Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Playstation 4 Release Date

Playstation 4 Release Date

It seems like the Playstation 4 release date has varied from 2010, 2011, and 2014. The official PS4 release date has not been announnced by Sony but there is no doubt that there will be a system succeeeding the PS3. The Playstation 3 has yet to reach its peak due to heavy competition but when game developers begin to overlook the blu-ray flaws, the best games will be available on the PS3 and Playstation 3 sales will rise. Resources have been primarily focused on the PS3 at present but once the Playstation 3 is where it needs to be in sales, the available resources will begin to turn its attention to the development of the Playstation 4. We will see the PS4 sometime between 2010 and 2020. Some articles have even mentioned that the PS4 might not even need discs. This would be fine if it was possible for you to download large game files in a short amount of time. But who knows it seems you can do almost anything on the internet nowadays.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

SAINTS ROW 2 PS3 GAME

REVIEWS

When the original Saints Row came out two years ago, it served to placate fans until Grand Theft Auto made its next-generation debut. Saints Row's deviant destruction didn't push the boundaries of what to expect from a free-roaming urban assault game, but it did provide an enjoyable outlet for consequence-free chaos while never taking itself too seriously. Since then, Grand Theft Auto IV has injected a dose of maturity into its typical sandbox fare, removing many of its outlandish behaviors to create a more grounded portrayal of the gangster lifestyle. Saints Row 2 is not concerned with growing up. It is a morality-free alternative to GTAIV, an unremorseful descent into mindless mayhem. The lack of any major advancement in gameplay or storytelling may elicit a few flashes of deja vu, but the unrepentant joy of terrorizing this humble metropolis makes this a viable palate-cleanser for anyone willing to embrace the role of amoral dirtbag.


There is some serious fun to be had pedestrian-tossing in Stilwater.

The story begins in a jail hospital, where you've been in a coma ever since a gigantic explosion at the end of the first Saints Row nearly ended your criminal actions permanently. After easily escaping from this lightly guarded compound, you set off to recruit more people to your gang and retake the city of Stilwater. The overarching story is derivative and not easily relatable, but there are some interesting episodes contained within. The Brotherhood missions in particular are quite dark, documenting a tale of vengeance that is sickly satisfying. After putting nuclear waste in their leader's tattoo ink, you find yourself in a constant battle of one-upmanship. Deaths are taken lightly, propelling you to even more outrageous behavior, but it fits within the context of this over-the-top gameworld. The story never reaches beyond the barbaric needs of its protagonist, but the missions do contain a few worthwhile cinematic payoffs.

While you may not be able to affect the outcome of your story, you can design your conqueror in whatever image you desire. The character creation tool is quite extensive. You can drastically change the weight and age of your character, pick from four different races, mold facial features in whatever manner you desire, and even choose if you want a male or female protagonist. With only six different voices to choose from, it can be difficult to accurately match one to whatever look you happen upon, but it's a small price to pay for the wealth of creative options. You can visit a plastic surgeon at any time to tweak your features, but the process is so in-depth, it's easier just to choose a look at the beginning and stay with it.

The missions are predominantly of the drive-and-shoot variety that has become commonplace in the genre. Though there are three different gangs opposing you, as well as various law enforcement agencies, the only difference between them are the colors they wear and the scumbags who lead them. The majority of missions boil down to raiding a building and killing everyone who moves. While these excursions are usually entertaining, taking place in a variety of locations against increasingly ridiculous odds, the repetition of the actions is undeniable. Some objectives do provide an opportunity to do something a little different, though. For instance, when asked to rob a bank, you find out your prize is not a vault of money, but an even more valuable hostage. This leads to a strong detour in both the story and gameplay, and serves to keep things fresh. And since most missions have a midway checkpoint, you'll rarely have to start at the very beginning if you make a mistake.


Remember: you are creating your own character. Choose wisely.

Fortunately, the tight controls keep the missions thrilling, even when they exhibit the same objectives. Combat feels especially gratifying in Saints Row 2. Targeting people is quick and precise, so it's easy to hit someone in the body part of your choosing or whip around to nail an attacker who sneaked up behind you. Without a lock-on ability, the firefights are fast and frantic, relying on your quick fingers to mow down the opposition. The lack of any sort of cover mechanic is disappointing, but its absence places the emphasis on aggression. Though your melee attacks are fairly limited, you do have one extremely handy move in your repertoire. You can grab enemies and use them as a human shield if fights are getting too hectic and just toss them away when you're done. The exaggerated physics here are hilarious, letting you hurl people 20 feet in the air, watching their rag-doll bodies wildly overreact to every collision.

Another reason the missions are fun throughout is the unrestrained freedom in how you can complete them. Enemies can be killed at any time, using any weapon in your arsenal. For instance, the bosses in the game are all just normal human beings. You can choose to pepper them with your pistol if you choose, slowly witling down their life bar as you carefully dodge their attacks. Or you can just ignore typical video game logic and kill them with a few glorious shots from your rocket launcher. This freedom extends to every element in the game, letting you mow down enemies in whatever manner you see fit. Saints Row 2 fully embraces its sandbox moniker, letting you carve your own path of destruction without any arbitrary strings tying you down.

Aside from the main missions, there are a bevy of side quests to take part in. These are much more original than the standard missions, so it's easy to get distracted by these for a while and forget about the story. These activities are where Saints Row 2 completely ignores reality and just lets you have some ridiculous fun. Trail Blazer is probably the most chaotic. Here, you'll ride an ATV wearing a flaming, fireproof suit. You get a time bonus for lighting cars and people on fire, so you just set out to cause as much destruction as possible. There's little challenge here (who would oppose a man wearing a flame-drenched suit?), but lighting the world on fire is utterly satisfying. There are a few other tasks that aren’t as fun, but overall, the minigames in Saints Row 2 are excellent and imaginative additions that go a long way toward extending your gameplay.


How come zombies are always so well dressed?

The best diversion is the terrifying zombie uprising. You can access this on the big-screen TV in any of your cribs, and it provides the some of the most exciting moments in Saints Row 2. As opposed to an emulation of a 2D arcade game from years past, this is a 3D adventure to save your soul from bloodsucking zombies. It takes place in the dilapidated hotel that serves as your headquarters, and you have to mow down wave after wave of these undead creatures. With a limited number of guns and melee weapons that break after a few hits, you'll have to constantly run around to evade the threat of these relentless demons. The slow-moving zombies may not seem too scary at first, but as more fill the screen, this becomes an intense and oftentimes exhilarating experience. Being surrounded by a group of zombies as you try to push them away to resurrect your fallen pals is an awesome divergence from the typical inner city mayhem.

