Customer Reviews

Saints Row 2

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I won't say much on gameplay because that topic is pretty well covered. It is a lot like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas except that all vehicles and your character are heavily customizable. You can do pretty much whatever you want in the game just like the Grand Theft Auto series. The game is a lot of fun once you get it working right.

There's two major problems with this game that aren't obvious:
1) You need a tri-core or better processor. On a dual core processor or less, it is nearly impossible to drive at full speed due to lag.
2) This game has timing issues on Windows 7. You can use Saints Row 2 Power tools to fix this: [...]

Note that even the boxed retail copy of this game requires Steam to run. Don't be surprised when Steam asks you for your serial number instead of the usual installer.


It has at least 35 hours of single player game time if you do everything. It offers cooperative and other multiplayer modes for online (GameSpy ID) and LAN networking.

Once you get it working right, I would rate this game 8/10. It gets docked one point for requiring Steam and one point for having low bit-rate music.

Okay, first let me say that Saints Row 2 (SR2) is an awesome game... just read the Xbox 360 reviews if you do not believe me. Now let me tell you that the PC version is a suckage port by suckage company, and therefore the game will run laggy on almost every PC that does match the 3.2 GHz of the xbox 360.

Fortunately, if you have a BA computer and install Gentlemen of the Row mod (google it) then the game should run pretty smooth. I was the lucky few who happen to have 3.2 GHz computer (AMD Phenom II X4 BE), and the game runs smooth as butter.

So before you buy make sure you have a beefy processor and install the Gentlemen of the Row mod. These two things should let you play the game, or you could just wait till SR3 comes out, which is not a crappy port by a crappy company.

Just FYI my specs:
3.2 GHz AMD Phenom II X4 BE
4gb Ram
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250

Plenty of people have been talking about Saints Row 2 - especially those that found GTA IV restrictive and dull. On consoles it seems be what many people have been crying out for - but on PC it simply does not work.

An appalling frame rate, terrible controls, no support for anything other than 360 controllers, impossible driving, constant bugs and glitches...

There has probably never been a worse PC version of a game in the history of the industry, it's beyond bad, it's a deliberate direct insult to everyone who doesn't own a console.

It runs so badly, and my computer is better than the best recommended specs (I can run GTA IV PC fine, along with all the most recent games), that it's inconceivable that any form of quality testing took place for this game. Based on the experience of people who I know have played it on PC I'd really like to see video evidence of someone at Violation running this game successfully on a PC.

Fundamentally, I simply do not believe this is a working product - there really needs to be a serious consideration of legal action against companies that are selling something that is this defective, not to mention websites selling it.

Doesn't work, looks like garbage, it's a company going out of their way to steal your money in return for nothing. Please, please, please don't make the mistake I did and buy this game.

This is a pretty good game. Some of the content, though questionable, was not overly done. The pimps and hos were a tad bit much since there were just so many and those outfits, so stereotypical. The driving dynamics were not at all lifelike though some games go too far with that. It would have benefited from some sort of fast travel once a location was discovered, or maybe being able to have one of your "homies" drive you, but overall it was a good game with some decent challenges.

The game never crashed or locked up like some others and I found playing the PC version was somehow preferable to playing on my 360.

I didn't care for the whole registration process, forcing you to create a "steam" account, but that was a minor annoyance...overall I give this game a B-.

This was a terrific, amazing game. I really loved it and in some ways it was more fun than GTA 4, such as being able to create my own custom character and I loved the humor and pace of the game, it had a really good feel to it. On the other hand, for a game that came out at the same time as GTA 4, I felt the graphics and physics were a little bit behind GTA 4. Nevertheless, it was stilI l hugely enjoyable.

Driving was a little challenging at first and never got as comfortable using a PC as the driving on GTA 4. As for the complaints about performance, it could be that when the game first came out in 2009, it was a little ahead of the hardware requirement curve which was problematic for some people. I am using an i7 quad core laptop with Windows 7 so I never experienced any problems with frame rates or delays of any kind, even when driving the fastest cars.

