Let me start by saying that this is the only sentence where you will see the letters G, T, or A, only to say that they won't be used. There is no doubt that there are some obvious ideas taken and molded from the predocessor and turned into Volition's own liking. However, as a whole, they did them pretty damn well. Let's take this game step by step...

Let's start with the real meat and potatoes of the game first, the gameplay. The gameplay, like most of sandbox games, is pretty self-explanatory. You have the option to do almost anything you want, go anywhere you want, and do anything to any inhabitant of the City of Stillwater. Before the story starts, you are placed into a VERY deep customization mode, which you can literally create anyone. I've seen anything from Tupac to an obese, lime green haired, white guy in cowboy boots. The opening cutscene shows you as the protagonist placed into the middle of a gang war. Pretty much just the wrong place at the wrong time. You are saved by two of the 3rd Street Saints' leaders. They recruit you into their gang and then your off. In order to have the full open-ended expierience, you need to be "jumped-into" the gang. Whether you win or lose this fist-a-cuffs amongst 4 or 5 (varies) other gang members doesn't matter. Your still part of the gang regardless of your performance. However if you win, you receive $1,000 as opposed to if you lose, in which case you receive $200. Then you continue the mission where you clear out a part of "The Row" and then "The World is Your Oyster".

There are a whole bunch of things to do at this point. Before you can continue the story you need to earn respect. In the city of Stillwater, Respect is just as valuable as the money in your pocket. In order to play out the story, you need to earn respect, you need to do activities, or 13 mini-games that earn you respect in order to play out the main game. If you complete certain activities, you get certain bonuses. I won't spoil those bonuses in this review, but feel free to troll the boards as me and a few other regulars have all that type of info (ColinF23, neon_in_vt, CandiedSkull, TheyCallMeRyan, etc).

On the negative side, while the activities are easy to mix up so that initially you don't get bored, after a while once you reach level 7 or 8 on each activity, it will prove to be frustrating, causing you to just try and finish it out of pure frustration as opposed to the fun you started out trying it with. The story is quite wholesome and fulfilling, and while it has some serious moments, it is very lighthearted and filled with double-entendras that will leave you laughing for days after with your friends.

Next let's move on to the eye candy. Now personally, I am a graphics man. It's one of the first things you notice, so I'm very compelled by graphics as a whole. They are actually well done. The draw distance is quite amazing, which, while it has a couple hiccups, is mostly very sturdy and solid. The cars are all wonderfully detailed and the lighting is very good. The distance of the headlights (both before and after head-on car accidents) are very well done and should be commended.

As with anything in life, there are always two sides to every story. The framrate is mostly solid except for when there is a lot of action occuring on-screen at once. Then it will dip down into the mid-to-late teens, which wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that the game runs normally at 30 FPS to begin with. Also, at one point that I always encounter, is that when I drive on the highway for more than 15 or 20 miles at a time, it will hiccup, the cars on the road will dissapear, and everything seems to reset. Other than that, pretty solid game graphically.

Now, for you sound lovers. Like all other XBOX 360 titles, it is presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. The sound is supberbly done. The radio stations are very numerous, clocking in at 13, covering every genre from talk to rap to jazz/classical. If you enter a car with it still running, or if you walk by a car with the radio on, you can hear the radio outside of the car giving it a realisitc feel. This is especially prevelant when cars are listening to Rap/Hip-Hop stations when you can really hear that bass go bumpin down the street.

Now for yet nother group I'm partial too, as I am one of you guys as well. This is the XBOX Live Multiplayer portion. There are 4 modes, Blinged Out Ride, Protect the Pimp, Big Ass Chains, and Gangsta Brawl. There are also team variations on Big Ass Chains and Gangsta Brawl but the same rules still apply. In Gangsta Brawl, just think of the typical ruls to deathmatch and you pretty much understand Gangsta Brawl. Big Ass Chains is the same concept, only that once someone dies, they drop a chain. All the chains you collect are brought to a drop off point. The more chains you have, the more they are worth once you drop themm off. The chain drop-off moves so you need to find the balance between carrying too many chains or carrying a few chains and constantly dropping them off. You are allowed 14 chains max and if you get killed, all the chains on your person are left for some other poor sap to pick up before he/she get's blasted away. Protect the Pimp is set up as such...There are two teams. One team is the Hitman team, the other the Pimp team. The Pimp team tries to, as the title implies, Protect the Pimp and get him to safety while the hitman team, you guessed it, tries to exterminate the Pimp. It is the best out of 5 rounds in this contest. Blinged Out Ride there are also two teams. Both teams have a hooptie in their garage. They have to bring their car to the garage once they accquire enough cash to increase to the next level. Once the car reaches level four, they bring it to the victory zone where they need to protect the car for a minute without it being blown up.

Closing Comments

Overall, this game is a great installment in the open sandbox genre. It is a great addition that, while comparisons are inevitable, really aren't well grounded. This is a great game for anyone that is a fan of the genre to have in their XBOX 360 library.