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If you were anything like me when you first laid hands on a copy of Saints Row, you enjoyed it, but found that it was a little bit lacking somehow.  So that having been said, you’ll definitely be happy to hear that Saints Row 2 has solved that problem.

Saints Row 2 represents a massive leap forward in sequels, which by itself is somewhat amazing.  It’s kept all the fun from the original, all the ease of use and all the fun drives and all the gunplay, and added a whole host of new and interesting things to do in Stilwater.  Like what, you ask?  Well, I’ll fill you in on that particular point in a minute…but first, the plot.

It’s five years after you blew up the yacht in Saints Row, and you’ve woken up in a prison hospital ward.  Stilwater has changed a lot in five years, and you’ll discover just how much when you finally break out of prison.  Yes, of COURSE your first task is to break out of prison.  From there, you’ll spring former cohort Johnny Gat off Death Row, reassemble the currently defunct Third Street Saints and re-take Stilwater from the Brotherhood, the Ronin, and the Sons of Samedi as well as the shadowy Ultor Corporation.

See what I mean?  Bigger.  Much, MUCH, bigger—one whole faction bigger, to start with.  Plus, you’ll get a panoply of new and fun activities to take part in on the side.  You’ll get to pose as one of Stilwater’s finest to help the show Fuzz (clearly a parody of Cops, in case you wondered) get its episode count finished.  You’ll get to take control of a septic truck and spew loads of human sewage on a collection of targets.  You’ll even get to suit up in a flame suit and drive a four-wheeler through a series of challenges.  They call that one “Trail Blazing”.  How awesome is that?

That’s not a rhetorical question, either.  I know EXACTLY how awesome it is, and it’s pretty awesome, especially since the flame suit blows up cars on contact.  You get extra time for doing that.  You’ll get a wide array of vehicles to drive around Stilwater, too—it’s not just cars and trucks any more.  One mission requires you to handle a tow truck.  You’ll get mopeds and motorcycles, and even get to spend some time in a helicopter.

And it’s not just about the new, either.  The respect system is back in play, and you’ll get also get the steadily advancing hatred meters too, telling you just how much each faction currently wants you dead on the hoods of their many, many cars.  Basically, just about everything you may have loved from Saints Row is back in Saints Row 2, plus a whole bunch of other stuff that you never imagined you’d get the chance to love.

Two words: Chainsaw.  Flamethrower.  Oh yeah…that’s plenty to love.

But it’s not all joy around here—I had some oddly buggy moments in Saints Row 2, including objectives that wouldn’t seem to be met despite the fact that I was doing them right, and one moment in which a flood of infinite enemies kept charging at me while I was trying to finish a mission.  I’d been snuck up on several times, and I really don’t like blasting someone with a rocket launcher just to have the FBI drive a van into my lower back.  It spoils the atavistic thrill.

But still, there’s a LOT to like about Saints Row 2, and if you’re any kind of fan of action shooters, you’ll probably like this one just as much as I did.