Page 1 of 6

Saints Row 2 vs Saints Row the Third.

Why Saints Row 2 is the Better Game.
When I first brought a PS3 the game I played the most was Saints Row 2 (SR2).
It was not long before Saints Row The Third (SRTT) was added to my collection.
The following are some comparisons and impressions which I hope will help in
the creation of a better sequel(s) and possible improvement of SRTT.

Controls
Advantage SRTT
Having now got used to them, the control layout
for SRTT is a winner. The layout for SR2 was very good
but SRTT makes some very real improvements. Moving
the melee attack to R3/Right thumbclick and
Zoom/First person to a left trigger (L1) is a great idea.
It removes the problem of accidentally losing zoom due
to controller recoil, a common occurrence in many
games, not just SR2. It also prevents accidentally
slipping into first person view when you want to move
fast, which sometimes occurs in SR2 during fast paced engagements such as
Mayhem.
Having a dedicated trigger for grenade throwing/launch is also good.
Sometimes when I had the rifle with grenade launcher I would try to melee and blow
myself up, which is embarrassing!
Having the Triangle button as human shield/grab/throw can cause problems if
you are near both a person and a vehicle since you sometimes grab someone when
you wanted to board a vehicle or board a vehicle when you wanted to grab. The only
way around that I can see is to add an additional prompt for when you are in close
proximity to both a human and a vehicle. For example, when you press Triangle you
are asked to press Square to board or Circle to grab.

Page 2 of 6

Customisation
Advantage SR2
With the exception of character appearance the level of customisation available
in SR2 is much better than in SRTT. The variety of clothing and how the individual
items can be combined is way better in SR2. This is important, since you will probably
only create a character once during a game but will probably change clothing many
times. You also have a greater variety of stores in SR2, which makes shopping more
interesting. I am, however, pleased to see that in SRTT passers-by no longer nag you
about wearing an outfit for any length of time. If you want to do the entire game in a
dressing gown and gimp mask, you can.
Future SR games need to use the clothing system used in SR2, and needs a
good variety of stores. Perhaps even reintroduce the hairdressers, since it seems silly
to go to a plastic surgeon to change basic makeup, nails or hairstyle. Probably
appropriate to make the hairstyles of female characters cost more than for males.
Lack of customisation is also noticeable in other ways too. In SR2 I could
change the radio station playing in my crib. In SRTT I cant and it always seems to be
playing narcissistic gangstarap. Just because Im playing
a gang character in the game
doesnt mean I should be
forced to listen to a certain
type of music. Im given the
option of customizing gang
members in SRTT but still
an overweight poseur in a
parka keeps turning up as a
homie.
Upgrades
Advantage SRTT
I like the Respect/Money/Upgrade system used in SRTT. If you want a certain
capability you can buy it and more or better capabilities get unlocked as you level up.
How you earn the Respect and Money to do this is up to you.
This is a much better system than used in SR2 and many other games, where if
you want a certain reward you have to master a certain mini-game, diversion or

Page 3 of 6

activity. Inevitably there will be some games that certain people will not enjoy or find
difficult. The system used in SRTT is much better and more fun overall. I hope to see
this system used in future and more widely.
Vehicles
Advantage Mixed.
Vehicles are an
important part of games such
as Saints Row and GTA. I
really do appreciate that in
Saints Row vehicles do not
burst into fire if you hit a few
lamposts. SR2 did suffer a bit
from vehicle rag-dolling and
enemy vehicles playing bumper
cars with you. A Bear APC hit
by a police car should not be
thrown around like a toddler in a mosh-pit! I once got rammed by a vehicle I was
chasing and thrown two stories up in the air!
Vehicles in SRTT do seem to drive much better than in SR2. Not sure if that is
an improvement in the game engine or due to the new control layout but as far as
driving goes SRTT is much better. On the other hand, I find the fixed wing aircraft
less responsive, so they probably need to bring back the separate rudder controls.
My main criticism of
vehicles in SRTT is the sound.
The Kaneda should growl, the
Justice should purr and the
Raycaster should throb. Instead
these vehicles have a whining
sound like a boy racers 50cc
bike.
I was also very
disappointed to find out that I
couldnt change the colour of
the Bear in SRTT. Odd, since

Page 4 of 6

other vehicles could be customized. In SR2 I had a purple cammo Bear with wheelspinners, kneecappers and nitrous. That was a true Saints ride and the only thing it
lacked was Fleur de Lyse and Saints decals. I really hope future games rectify this and
that a patch or DLC becomes available for SRTT.
Replay Potential
Advantage SR2.
Both games let you replay Activities. A nice feature to see would be if the game
remembered your highest score and previous score. For some Activities this would be
the damage caused, money earned or the time taken. This would mean that Activities
such as Mayhem or Insurance Fraud would play out till their time limit and not
terminate when the target value of damage had been caused.
SR2 easily wins this category since in SR2 you can replay story missions using
the newspaper clippings at your crib. You can also replay most cutscenes on the crib
TV. I have certainly spent much more time replaying SR2 than SRTT.

Activities and Diversions

SR2 by a shade.
I actually quite like the way SRTT handles Activities. Rather than six
progressive levels you have multiple markers with the designations Easy, Medium

Page 5 of 6

or Hard. You can play the different difficulty levels in any order which is nice since
some Medium levels have been harder to beat than the Hard. Many of the Activities
themselves seem much more playable than their SR2 equivalents. My only reservation
is that completing the Activities is linked to your percentage total for taking over a
region. If you have trouble with a particular Activity you may not be able to take over
an area unless you wish to use the City Takeover upgrade.
For Diversions and Challenges I like the accumulative system that SRTT uses,
which is much nicer than the Stars system used in SR2.
The reason I have given the advantage to SR2 is that there just seemed more to
do in SR2. While I never played a lot of Taxi or Tow Truck it was nice to know the
option was there. That said, one of the reasons I played so little Taxi, Tow Truck or
Zombie Uprising was the lack of game memory. If you played an activity in SR2 the
game remembered what level you had reached. If you had beaten the Activity it would
ask you what level you wanted to replay. For Diversions you always had to start back
at level 1, the only exception being Ho-ing. There was little point in squeezing ten
minutes of play in while dinner was cooking because any progress you made might be
lost.

Hitman/ Assassination and Chop Shop/ Vehicle Theft.

Advantage SR2.
This one was close to call. SR2 got the edge here since there was a nice element
of spontaneity into how this was structured. I once stumbled upon two other Hitlist
targets while hunting for a third and there is an excitement to seeing a target has
wandered onto your radar while you were doing something totally different. Likewise,

Page 6 of 6

it is fun to accidentally come across a vehicle that is needed for your chop shop list.
SRTT lost ground here since the development of the game conflicted with
some of the missions. To find the pimp Andre you need to attack whores in Espina
to provoke a reaction from Morning Star. However, if you have reached the level
where Saints are walking the streets of Espina Morning Star gang members are absent
and will not respond to attacks. To solve this problem you have to play an activity
such as Snatch or Trafficking, provoke Morning Star as much as possible and
deliberately fail the mission in or near Espina. On the other hand, I take great pleasure
that the majority of my Assassination targets in SRTT ended their days beaten to
death with a four-foot purple dildo.
The ideal game would probably have a mixture of missions, some that could be
performed while free roaming and others that must be actively hunted.
Theme Music.
Advantage SRTT
A note to all game developers out there. Use an instrumental track for loading
screens etc. The lyrics of the song used in SR2 are annoying on so many levels this is
actually one of the things I most dislike about SR2.

Phil West.