The gaming industry has always had a wary attitude towards those developers who sought to ride the fashion trend and make money by churning out clones of famous projects. Most often, such doubles do not differ in either their original concept or high-quality execution. Why not: they are just boring and get boring in half an hour. But there are exceptions. Sacred, for example, at first everyone perceived it exclusively as made in the image and likeness Diablo product. And at the moment it’s even difficult to say whose release – Diablo 3 or Fallen Angel – gamers are looking forward to with great impatience.
Are in similar relationships GTA And Saints Row. True, outdo Rockstar Games not easy: they try their best to always be at least half a step ahead of the competition. But the studio Volition, however, he does not lose hope that Saints Row 2 will achieve greater success than the original, and even throws around phrases like “We are not afraid of GTA IV!". The statement is controversial, considering that by the time of the premiere people will have already played enough of GTA IV. Well, more room to maneuver.
The plot of the sequel begins https://luckyhavencasino.co.uk/withdrawal/ a couple of years after the events of the first part. The hero finds himself in a prison hospital, where he is informed that he has spent the last couple of years in a coma. During this time, a lot has changed: the local groups that the character fought against finally became unruly in his absence. In his hometown – the same Stillwater – chaos reigns, which a certain corporation ULTOR cynically takes advantage of. In general, there is no way to do without our alter ego, and therefore he will have to quickly escape from prison. Next is a standard story in the “rags to riches” style: from an unknown person with a criminal past to an authority whose movement of eyebrows obeys thousands of people.
As in the original, at the very beginning we will be asked to play with the character’s appearance. The set would have been standard, if not for one thing: in addition to gender, individual facial features and hairstyles, you could choose the hero’s voice – three options each for men and women. And, by the way, even The Sims 2 does not provide such an opportunity!
By the way, the similarities with the life simulator do not end there. Some time after escaping from prison, the character will have his own home. At first it will look like a brothel, but the growing authority and income of the owner will make it possible to refine the apartment, fill it not only with everything necessary, but also with luxury items such as a billiard table and a pole for a stripper. Not only apartments are upgraded – the hero’s appearance also changes in the process of climbing the social ladder. Everything is interconnected: without a sufficient number of “respect points”, earned including by decorating the house, you won’t receive new tasks, and without fees for missions you won’t be able to buy yourself a new plasma panel or invite a couple of cheeky girls for the whole night.
What people love about games like GTA, – an organic combination of car adventures and hurricane action. As for transport, then Volition have made a serious step forward: in Saints Row 2, not only the steering wheel of an ordinary car, but also the steering wheels of airplanes and helicopters will fall into our grasping hands. And three significant changes were made to the combat system. Firstly, the ability to aim – the camera moves closer to objects to make it more convenient for the player to shoot. Secondly, a human shield – in difficult situations we hide behind civilians who happen to be nearby. However, it should be taken into account that this trick only works in clashes with the police: the bandits don’t care whether innocent people die or not. Thirdly, the interactivity of the environment – almost all elements of the location can be used against enemies: for example, hit with a stick or throw a brick.
The screenshots of Saints Row 2 look pretty decent, but they are, of course, far from the beauty of GTA IV. However, the character models and textures are done neatly, and a good physics model allows for interactivity and interconnection of everything.
We can conclude that a high-quality project awaits us. Not a masterpiece, of course, but very worthy. All you have to do is wait until October 14th: that’s when versions for three platforms will arrive in stores – PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.