If killing zombies alone sounds too frightening, you can play through Saints Row 2 with a friend. The co-op is extremely well implemented here. You can hop in or out at any time ,and there aren't even any chains tethering you to each other. The entire city is open to your crime-wave whims. You can partake in missions and minigames together, or, if you're not feeling very cooperative, one person can tackle missions while the other drives aimlessly around town buying gas stations. There is a little bit of lag and some problems with cars and pedestrians popping in directly in front of you, but the experience of teaming up with a friend makes these slight hiccups easy to ignore. Just make sure you have an understanding with your cooperative pal; one person's violent actions will set cops loose on both players, so it's easy to ruin your buddy's fun if you set the police on him while he's peacefully trying to spray-paint walls. Regardless of your friend's penchant for attracting unwanted attention, it's preferable to the atrocious friendly AI you have to put up with. These morons get stuck on doors and benches, can't figure out how to get in your car, and lag far behind you in firefights. Teaming up with a friend makes the already great campaign even better.

Competitive multiplayer isn't quite as engaging as the cooperative portions, but it does provide some excitement in brief bursts. The main mode here is Strong Arm, a team-based affair that pits people in a variety of events. You'll randomly be assigned to many of the activities found in the campaign mode and you have a few minutes to best the other team before you move on to another event. The racing and capture-the-flag variants are fairly standard, but there are unique events that add some life to these matches. Insurance Fraud is quite chaotic. Here, each team tries to get into the most horrific car accident. The best way to play defense is to simply shoot them dead, so it's a matter of quickly getting hit by cars before you're unceremoniously dispatched by your competitors. Strong Arm also utilizes the spray paint mechanic in a novel way. If you successful tag a wall while everyone else is worried about killing each other, you grant bonuses to your team such as more health or causing smoke to pour out of your enemies, making them easier to see. The only other mode is deathmatch, which is just too hectic to offer long-term appeal.


That car is about to create a huge explosion.

The visuals in Saints Row are far from cutting-edge, but at least the experience is smooth both online and off. The frame rate is steady throughout, even in the most frantic firefights. There are also no load times when you enter buildings or drive to a new area, which keeps the game moving at a brisk pace. The physics are as over-the-top as the activities you'll compete in. Characters fly around as if they're on the moon, and they flop about like a fish out of water long after you've killed them. Unfortunately, the radio stations that provide the background music throughout your quest are quite limited. With only a handful of stations, you'll be hearing the same songs over and over again. To make matters worse, there aren't any talk stations, so a part of the comedic appeal is lost. At least the dying screams of your countless victims rings true.

Saints Row 2 may not offer a sizable leap in the sandbox genre, but that doesn't diminish its fun. From beginning to end, this is one of the most fun urban chaos games out there. The controls are so tight and the combat so satisfying, you'll frequently find yourself getting distracted from the campaign as you cause terror all over the city. With great cooperative integration, tons of unique activities, and a super cool zombie mode, Saints Row 2 will keep you happily creating havoc for a long time.


PREVIEWS

Saints Row 2 Multiplayer Hands-On


The two-year gap between the original Saints Row and its upcoming sequel is a scant two weeks from closing, with Saints Row 2 scheduled for arrival on October 15. It makes sense that we've seen nearly everything the game has to offer, from hot-dog costumes to zombie-themed minicamps. Everything with one notable exception, that is. It was only last week that we got to see SR2's competitive multiplayer offerings. While not quite as seamless and unrestricted as the co-op experience, the multiplayer side should offer you plenty of ways to eviscerate each other.


Some gangs are less photogenic than others.

In our hands-on session, we played around in a new mode called Strong Arm. This new mode is a collection of activities (read: side missions) taken from the story mode and thrown into a turf war. Two teams of four players compete in randomized missions, such as theft (steal a valuable object and bring it to your fence), mayhem (cause as much destruction as you can), insurance fraud (fling yourself from buildings and moving cars), and standard street races, in an effort to build up a point gauge. When a team has maxed out its point meter, it has officially taken over control of that neighborhood, and the match is over.

Throwing a wrench into all of this is your ability to collect modifiers that affect how quickly you gather points. Tagging buildings, killing rival gang members, and driving stylishly (or recklessly--your choice) are some of the bonuses you can collect to affect how well your team does. This gives you the opportunity to pursue splintering strategies; you might have a pair of teammates attempting to play by the rules, while another pair augments its point-gathering by busting fools up.

Tracking your overall progress in multiplayer is a 12-tiered ranking system. The ranks themselves take on a gang theme, with the likes of New Jack, Soldier, and Assassin standing as examples of levels you can achieve. The game keeps track of your play style, too. You'll earn badges such as Trigger Happy (the type who fires often and usually at random), Brain Surgeon (someone with a penchant for headshots), and Nut Job (use your imagination) that other players can see prior to a match to get a feel for what sort of player you are.

Creating matches is a more streamlined process compared to the original Saints Row. Your invitation options won't be buried deep within confusing menus, you can hop into a quick match more easily, and finding friends to join your game has been made less tiresome. Once you've got it all set up, you can trash-talk in the pregame lobby, which is a mansion loaded with weaponry to goof around with.

As you can probably tell from reviewing our previous Saints Row 2 coverage, this is a game with a lot of stuff to do, and the newly expanded multiplayer offerings confirm that. You'll be able to see for yourself when it arrives on October 15.

Saints Row 2 Hands-On - Story, Co-op, and Zombies


By their very nature, sandbox games are open-ended experiences where the balance between story progression and time-wasting mischief is entirely up to the player. It's hard to take that formula and squeeze it into a short demo, which is why THQ recently invited us to spend an entire day with Saints Row 2. This extended play-through gave us ample time to plug away at the bandages-to-riches storyline, cause some chaos with real and improvised side missions, and take a spin through Stilwater in a co-op setting.


Welcome to the gang-ridden world of Saints Row 2.

The first Saints Row greeted players ready to embark on their journey into gang life with one of the more elaborate character creation systems seen at the time. Saints Row 2 takes that system and beefs it up considerably, giving you the option to customize a truly ridiculous number of attributes. Using sliders adjusting everything from your overbite to your septum width, you can craft an avatar of either gender that looks anywhere between "perfectly normal" and "abomination of nature." Once your base physical attributes are set, you can set the mood of your face with a number of fixed facial expressions to make yourself look confused, joyous, or just plain evil. From there, you have three voice options for each gender (including a wonderfully out-of-place English accent for the gents) and the ability to choose your taunts and walking style.

