One of the more successful parts of the design of Saints Row 2 involves the gradual but constant doling of rewards for basically any action that you can take during the game that falls into one of the four basic game-play types. These four game-play types are:
- Ranged fighting with guns and thrown weapons/objects
- Melee fighting with fists/weapons/objects
- Driving vehicles (land/air/water)
- Miscellaneous interactions with the environment (such as moving around, painting graffiti and so on)
What I feel is one of the core strengths of the game is that (for the most part, there are a couple of exceptions) the developers have managed to put in quite a lot of mechanical and thematic/fictional variations to those basic game-play types in the form of missions, stronghold attacks, neighbourhood defences and a host of activities and diversions (basically side-missions.) What is most important, however, is that each and every one of these items has a specific and relevant reward for completion usually in one or more of the game’s currencies:
- Money
- Respect
- Abilities/Game-play modifications
- Special Items (such as cars, clothes, weapons, locations…)
It doesn’t stop there, however, as the game gives you rewards for things done outside of the formally structured sections of game-play. While going around the city you can earn money and respect by driving dangerously, mugging civilians, robbing stores and dealing with rival gang members. All of these things are expressions or variations of the core game-play mechanics and are also thematically/fictionally appropriate to the genre and the tone of the game.
What this means is that, at any time during your play time of Saints Row 2, you have a variety of different things to do which are in line with the mechanical and fictional premise of the game. On the one hand, this means that if you bought into these premises you will most likely enjoy the variety of activities (as most people, me included, on the internet seem to do.) On the other hand, this means that the game constantly acknowledges and rewards you for doing the things that your fictional character would do, considering the setting, tone and type of game.
This works very well.
