Torentsu's Row 2

Whenever a game redefines a genre there will be clones. Every popular game franchise that started a trend can call out a clone. Unlike the days of MK and SF ripoffs where most ripoffs were pure unadulterated garbage alot of times clone makers get it right. The problem now days is genericness. Take a look at Survival Arts.

Words cannot describe how awful a fighting game it is, its a shameless Mortal Kombat ripoff, but it has some orginality to it. If anything when you play Survival Arts you will have fun at just how terrible the game itself is . Fortunatly sometimes modern developers who make clones get it right. Saints Row 2 is a perfect example.

So go back a year or so. GTA 4 hits the streets and its an instant classic. Gritty realism, a redone liberty city, and a dark noir story fitted with all the perversion we've come to expect from GTA. If you're like me you played through GTAIV and you enjoyed it, but you realized something was missing. GTA 4 is a marvelous game, but in my opinion they put realism before they put the thing that makes games games. Fun.  I had heard several people say that SR2 was an amazing game, but I was skeptical that it could be anything other than a GTA clone. How wrong I was. Saints Row 2 took the basic set up of all the GTA games, and made it better. Its essentially like if you took out all the lame stuff in GTA 4 and put in all the fun crazy stuff that you could do in San Andreas and MORE.  Saints Row 2 has the lowly bottom of the totem pole gang rising to rule the city story yes, but I dont think its really meant to be the true focus. Saints Row 2 lets you run the crime game setup your way. In fact the following sentence should tell you why its so awesome.

I set up my gang to dress in ninja garb and drive purple pimp cars around town.

The level of customization is awesome. You can buy several safe houses all over town and set each one up however you want it. You can customize your cars, (which respawn in your garage if destroyed), you can customize your gang , your appearance, the cars your gang drives, everything.  Missions are also all awesome. You know how in every GTA game the first few missions are always a re-enactment of Driving Ms. Daisy? Well in the first mission of Saints Row 2 you break out of jail, steal a boat, shoot down 3 helicopters and crash onto the mainland. If this were GTA 4 you'd be driving your mom to pick up groceries at this point in the game.  All the missions and sub-activities are all over the top nonsense , and I loved every minute of it. Sure there's no way any of that could really happen that way but it makes the game fun and that's whats important. Another great thing is the personality of your character (who is very deeply customizable). He's a true wise cracking butt kicker. At lot of times you'll find yourself laughing at the things he does to his enemies, as well as his one liners. You can also change his voice so on replays you can hear it all differently. Saints Row 2 really just has too much to list here. For any fan of the sandbox or crime game genres you must pick this one up. Its been out awhile so you can probably pick it up for 20 dollars or less anywhere where fine gaming appliances are sold.

Torentsu games, climbing in your windows snatchin' your games up since 1975