Your character then begins the game on a prison hospital bed, awaking from a five-year coma caused by the explosion that capped off the first Saints Row. You're whisked away from these confines by a friendly prison mate only to realize that the Saints are no more. Other gangs still roam the newly expanded streets of Stilwater, but the purple-clad clan you worked so hard to build up in the first game has been more or less eradicated. Thus begins the story, with you working to build the 3rd Street Saints back to glory. And because you're ostensibly playing the same protagonist from the first game despite crafting a brand-new avatar, Volition has tossed in plenty of self-deprecating dialogue like, "You look different. Did you get a haircut?"

First on the agenda is rescuing fellow Saint Johnny Gat, who's currently on trial with over 200 counts of homicide to his name. This mission involves storming the court trial with some heavy firepower, taking out the guards, and ushering Johnny out the door. The idea of storming a particular stronghold with guns blazing becomes a familiar refrain for the first few missions of the game, as the next item on your list--securing a base of operations for your gang--involves clearing all the Sons of Samedi and gang members (and a few scattered hoboes) squatting in a local abandoned mission.

Once you've got a base, the story missions begin to offer more than just shooting scads of people. One mission requires you to recruit some fresh blood for the Saints, and you go about this by doing odd favors for some of the local talent. One girl has you proving your worth by flying off a few of the big jumps lurking all throughout Stilwater, while another would-be Saint asks you to take his tow truck and impound the car of someone who owes him some money. But these types of missions are more the exception than the rule, as most tasks require you to exercise extreme prejudice against rival gangs in your quest to take back the city.


Explosions are a way of life in Stilwater.

One of the most compelling features added to Saints Row 2 is the ability to go through the entire story (and any mission in the game, really) in two-player co-op. It's a simple drop-in, drop-out affair that allows for you to set your game to be public, friends-only, or invite-only. The missions are beefed up in difficulty and enemy AI to compensate for your doubled firepower, and are triggered whenever one player chooses to begin. One odd thing about the co-op is that each player only sees his or her own character during the cutscenes rather than both of them, but as long as you're not playing on side-by-side televisions like we were, that shouldn't be a tremendous issue. And thankfully, there's no tether system to be found; you and your friend can exist on completely opposite ends of Stilwater if you so choose.

This time around, dutifully moving the story forward is a bit tougher with all the side missions, additional customization, and opportunities for mayhem vying for your attention. The side missions are broken down into two categories: Activities, which are found in the first game and help you earn some cash and gang respect, and Diversions, smaller actions that can be pulled off almost anywhere. Activities have you taking part in odd jobs for random strangers seeking a favor of you. A few examples of new activities include "FUZZ," where you pretend to be a cop and rough up petty criminals for a reality show, Septic Avenger, which sees you steal a septic truck and spray its contents on the city's major financial establishments, and "Crowd Control," where you act as a bodyguard for celebrities with rabid fans.


In co-op, you can fire rockets from the passenger seat while your buddy drives.

Whereas Activities are deliberate tasks that require you to find a mission marker and begin, Diversions pop up over the course of normal play. If you jack a car with someone in the passenger seat, a pop-up will invite you to part in the "Hostage" Diversion in which you attempt to keep moving through the police for a set amount of time until the hostage pays you to let him go. "Vehicle Surfing" is a Diversion in which you attempt to balance atop a speeding car, and "BASE Jumping" will prompt you with a landing target if you take up the game's offer after leaping from the top of a skyscraper. What might be our favorite, though, is the co-op-only "Cat and Mouse" Diversion, whereby one player cruises through checkpoints in a sports car while the other hunts him down in an attack helicopter.

Also competing for your attention is the ability to put your own personal touch on what you wear, what you drive, and where you live. Clothing can be customized to the same ridiculous degree as your initial character designs. You can adjust the pattern, colors, and fit on nearly every last piece of clothing, while layering several different articles on top of one another. One stripe or three on those socks? Did you want that track jacket zipped or unzipped? Hat backward or at a 5/8 turn? You get the idea.

Cars can also be tweaked to meet your discerning standards. Just bring a vehicle into your personal garage, then head to a mechanic and fiddle with new body mods, paint schemes, rims, window tints, and NOS boosts. You can even create a custom radio station available to listen to in any car you find. To do this, you go to a record shop and buy individual tracks (using in-game currency) at $20 a pop. If you're up to the task, you can pool wildly differing songs from all the game's stations into one huge pirate radio station. For example, you can borrow A-Ha's "Take On Me" from the '80s station, Minus the Bear's "Knights" from the indie station, Run DMC's "Sucker MCs" from the rap station, LCD Soundsystem's "North American Scum" from the electronic station, and Mastadon's "Colony of Birchmen" from the metal station and use them all to create one great, big radio station thoroughly customized to your liking. (And maybe even throw Europe's "The Final Countdown" in there somewhere, if that's your thing.)

Finally, because even the most violent criminal needs a home to call his own, you can also customize your crib. There's the option to simply upgrade your crib's overall theme from something cheap and run down to something much classier, or upgrade your furniture piece by piece. However, even the cheapest of entertainment centers gives you the ability to play one of Saints Row 2's hidden gems: a video game within the game called "Zombie Uprising." Rather than a retro arcade game, this is actually a fully 3D zombie game that applies the look and feel of the regular game to a darker, more zombie-filled setting. In it you need to survive wave after wave of undead with a limited number of weapons and fellow survivors. It may be a poor man's Left 4 Dead, but it's still a very cool throw-in that's indicative of just how much there is to do in Saints Row 2 if you go around looking.


Never let it be said that Saints Row 2 doesn't promote peace between diverse cultures... or at least pirates and ninjas.

Whether you're playing through the story missions in co-op or just beating up a group of pimps with a parking meter while pedestrians take cell phone pictures, it's clear there are a lot of options for absurd entertainment in Saints Row 2. When October 14 arrives, you'll be able to take part in some of that absurdity yourselves. Until then, stay tuned for more coverage.


Saints Row 2 Hands-On - Gang Customization and Side Missions


The original Saints Row certainly didn't revolutionize the sandbox action genre, but in playing it safe, the game pulled off a successful imitation of the Grand Theft Auto formula while still managing to introduce a handful of novel features. Right from the get-go, players were introduced to an impressive and seemingly limitless palette of character customization options. It probably goes without saying that Volition will take that ability to obsessively mold your protagonist and carry it over to Saints Row 2, but now they've expanded the customization options to your entire gang. In addition to a few side missions, we recently took a glimpse at some of the ways you'll be able to design your ideal fraternity of criminals in Saints Row 2.


Ninjas--can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

Once you've escaped from prison and recruited a few followers, you'll be given the option to tinker with your gang's overall appearance. The most noticeable change is in the gang's style. With this option, you can choose a visual theme for the followers you see roaming the streets--both lieutenants and thugs--from a pretty hefty list. Among the wardrobes we saw were those listed as '80s, Body Guards, Pimps n' Hos, and last but certainly not least, Ninjas. If you want your gang to look stern but classy, Body Guards might be the look for you. If you want an army of underdressed ladies hanging in your crib, Pimps n' Hos would be a safe bet. But if you're anything like us, you'll immediately choose the Ninja style and never look back.

