Although I’ve never played the first Saints Row, I was too curious about the impending sequel to not give it a try here at PAX. After lunch, I hit the floor again, and this was the first game I got my hands on. I was happy to see that the game’s character creation not only allowed for females to get their hands dirty what with all the shooting and killing, but had a pretty decent amount of choices as far as making yourself an original character goes. I spent some time on that, while a small group of guys stood behind me and watched in amazement as a girl gamer made a girl character. (Seriously, at one point they said "There's a girl, and she's playing as a girl!" I think it might have been their first trip outside.)

You start out the game trying to bust out of prison, along with an accomplice, who I assume is supposed to be helpful, but kept slowing down the whole operation. Many objects scattered about the prison can be used as weapons, like IV stands in the infirmary. You start off unarmed, but as you take down security guards and, later on, actual cops, you’ll take their weapons and be able to better defend yourself.

Right away I noticed that the graphics could definitely use some polishing. There was a good deal of clipping, and at one point I punched a guard and my fist went through her face. It’s certainly not a breathtaking graphical achievement, especially compared to so many other next-gen titles that have blown me away in the last few years. They have time, so I’m hoping the game that reaches store shelves will have been tweaked a bit and look somewhat better.

I did enjoy playing this game, I really did, but the fact is, it’s coming out during an extremely crowded season of blockbuster video games, and I don’t think this one has enough going to it to set it apart. It’s not that it’s not worth playing; it’s just that I personally don’t think it’s worth buying on day one when you’ve got games like Fable II, LittleBigPlanet, and Left 4 Dead on the way. It doesn’t have that unique, refreshing quality that games need to stand out in this day and age. As much as I love character creation, it’s just not enough to carry a whole game.

Saints Row 2 will be out on October 15, and it will be hitting the 360, PS3, and PC. Perhaps the PC and PS3 versions will look a little nicer than the 360 version I played today. We’ll be sure to let you know more in the coming weeks.

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