per cent bigger than in the first game, with six completely new districts (the team started development on SR2 before the first game shipped). Our demo takes us through a mission in one of the new districts - Trailer Park. Here we get a taste for how the combat has been improved. This mission, or stronghold as they're called in the game, involved fighting an enemy gang called the Sons of Samedi, a Caribbean gang that concentrates on dealing drugs. You can now zoom in to an over the shoulder Resident Evil 4 style view point to improve your accuracy. This is important, because head shots, nut shots and the like will give you more respect.

At one point our demo our guy grabs an innocent bystander and uses him as a human shield, slowing him down but providing moveable cover. The police won't shoot if you have a human shield, but enemy gang members will - "they're more brutal" says Greg. But you can be brutal too. Once our demo guy is done with the human shield he executes him with a shot to the head from point blank range. Ouch.

We then get a chance to see how satchel charges, one of a number of new weapons, work. Essentially they're remote sticky grenades which you can set off at any time. They stick to people, cars, anything with geometry. Our demo dude lobs one at a fleeing gang member, waits for him to get near a bunch of his buddies then triggers the charge. Boom.

Back on mission, we're told that the point of this carnage is to destroy three specific drug labs masquerading as trailers. Our demo guy sticks a satchel to the bonnet of a car, jumps in and drives straight towards the final trailer. Just before it's about to hit he jumps out, Lethal Weapon style, and triggers the satchel. The car explodes just as it hits the trailer. It never stood a chance.

This kill, called driver bailout, demonstrates the new diversion system. You'll earn respect and money for fancy kills, elaborate play and anything you do that's out of the ordinary. They won't be signposted - it will be up to the player to trigger the diversion system by experimenting in the game world. This is represented on the HUD by stars which appear on the top right of the screen when you show skill and ingenuity with the combat or driving. The driver bailout, for example, rewards two stars. Another example, we're told, is vehicle surfing. Others will be for gang kills and brutality. The point is to "divert" players off the beaten path. "It's about incentivising the player to explore the world and try stuff out," says Greg.

As our demo comes to an end we're still left with many unanswered questions. We haven't been shown the co-op, although we do know the entire campaign will be playable on XBL and PSN and will have a seamless drop in and out system. THQ is also keeping quiet on the online competitive multiplayer. "We're not releasing finite details on that yet," says Greg. "What we are saying is that SR1 showed us where we needed to go and we're going in that direction. Successful competitive multi play is taking elements of the single-player and applying them to the competitive multiplayer. For us that means elements like activities and missions, ambient systems, so that's kind of the direction we're going. It isn't your typical deathmatch, put it that way!"

Use bystanders as human shields for extra safety

Saints Row 2 won't win any graphics awards, that's for sure. Indeed, compared with GTA 4, which Rockstar has taken in a more realistic direction, some gamers will say it looks poor. But in some ways that's the point. SR2 has a hyper real, almost cartoon look. Your character's run animation is exaggerated to the point of hilarity and bodies fly about comically. While there are elements of a dynamic environment - a certain district will catch fire midway through the game based on player actions - there won't be destructible environments. This comic feel may end up being one of SR2's strengths, and may make it attractive to some gamers who are perhaps put off by GTA 4's more serious slant (there may be one or two of you).

This feeling is reinforced by the inclusion of "fantasy" vehicles in SR2, the like of which have been removed for GTA 4. In SR2 you'll have access to jets, fighter planes and choppers, as well as water crafts, jet skis and boats. Sweet.

We're reassured that the plan is to make both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game identical, despite the 360 version being the lead platform. The team is still discussing whether to make the downloadable content for both versions different, but as far as features go "360 and PS3 will be the same". You'll be able to use the Sixaxis' motion sensing technology to control vehicles though - "for flying it works well," Greg says.

We leave the demo feeling that SR2 will have a much harder time standing out this time around. Back in September 2006 SR was the only next-gen gangster sandbox on the block. At the time of writing we have no idea when in 2008 SR2 will be hitting stores. It's conceivable that gamers will be too busy tearing up Liberty City to bother with Stillwater. It may be a shame, because SR2 looks like it'll be a complete blast when it comes out. And although we know next to nothing about the multiplayer side of things, we know next to nothing about how multiplayer will work in GTA 4, too. This may be a battleground where the open world epic is won or lost. Only time will tell.