With this option selected, all the thugs that belong to your gang will resemble stealth assassins of the night. So as not to stand out from your cronies, you can go into your own wardrobe and select your own ninja garb. If you really want to get into the spirit of things, you can also change your fighting style to the Ronin technique. This will change the look of your attacks to more of a nimble martial arts technique--as opposed to the street-tough look of your default character's punches. Thus, with our ninja cycle complete, we could move onto the other gang options.

These additional options include choosing an official gang taunt, graffiti tags, and the types of vehicles you're buddies will be driving. Gang taunts range from vulgar gestures (think everyone's favorite amateurish first-person shooter celebration) to comical Irish jigs. The graffiti tags are all authentic-looking designs, courtesy of one of Volition's concept artists, who we're told has a background in the tagging arts. And finally, the vehicle options let you choose the models, designs, and features of the cars you'll undoubtedly be stealing from your own comrades whenever you need a quick lift.

Once we had our gang done up to suitably absurd levels, it was time to test out a few of the game's side missions--or activities. We went with a pair of stronghold missions: goals where you need to find a rival gang's base and cause a huge ruckus. The first mission had us taking to the air in an attempt to destroy a rival gang's drug farm. Your character sits in a helicopter with an assault rifle in hand, and your goal is to blow up every last structure in the complex from on high. Once you get that done, it ends with you running down fleeing Cadillacs filled with armed thugs doing their best to make a successful escape from your rampaging ways. When successful, you're shown a newspaper clipping (Headline: "Hippies Mourn Loss of Drug Farm") that will adorn the walls of your crib. It's a wistful token of nostalgia, as well as a functional teleport, that gives you the ability to go back and replay that mission whenever you like.

The other stronghold mission we tried involved taking on a gang of a slightly higher stature. Rather than busting up a field of hallucinogenics, this one required plowing through a warehouse, stealing a large sum of money, as well as blowing up all their trucks and airplanes. The action itself feels similar to most third-person shooters, but a variety of guns and death animations help make things interesting. Most strategy requires knowing which weapon to use and when to crouch behind cover to let your health regenerate. The tricky part was the second stage of the mission, where you exit the warehouse and find yourself on an airport tarmac. Thugs are shooting at you from all over, but with the handy aid of a satchel charge and rocket launcher, you can take them and their vehicles out with enough effort.


Weather effects significantly alter the way you drive at sea.

The demo we played was on the PlayStation 3, which gave us our first opportunity to see how the Sixaxis controls work. We tested this functionality on a racing activity, which was a time trial where you need to race through the sewers on a jet ski. The motion controls were a bit more fidgety than we would have liked, but they became easier to deal with as we progressed from the confines of the sewer to the wide-open ocean. At the very least, the Sixaxis controls are purely optional because you can turn them off whenever you like.

Minor control issues aside, Saints Row 2 is looking like a worthy follow-up to its well-received predecessor. It may not be the towering artistic achievement that Grand Theft Auto IV turned out to be, but with even more features added to a game that already boasted lots of hidden surprises, the city of Stilwater should offer plenty to see. You can expect to see the game released on October 14.


E3 2008: Saints Row 2 Hands-On Update


Earlier today, while meeting with members of the Volition development team working on Saints Row 2, we were invited to play through the same prologue mission that we checked out last week. Nothing exciting about that, you might think, but this time we were playing in co-op mode, we took a very different route through the prison escape, and we talked about some other features while we played. Some of you might consider this new info to be a spoiler of sorts, so consider yourself warned.

Unsurprisingly, playing through the prison escape mission in co-op mode seemed a lot easier than in our previous single-player experience. There didn't appear to be any additional enemies thrown into the mix to account for the presence of a second player, and it probably didn't hurt that we were playing alongside someone intimately familiar with the game either. We opted to skip the tutorial on this occasion, so we weren't being nudged in any particular direction as we escaped the prison and were free to explore.

We ended up taking a very different route out of the building, bypassing the rooftop encounter with guards and helicopters completely. On our travels we found the prison's weapon storage room, where we were able to add satchel charges and machine guns to our arsenal. As soon as we stepped outside, we found a quad bike that, while not necessarily very useful in this particular scenario, was fun to ride around on for a while. Incidentally, though you'll have an opportunity to get your hands on some really powerful weapons as you play through the prologue missions, we're told that you'll lose almost all of them when the game proper gets underway--otherwise you'd simply be too overpowered early on.

After beating the mission, we got to talking with the Volition reps that we'd been playing with and were given a sneak peek at one of Saints Row 2's previously unannounced features. When you arrive in the city of Stilwater you'll find that the entire map is unlocked but that many of the annotations on it are simply displayed as question marks until you visit them. Among these are a large number (we'd estimate at least 60 or 70) of different stores that you can not only shop at but, once you raise some capital, can actually purchase and enjoy a steady income from. Furthermore, if you purchase all of the stores from a particular chain your character's likeness will start to appear on billboard advertisements all over the city. We didn't get to see any of the stores on this occasion, but we're told that they include vendors for clothing, tattoos, music, liquor, firearms, cars, bikes, and boats, as well as restaurants.

Finally, when we asked if any of the Stilwater locales were recognizable from the first game we were afforded a quick look at one that is--sort of. The church that the Saints called home in the first game wasn't demolished along with the rest of the neighborhood, it seems, and now stands in the middle of a park flanked by skyscrapers. The building has apparently been restored to its former pre-Saints-Row glory, and is considered a historical monument.

So there you have it. Saints Row 2 looks to be absolutely packed with gameplay features and, considering how wildly different our two plays of the first mission in the game were, there shouldn't be any shortage of replay value, either. We look forward to bringing you more information on Saints Row 2 as soon as it becomes available, though we're unlikely to learn anything more at E3 at this point. Three months and counting...


Saints Row 2 First Look


With the release of Grand Theft Auto IV now less than two months away you could be forgiven for forgetting all about Saints Row 2. After all, Volition's upcoming sequel to the other open-world crime-themed action game doesn't even have a tentative release date yet. We're told that it'll be arriving this year, though, and we recently had an opportunity to check out an early version that already incorporates plenty of new features.