As I noted, it was probably as fun as GTA 4 but in different ways. I believe that if they get the graphics and physics improved for their next game due out this year, it'll be even better. I would highly recommend this game though, once you figure out how to deal with driving using a pc (I suspect its a lot easier when you use a console) due to the turn sensitivity (its hard to drive straight), the rest is a great bit of fun.

If you like grand theft auto with better customization. this is the game for you. I have two small gripes, I wish it was longer, and the in game text chat is almost un usuable. other than that it was a snap to install. And Much fun to play

I know, my title sounds like a tagline or sound bite for the game. But it's not, that's just how I feel about the game.

I originally played the game on a 6000+ AMD 64x2 Dual Core machine, and it was barely passable. No amount of dialing down the graphics or closing processes in memory would give me much in the way of framerate...it's really that horrible of a console port. But it was still fun for me.

HOWEVER. I upgraded to a heftier machine, a quad core 3.2GHz AMD Phenom II x4 955 processor, and that made a heck of a lot of difference. Now, I can even try out the racing games (driving was hard!). In my experience, the reason the controls seem wonky or nonresponsive if you don't have a top of the line system is because it just doesn't register for a second...just enough for you to overcompensate. With a fast system and decent video card, most of these troubles clear up. The game seems to care more about processor power than video card power.

So, I got a copy for my wife and we had a blast playing on LAN...I suspect she likes it better than most MMOs we've played (she only has a dual core machine, but she has no problems leaving the driving to me while she rides shotgun).

I can completely understand why, because my own favorite part of the game hasn't been replicated in any MMO I've played: the AI of the NPCs (pedestrians, cops, gangers). If gangers clip a cop car while making a turn, for example, you'll see the cops turn on their lights and all of a sudden, there's a car chase and gunfight raging down the street. Sometimes you'll be standing at an intersection and a car comes off the highway ramp too fast... quickly causing a pileup. I love that kind of world where things can happen without you being involved...it's so much more immersive. The fact that you can enjoy this with a friend via co-op online or lan is a great bonus!

Add into that some very innovative minigames using a very versatile engine, and you realize even more how disappointing the pc port is, as it really could have made waves in the PC market. It's sad that it takes two years of future technology to be able to play the game, but at least it's happening. Fantastic voicework from the likes of Daniel Dae Kim, Michael Dorn (Worf!!), Jaime Pressly, Eliza Dushku (totally worth it just to hear her say 'Bukkake Ninja'), Jay Mohr as well as several great storylines and cinematics makes it one of the most innovative, fun experiences I've had for a while. Assuming you have a quad core system (standard disclaimer).

I played this on a Windows 7 system, 4GB RAM and an NVIDIA GTX 275, with both mouse and keyboard as well as an XBox 360 controller; all work fine once you get used it (i.e., no mouse control on menus).

This is the worst port I've played in a long time. And I thought Mass Effect was bad. By comparison this game makes the transfer of Mass Effect from Xbox to PC look like a carefully designed masterpiece.

The controls are lousy. You cannot access menus through use of the mouse, which is so counter intuitive that it screams fail. The controls just always feel awkward no matter how much you tweak your key mapping. Miserable to play throughout.

The graphics are crummy, and despite having crossfired graphics cards (HD4870s). I can't get decent frames no matter what. I easily get 40-50 frames a second on very high in Crysis, and Saints Row pulls an awful 20-27 despite having inferior graphics. Other problems include common clipping issues, buildings and terrain that pops up out of nowhere, and the worst skins I've seen on character models since 2004. The models are sloppy, robotic looking, and frankly ugly. Enemies get frozen in space, stuck in doorways, etc... It's so bad it's amateurish. The graphic problems alone make the game almost unplayable.

Don't waste your money and try to play this game on the PC. It will frustrate you, anger you, and make you want to chuck the game in the trash. It cannot be played at high graphics even with a very high quality PC. I don't think they can even patch the thing to playability because of the graphic issues that may not be fixable. Don't buy under any circumstances.

I'm so glad that I finally get my hard copy of Saints Row 2, with such a low price. It's really a great game!

Well, first thing I can say, if you don't have amazing specs, this game will run terribly on your computer. The controls are also very annoying and difficult to use. You may as well just get the Xbox or PlayStation version, they are much more worth it.