Saints Row 2 is as good as GTA IV, however it is a very different game. Well, as different as a sandbox game based on gang violence can be. Take all of the moral gray areas and navel gazing of GTA IV and the deep internal struggles of Niko Bellic and throw them entirely out of the window, instead replace them with brash confidence, a car full of homies and plenty of stupid, stupid fun.

Saints Row 2 is, in terms of tone and structure, a combination of two different games that ultimately come together to provide you with as much freedom as possible. On the one side is the story: You take on the role of the protagonist of the original Saints Row, waking up after a 15 year coma in Stilwater's prison. After the initial opening cut scene, you're tasked with creating your character from scratch, and honestly, if you can think of it you can do it with this character creator. Almost every aspect of your face and build can be tweaked to your liking. As you'll be speaking quite a bit this time around, you have three male and three female voices to choose from along with a wealth of personality choices such as your default expression, your walk, your taunts and your congratulatory gestures. You can spend hours in the character creator, but don't worry if you end up regretting your 300 pound bald guy in clown make-up—all choices can be changed with a visit to the plastic surgeon once you're on the streets of Stilwater proper.

After you create your character you're tasked with breaking out of jail, obtaining a new set of clothes and finally busting your capo Johnny Gat out of his trial. Once these mandatory missions are done, you have your choice of three gangs to take down as you work to bring Stilwater back under the beautiful, purple heel of the Third Street Saints. The game uses the same respect system as its predecessor to determine if you can do a mission or not, with respect gained by diversions such as driving on the wrong side of the road, killing gang members, or simply throwing yourself out of a moving vehicle for maximum road rash.

As you progress through the various gang stories, cutting a bloody swath in the process, you’re treated to some of the best directed cut scenes in a video game to date. Beautifully choreographed and fantastically voiced, these cut scenes are a joy to watch and do a great job of not only telling the story, but helping to flesh out your character. People will die as a result of your actions and when they do, it is tough to watch, knowing that they're dead because of you, but it makes the subsequent revenge missions so much more satisfying. This game is also shockingly brutal at times and has not only violence in the cut scenes, but foul language and sex; it defines what the M for Mature rating is all about.

The mission structure of the main storyline is well done with plenty of variety. There are the standard "go here and kill all of these people" and vehicle chase missions, but there are plenty of other mission types such as sneaking into a nuclear power plant to steal toxic waste to use against another gang, using the gunner seat of helicopter to take out a rival gang's drug farm and wheeling a wounded gang member out of a besieged hospital before he dies. Along with the main missions you also have strongholds to take out, all of which must be completed before the final mission unlocks. The strongholds have been given the old variety makeover as well, although to a much lesser degree. You won't see the same variety as in the missions; however you also won't look at the map and say, "Crap, another stronghold mission."