Set a few years after the events of Saints Row, the sequel will see you reprising the role of a Saints gang member who, in the years since the first game, has risen to power and become the leader of the gang. With that said, the first game forced you to play as a male character, but that's not the case in Saints Row 2. We spent some time with the new character customization system during our meeting, and it's clearly something that Volition has spent a lot of time improving. You can not only play as a male or a female but, since those options appear at either end of a sliding scale, you can choose to play as someone whose appearance isn't obviously either of the two. Other sliding scales you can play around with will affect fitness level and age. You'll also be able to determine your character's ethnicity and modify his or her facial features.


You play as the same character you did in Saints Row, regardless of whether you opt for a similar appearance or even the same gender.

Character customization in Saints Row 2 won't end there, though. After settling on a look for your gang leader, you'll want to figure out how he or she moves. You might choose a guy who walks like a gorilla, a ballerina, or any of the numerous options in between. You'll also need to choose a voice, favorite taunt and compliment actions, and fighting style. Available taunts--which are presumably intended for use primarily in multiplayer games--will include such classics as the middle finger, the tea bag, and the wanker. Compliments will include a salute, thumbs-up, riverdance (don't ask), and many more. The number of fighting-style options available to you will increase as you defeat gangs in the story mode and add their moves to your arsenal.

The story mode will pit you against three rival gangs, all of whom are hoping to fill the power vacuum resulting from the Saints' fall from grace. It's a similar setup to that in the first game, but there appear to be plenty of changes and improvements planned for Saints Row 2 that'll make it a worthy sequel. For starters, the city of Stillwater is now considerably larger and barely recognizable as the same location from the first game. This, we're told, is the result of urban renewal efforts on behalf of a large corporation. All of the existing neighborhoods have been given a face-lift, and all-new neighborhoods have been created as a result of the city's expansion to the west. You'll be able to visit the interiors of well over 100 of Stillwater's buildings this time around, including no fewer than nine gang cribs that you can make your own as you progress through the game.

If you've played Saints Row, you might remember that cribs were primarily places that you could save your game, change your clothes, and store your car collections. In Saints Row 2 you'll still be able to do all of those things, and lots more besides. We were shown one of the new cribs during our meeting, a two-story building that looked pretty run-down. It looked so nasty, in fact, that we were surprised to see several gang members hanging out there in the hope that they'd be chosen for an upcoming mission. Fortunately, as you accumulate money you'll have the option to spend it on upgrading the place. The crib customization options don't appear to be nearly as numerous as those for your character, but they're a welcome addition nonetheless. Options for the crib that we visited during our demo included upgrades for the table, the bed, the home theater, and the stripper pole, as well as "cheap," "classy," and "ultra modern" decor. Spending money on your crib will increase the amount of respect that you earn for completing missions and other objectives, and it'll also make your fellow gang members more effective when they're fighting alongside you. Other features promised for cribs include different radio stations to listen to, a more intelligent wardrobe system that lets you group individual items of clothing into outfits, and garages that can store motorcycles as well as cars. (Your Jet Skis, boats, helicopters, and planes will need to be kept elsewhere.)


Your crib doesn't look like anywhere you'd want to spend any time on day one.

Once our guided tour of the crib was over we were treated to a look at one of the early stronghold missions from Saints Row 2, in which you'll be tasked with taking out a base of operations belonging to the drug-running Sons of Samedi gang. The stronghold was a well-guarded trailer park that looked quite different from any location in the first game, and we were pleased to see that you'll have plenty of new moves and weapons in your arsenal when you're taking on enemies on foot. The new over-the-shoulder view for precision aiming will undoubtedly prove useful, as will the option to take other characters hostage and use them as a human shield. Gang members and cops will purportedly react differently to you depending on who your shield is, and the Sons of Samedi certainly seemed a little reluctant to fire at one of their own on this occasion. Your enemies will have the ability to hide behind human shields as well. The only new weapon that we got to see during our demo was a satchel charge, which sticks to anything it's thrown at and can then be detonated manually. The resulting explosions were pretty huge, and the potential for creative uses of the charges (you can turn a car or even an enemy into a moving bomb, for example) have us crossing our fingers that they'll be included in the competitive multiplayer arsenal.

Volition and THQ aren't really talking about the multiplayer features of Saints Row 2 yet, except to say that they've learned a lot from the first game and won't be making any of the same mistakes again. What they did tell us about, though, is the option to play through the entire story mode cooperatively with a friend. That's an exciting prospect, to say the least, especially when you consider some of the other activities and "diversions" that you can earn respect and money from in Stillwater. Saints Row 2 will purportedly introduce a number of all-new activities in addition to "the good ones" from the first game. The insurance fraud game in which you attempt to cause as much damage to property and to yourself isn't going away, of course, and promises to be a whole lot of fun with two players working together. Incidentally, all of the activity missions will be optional, since their function is to provide comic relief from the main story, which deals with revenge and is apparently much darker than the first game's.

Based on what we saw during our meeting, Saints Row 2 is shaping up to be a strong sequel to 2006's Saints Row. We look forward to bringing you more information on the game's multiplayer content and other features as soon as it becomes available.

Saints Row 2 Co-op Hands-On


Earlier today, during a meeting with THQ and Volition, we had an opportunity to play Saints Row 2 for the first time. Joining us in the city of Stilwater was the game's lead designer, James Tsai, who was kind enough to play through a stronghold mission and a helicopter activity with us in the two-player co-op mode before the session degenerated into an infinite-ammo-fueled rampage.

Saints Row 2 promises a user-friendly approach to cooperative gameplay that'll let you jump in and out of online co-op games at any time, regardless of how far into the campaign each player is. You'd have to be pretty dedicated to playing alongside a friend to completely avoid playing solo for fear of getting out of sync with each other, after all. You'll be able to help other players out with missions that you've already beaten, of course, but what's really neat is that when playing alongside someone who's a lot further into the story than you you'll have the option of playing through their missions as well. Said missions would almost certainly be unavailable to you in single-player mode at that time, but the game will remember that you've beaten them in co-op and, when you reach them in your own story, will give you the option to skip them accordingly.


Screenshots of the Sons of Samedi trailer park are in short supply, apparently, so here's one of an unrelated locale.

The mission that we played through during today's session tasked us with taking down the same Sons of Samedi stronghold that we were given a brief tour of the last time we saw Saints Row 2 in action. The stronghold is a trailer park where the Caribbean-influenced gang manufactures a designer drug known as Lower Dust. Our goal was to destroy five trailers being used as labs, and thanks to a cheat that afforded us infinite ammo for every weapon in our arsenal, we had no shortage of toys with which to accomplish it. Favorite weapons on this occasion included a shotgun, an assault rifle, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and satchel charges. The two guns were effective at close- and long-range, respectively; the RPG was useful because it locks on to targets pretty quickly if you position your crosshair over them; and the satchel charges are a lot of fun because they adhere to just about anything (or anyone) you throw them at and can then be detonated manually.

