Saints Row 2 for PS3 is a welcome addition to the collection. It has been compared to Grand Theft Auto many times. But not this time because it shouldn’t be. Other than the open world style that’s where any similarity ends. Saints Row 2 has customizable female avatars that immediately made this game more compelling.

Saints Row 2 has a very detailed character customization engine. You can make anything from an ordinary girl to an alien. There are presets to speed up the process if you are impatient, but why do that? The level of detail in the “style” factor in this game are a large part of what makes it so much fun. You can bling out a fabulous gangster moll to lead your dark forces to victory around town. One large complaint I’ve had in many shooters is that there hasn’t been enough rewards. Here you can design outfits and the more you have in your wardrobe the more respect you earn. And finally, shoes. I said it, a game is finally here that deals with womens shoes in an appropriate fashion. Points alone are not as good of a motivator as having a cash system where you can acquire not only jewelry but also the jewelry store. You can add plenty to your empire making the game very satisfying. There are tons of little places to go inside, I don’t remember as many in GTA4 in the single player mode. Many of these things are not on the map either.

It is lacking in pick ups though. The only real pick up is the CD’s and it takes a long time to earn new songs. In the mean time you just have the radio which isn’t that bad. It has a decent mix up of licensed and original music. Many of the songs are parodies and they are funny and the language is over the top.

Naturally there are a wide variety of wonderful weapons to fire off. There’s a big variety of activties which are like mini games throughout the map. You can blow up neighborhoods, shoot off a raw sewage gun, give hand jobs, or have a career in head hunting.

It’s a rich and famous life of crime in this game. The humor, the n-word and f-bombs are all right up in your face in the game. It certainly is a game for grown ups that’s for sure. From the opening lines that you hear right from the beginning, you are in for an outrageous time.

It isn’t at all about stealing cars or foreign espionage. It isn’t that sophisticated. It does have an engaging story line, and it features many notable voice talents like Eliza Dushku and Michael Dorn who play lieutenants in your gang. What this game does very well, is to immerse your character into the story line. You know how in most games with a female avatar the NPC’s still talk to you like you are the guy player. Or the cut scenes still show the guy. Not this time, more enjoyably, your own customized character plays alongside the celebs. Even the voice that you chose for your character is used too. So they took the time to have all those voices recorded, little things like that go a long way to the appreciation factor. It makes it ten times more fun. Too bad you can’t take screen shots with the PS3 – what is up with that?

Of course the game isn’t perfect. It felt like there were continuous blind spots while driving when playing it on a standard def TV. It was designed for the wide screen aspect so corners are always a surprise. The cars get hung up on odd objects at times, but then sometimes it surprises you again with what you can drive over the top of. The graphics can look a little choppy as if they were more PS2sih.

The rooftops in the game offer a whole other dimension to it. If you are into free running, you can do it here, since all the roofs seem conncted by bridges and ladders. When you are up there, the view from the top is vast, and it shows just how much effort was put in on the map. You get that robust depth of field that you see in the skylines of games like Assasin’s Creed. Only here it’s a city skyline. Don’t miss a few trips up there at night.

Once again I wish you could find random money and weapons stashed here and there. The landscape is strewn with interesting looking objects that you should be able to collect. Every object can be picked up and used as a weapon, but I’d like to have the ability of inventory something such as a gas tank, or other junk for later damage.

The characters you can create are great, the world itself is a big laugh to play around in. If you are a fanatic you can make the game as hard as you want it to be to make it challenging. You can play online with co-op mode, or not because there is enough to do in this game to play it solo. It isn’t as complex as Fallout 2, so it is more relaxing, and the modern language and jokes make it even more relevant and relieves the tension. Rather than creating that inner turmoil that you get from games like Fallout where the theme is all doom and gloom, this one is a pleasant diversion with a few flaws. It will keep you busy until Resident Evil 5 gets here. I give Saints Row 2, 8 big diamond solitaire earrings out of 10.