While playing through the stronghold mission we were free to work as closely with or as independently from the other player as we liked, though since you'll have the ability to revive each other when you die it's definitely a good idea to stay pretty close. Simply taking the shortest route through the mission and blowing up the five trailer labs wasn't terribly difficult with two players, and even with numerous gang members attempting to stop us we rarely needed to worry about retreating into cover so that our health could replenish. Our first play-through of the mission was a little underwhelming, to be honest, but that's only because it was a little too easy to beat with an overpowered arsenal that we hadn't started to get creative with yet.

That all changed on our second play-through. Landing satchel charges on a stationary target as big as a trailer isn't very challenging or particularly satisfying, but landing those same charges on cars as they drive by or even on unsuspecting pedestrians who then go into a panic is infinitely more enjoyable. By sticking a couple of charges onto a car and then driving it toward one of the trailers before bailing out and hitting the detonate button, Tsai also showed us how seemingly innocuous vehicles can effectively be turned into powerful missiles. The new cruise control feature that lets you keep your vehicle's speed constant while freeing up your accelerator thumb for other things proved useful here, though its intended purpose is really just to make drive-bys easier. By adhering multiple charges to a pedestrian and then detonating them individually it's even possible to "juggle" the target using explosions to keep them in the air, and when the day comes that we're allowed to capture our own footage of Saints Row 2, you can bet that'll be one of the first things we try.

Another fun feature of Saints Row 2 that we experimented with while playing through the stronghold mission is the ability to grab pedestrians and use them as human shields. Gang members and cops are somewhat reluctant to fire at their own people when you're hiding behind them, and even innocent civilians that gang members will fire upon without a second thought do a good job of soaking up bullets for a time. When you no longer need your human shields, you have the option to execute them with a quick headshot (that doesn't work with the RPG, we discovered; you just break their necks instead) or simply push them away--preferably toward a fire or fast-moving vehicle so that there's no danger of them trying to exact revenge.

The helicopter activity that we played through next will, like other activities, be completely optional as you progress through the game. On this occasion we were tasked with providing air support for a friendly vehicle that was being used to complete a drug deal and coming under fire from rival gangs. In co-op mode, helicopter activities have one player jump into the pilot seat while the other uses a chaingun and laser-guided missile system to take out hostiles. The chaingun seemed a little underpowered on this occasion, while the missiles were perhaps just a little too quick and easy to fire and forget.

We completed the activity from the gunner's seat with a minimum of fuss after shooting down a number of enemy helicopters and blowing up plenty of hostile vehicles on the streets below. We were eager to pilot a helicopter for ourselves, though, so we had Tsai show us to a location where we could jack one and just fly around without having to concern ourselves with objectives. Predictably, the controls for the chopper were a little more complex than those for cars and bikes, but they're still quite easy to pick up. Your accelerator and brake buttons are the same as they are on the street, except that they can also be used to influence altitude, you still steer with the left analog stick and move the camera with the right, and you can use the shoulder buttons to rotate left and right.


And here's a great screenshot of the helicopter that we used to explore Stillwater.

The work-in-progress demo version of Saints Row 2 that we were playing on this occasion afforded us the opportunity to explore only a portion of one of islands that make up the gameworld. From our vantage point inside a helicopter flying high above, though, we were still impressed by the scale of the environment and by the variety of the neighborhoods that we could see. As we flew from one end of the island to the other, we left the trailer park behind and headed toward a large, modern-looking city before ultimately ending up at a museum site that incorporated what appeared to be the ruins of an ancient temple. That's where we ditched the chopper (OK, crashed it) and decided to have some more fun with satchel charges before bringing the session to an end. A few hundred explosions later we still weren't bored of them, and we'd managed to attract the attention of several SWAT teams by the time we reluctantly put down the controller.

Saints Row 2 is currently scheduled to ship to stores later this year. No more-specific release date information has been announced at this time, though we're assured that it will be soon. We'll bring you more information on Saints Row 2 as soon as it becomes available.


CHEATS,HINTS AND UNLOCKABLES


Password:

Result:

#cashmoneyz

$1000

#921

.44 Cal

#920

12 Gauge

#35

Add Gang Notoriety

#4

Add Police Notoriety

#947

Annihilator RPG

#922

AR-200

#923

AR-50

#924

AR-50 with Grenade launcher

#925

AS14 Hammer

#926

Baseball Bat

#2

Car Mass Increased

#927

Chainsaw

#sunny

Clear Sky

#955

Crowbar

#15

Drunk Pedestrians

#202

Everybody is Shrunk

#16

Evil Cars

#928

Fire Extinguisher

#929

Flame Thrower

#930

Flashbang

#1

Full Health

#931

GAL 43

#932

GDHC

#711

Get Horizon

#712

Get Snipes 57

#713

Get Tornado

#714

Get Wolverine

#200

Giant

#933

Grenade

#12

Heaven Bound

#201

Itty Bitty

#935

KC

#936

Knife

#934

Kobra

#666

Lighting Strikes

#18

Low Gravity

#937

Machete

#938

McManus 2010

#3

Milk Bones

#939

Mini-Gun

#940

Moltov

#36

Never Die

#941

Nightstick

#50

No Cop Notoriety

#51

No Gang Notoriety

#942

NR4

#19

Pedestrian Wars

#943

Pepper Spray

#969

Pimp Slap

#944

Pimpcane

#945

Pipe Bomb

#5

Player Pratfalls

#20

Raining Pedestrians

#946

RPG

#948

Samurai Sword

#949

Satchel Charge

#950

Shock Paddles

#951

SKR-9

#952

Sledge Hammer

#953

Stun Gun

#7

Super Explosions

#8

Super Saints

#954

TK3

#956

Tombstone

#11

Unlimited Ammo

#9

Unlimited Clip

#6

Unlimited Sprint

#957

Vice 9

#958

XS-2 Ultimax

Vehicles

Dial the Phone Numbers in the phone book.

Password:

Result:

#1040

Ambulance

#1041

Anchor

#1042

Atlasbreaker

#1043

Attrazione

#1044

Backdraft

#1045

Backhoe

#1046

Bag Boy

#1047

Baron

#1048

Bear

#1049

Bootlegger

#1050

Bulldog

#1051

Bulldozer

#1052

Compton

#1053

Eiswolf

#1054

FBI

#1055

Five0

#1057

Hollywood

#711

Horizon Commerical helicopter

#825

Hurricane Speedboat

#1058

Justice

#801

Kaneda Custom street racing motorcycle

#802

Kenshin Street racing motorcycle

#1059

Kent

#1060

Mag

#803

Melbourne Harley-style motorcycle

#826

Miami

#1061

Mixmaster

#1062

Mongoose

#1063

Oring

#1064

Phoenix

#827

Python

#1065

Quasar

#1066

Quota

#1067

Rampage

#1068

Raycaster

#1069

Reaper

#1056

Repair Car

#804

Sabretooth Custom Harley-style motorcycle

#805

Sandstorm Dirtbike

#1070

Septic Avenger

#1071

Shaft

#828

Shark Personal watercraft

#829

Skipper Yacht

#712

Snipes57 Executive private jet

#1072

Stilwater Municipal

#1073

Superiore

#1074

Taxi

#1075

The Job

#1076

Titan

#1077

Toad

#713

Tornado Police helicopter with minigun and anti-tank missiles

#1078

Varsity

#1079

Venom Classic

#1080

Vortex

#806

Widowmaker Moped

#714

Wolverine P-51 Mustang-style airplane with machine gun

#1081

Zenith

Special Vehicles

Dial the Phone Numbers in the phone book.

Password:

Result:

#728237

Destroy UFO

#4976

Gyro Daddy Helicopter

#7266837

Peewee Mini-Bike

Unlockables

Fighting styles

Complete the indicated activities or tasks to unlock the corresponding reward.

Unlockable:

How to Unlock:

Brotherhood melee style

The Brotherhood mission 6.

Ronin melee style

Ronin mission 6.

Samedi melee style

Sons Of Samedi mission 6.

Store Discounts

Complete the indicated activities or tasks to unlock the corresponding reward.

Unlockable:

How to Unlock:

Clothing store

Crowd Control level 3 in Suburbs.

Clothing store (more)

Crowd Control level 6 in Suburbs.

Crib customization

Mayhem level 3 in Red Light District.

Crib customization (more)

Mayhem level 6 in Red Light District.

Food and Liquor store

Septic Avenger level 3 in Red Light District.

Food and Liquor store (more)

Septic Avenger level 6 in Red Light District.

Mechanic

Demo Derby level 3.

Mechanic (even more)

All Chop Shop lists.

Mechanic (more)

Demo Derby level 6.

Scratch That music store (free)

Collect all 50 CDs.

Weapon store

Heli Assault level 3 in Trailer Park.

Weapon store (more)

Heli Assault level 6 in Trailer Park.

Vehicles

Complete the indicated activities or tasks to unlock the corresponding reward.

Unlockable:

How to Unlock:

Akuji's prototype bike

Ronin mission 11.

Attack helicopter

Epilogue mission 4.

Bandit

Multiple driving stunts.

Brotherhood vehicles

Brotherhood Mission 11.

Buggy

One Chop Shop list.

Combine

Two Chop Shop lists.

Demolition derby vehicles

Demolition Derby level 6 in University.

Donnie's vehicle

Brotherhood mission 2.

Escort vehicles

Both Escort instances.

Gang customization cars

15% hoods conquered.

Gang customization cars (even more)

65% hoods conquered.

Gang customization cars (more)

45% hoods conquered.

Julius' car

Bonus mission 1.

Maero's monster truck

Brotherhood mission 11.

Medical helicopter

Ronin mission 7.

News helicopter

Sons Of Samedi Mission 3.

Ronin vehicles

Ronin mission 11.

Saints ambulance

All Ambulance missions.

Saints fire truck

All Firefighter missions.

Septic truck

Both Septic Avenger instances.

Sons of Samedi vehicles

Sons of Samedi Mission 11.

Super Taxi

All taxi missions.

The General's Bulldog (Hummer with unlimited chaingun ammo)

Sons of Samedi Mission 11.

Tornado attack helicopter

Final mission of the Ultor epilogue.

Ultor APC

Epilogue mission 2.

Homies

Complete the indicated activities or tasks to unlock the corresponding reward.

Unlockable:

How to Unlock:

Johnny Gat

Ronin mission 11.

Legal Lee

Fight Club Prison level 3.

One follower

Prologue mission 4.

Pierce

Brotherhood mission 11.

Shaundi

Sons Of Samedi mission 11.

Three followers

50% hoods conquered.

Tobias

Sons Of Samedi mission 3.

Troy

Fight Club prison level 6.

Two followers

25% hood conquered.

Vehicle delivery for $1,000

Escort level 3 in Red Light District.

Vehicle delivery for free

Escort level 6 in Red Light District.

Weapons

Complete the indicated activities or tasks to unlock the corresponding reward.

Unlockable:

How to Unlock:

Annihilator RPG

Mayhem level 6 in Nuclear Power Plant.

AR-50 XMAC Special (with grenade launcher)

Complete all Combat Tricks.

Chainsaw

Crowd Control level 6 in Hotel and Marina.

Flamethrower

Mayhem Level 3 in Nuclear Power Plant.

GAL 43

Snatch level 3 in Downtown.

Grenades at crib

Complete one Hitman list.

Kobra pistol

Fuzz level 3 in Projects.

Minigun

Brotherhood mission 10.

Pepper spray

Crowd Control level 3 in Hotel and Marina.

Pimpcane

Epilogue mission 2.

Satchel Charges at crib

Three Hitman lists complete.

Shock paddles

Complete all Ambulance missions.

Unlimited pistol ammo

Fuzz level 6 in Projects.

Unlimited rifle ammo

Complete all Hitman lists.

Unlimited shotgun ammo

Drug trafficking level 6 in Airport.

Unlimited SMG ammo

Snatch level 6 in Downtown.

X2 Ultimax shotgun

Drug trafficking level 3 in Airport.

Customization Items

Complete the indicated activities or tasks to unlock the corresponding reward.

Unlockable:

How to Unlock:

Avenger jacket

"3 Gold Star" rank in Gang Kills.

Bodyguards gang style

Progress through the game.

Brotherhood personality

Brotherhood mission 11.

Chop shop

One Chop Shop list.

Fireman outfit

Complete the Firefighter missions.

Free Music track

10 CDs.

Free Music track

20 CDs.

Free Music track

30 CDs.

Free Music track

40 CDs.

Free Music track

50 CDs.

Ninjas gang style

Progress through the game.

Pimp suit

Complete of Ho-ing Diversion in Red Light District.

Red Light apartment crib

Prologue mission 2.

Ronin personality

Ronin mission 11.

Saints hideout

Prologue mission 3.

Samedi personality

Sons Of Samedi mission 11.

Traffic cone hat

"3 Gold Star" rank in Vehicle Surfing.

Zombie mask

Complete Zombie Uprising.

Abilities

Complete the indicated activities or tasks to unlock the corresponding reward.

Unlockable:

How to Unlock:

Brotherhood melee

Brotherhood mission 6.

Brotherhood notoriety reduced

Trail Blazing level 3 in Apartments.

Brotherhood notoriety reduced

Trail Blazing level 6 in Apartments.

Health regeneration 2x

Snatch level 3 in Chinatown.

Health regeneration 3x

Snatch level 6 in Chinatown.

Improved weapon accuracy

Septic Avenger level 3 in Suburbs.

Improved weapon accuracy (more)

Septic Avenger level 6 in Suburbs.

No fall damage

Land a perfect base jump.

Police notoriety reduced

Fuzz level 3 in Suburbs.

Police notoriety reduced (more)

Fuzz level 6 in Suburbs.

Pumped up (increased melee damage)

Fight Club level 3 in Arena.

Pumped up (more increased melee damage)

Fight Club level 6 in Arena.

Reduced bullet damage

Heli Assault level 3 in Bario.

Reduced bullet damage (more)

Heli Assault level 6 in Bario.

Reduced explosion damage

Trail Blazing level 3 in Downtown.

Reduced explosion damage (more)

Trail Blazing level 6 in Downtown.

Reduced vehicle damage

Insurance Fraud level 3 in Museum.

Reduced vehicle damage (more)

Insurance Fraud level 6 in Museum.

Ronin melee

Ronin mission 6.

Ronin notoriety reduced

Drug Trafficking level 3 in Hotel and Marina.

Ronin notoriety reduced (more)

Drug Trafficking level 6 in Hotel and Marina.

Sons Of Samedi melee

Sons Of Samedi mission 6.

Sons Of Samedi notoriety reduced

Escort or Snatch level 3 in University.

Sons Of Samedi notoriety reduced (more)

Escort or Snatch level 6 in University.

Sprint increased

Insurance Fraud level 3 in Factories.

Sprint increased (unlimited)

Insurance Fraud level 6 in Factories.

Hints, Tips & Tricks

Easy Snatch activities

For easy completion of Snatch activities, use a Bear (the Police APC). It is virtually impossible to stop once moving because it is nearly invulnerable. It can drive over smaller cars and pickups, the chaingun has unlimited ammunition. It holds three passengers.

Fight against The General

To kill The General in the mall, use the saved rockets to blow up his armored Bulldog then shoot him with any gun until he dies. Do this quickly before he runs away.

Fight against Mr. Sunshine

To kill Mr. Sunshine in the factory, use a rocket on his voodoo doll to knock him down and cause damage. Hit the doll once to break his shield. You can then shoot him until he reaches the bottom floor. Note: If he completes his ritual with the voodoo doll, it will send you flying and do lots of damage.

Fight against Maero

To defeat Maero the first time on top of his hideout, hit him once with an RPG. When scoring a direct hit, he will go on one knee and stay down. You can then shoot him until he is defeated. If he gets up, just shoot him again. To finish off Maero in the arena, use some of the rockets to blow up all the trucks except for his. Use extra rifle ammunition to shoot his Monster Truck.

Zombie Uprising: Easy kills

Use the flaming zombies as a weapon. When they come after you, let them follow you. Run into big crowds of zombies so that the flaming zombies can set the other zombies on fire, which will then count as kills for you. Also, use headshots for the small zombies. This also saves ammunition.

Secret islands

Fly far off the west coast of the prison to find four islands. Their names are "Super Secret", "Ship Wreck", "Bone", "Ruins", and "Look Out".

Blow-up doll

Go north from the lighthouse on the prison island. You will reach a large sewer pipe that will have graffiti on the sides. Go into the pipe to find a blow-up doll on a very dirty mattress. Note: It will disappear after awhile.

Defeating Bosses

Before killing Bosses, take full rocket and rifle ammo from the Brotherhood mission when you are on the ship.

Zombie Uprising: Easy kills

Use the flaming zombies as a weapon. When they come after you, let them follow you. Run into big crowds of zombies so that the flaming zombies can set the other zombies on fire, which will then count as kills for you. Also, use headshots for the small zombies. This also saves ammunition.

Defeating Veteran Child

To kill Veteran Child in his club, just bring lots of ammunition. Use the stun grenades located around the pillars to separate him and Shaundi, then just run up and shoot him. Repeat this until he has been killed.

Easy money

Find and store a few armored trucks in your garage. When they are destroyed they will respawn in your garage again. Blow a truck up and you should get a decent amount of money. After collecting the money, go back to your garage and get the truck again. It may cost $600 for repairs but you should get at least $1,000 for destroying one.

Hidden And Missable Cars

A list of hidden or missable cars in Saints Row 2:

General's Limo (Hounfor) - In the last samedi mission, run over to the General's limo when he jumps out of it, get in the limo and quit the mission. The Limo is the only one of it's kind in the game.

Military Wolverine - In the mission for the brotherhood "JailBait" after blowing up the prison buses, go to the airport and 2 wolverines will be sitting there. They have unique paintjobs. Get in one and quit the mission. They are black with military stars on each wing and on the fuselage, and a monsterous face on the nose.

Racing Edition Of MonsterTruck - In the Brotherhood mission "Bank Error In Your Favour", once you drive over to the Demolition Derby Arena, don't enter the blue marker. To the right of the blue marker will be a monster truck with racing stripes and a flame on the bonnet. Get in it and quit the mission.

Brotherhood Helicopter - In the brotherhood mission "Enemy Of My Enemy" Once the Brotherhood start arriving, when a helicopter hovers above the ground to drop off Brotherhood, quickly hop into it before it flys away. Fly over to mainland before quitting the mission or you will be warped back to where you start the mission. When you reach land, quit the mission. The helicopter is red with a gold strim and black tinted windows.

Brotherhood Boats and Jetskis - In the Brotherhood mission "Enemy of My Enemy" When the brotherhood start arriving, wait until they arrive in boats, get into any jetski or boat they arrive in, and drive over to mainland, then quit the mission. The boats are red with Brotherhood decals on them. And the jetskis are red with black or white stripes.

Samedi Chopper - In the samedi stronghold "Bavogian Plaza Drug Labs", bring a chopper over with you and start it. Progress through the stronghold, and when the samedi helicopter arrives and you have to destroy it, don't! Instead, get in your helicopter, fly above the samedi chopper, bail out and parachute onto the samedi helicopter. Press Y to enter the chopper and quit the mission. It is green with a silver trim.

Ultor Limo - In the last mission in the game, once Vogel goes into the ultor building and abandons his limo, drive to the ultor building, and his limo will be there for you to steal outside. Get into it and quit the mission. It is black with the Ultor logo written on each side.

Glitches

Taser execution

When you take a human shield, switch to your Taser and press L2. This will save some ammunition.

Enter vehicle instantly

Jump on top of a vehicle or its hood and press Triangle