Saints Row 2

Now I feel kind of stupid. Many of the complaints I just lodged against Saints Row (X360) appear to have persisted in the sequel. The driving seems to be tweaked a little, but is still a lot closer to GTA3-style handling; there's still no lock-on aim, although there is a much-appreciated control for zooming and aiming more precisely. But! there is an auto-save, thankfully. And, though the physics are clearly still behind GTA4's, a generally-applied level or two of graphical and animation polish makes the experience much more palatable.

Of course, earning Respect is still required to unlock story missions. But this time, I can also earn Respect - though I haven't paid attention to exactly how much - from doing crazy driving stunts, which is, well, pretty cool.

The initial narrative is also a lot more engaging, taking place in the tumultuous aftermath of the first game's conclusion -- rather than simply taking out rival gangs to carve your own territory, this time, you need to restore it to its former glory, and confront old enemies. (Granted, the result is basically the same.)

Of course, the PC port isn't perfect; for one thing, in a somewhat-ironic twist, all the control tips are given with keyboard keys, even though I'm using a 360 controller. Good thing I played the first game already, and that almost all the controls are identical, or I would have no fucking clue how to play this. I've also heard reports that the PC version runs extremely poorly on some setups, which I absolutely believe given related personal experience, but fortunately it seems to do just fine on my PC.

Anyway, it hasn't pissed me off yet, so it's already doing better than its predecessor.

Progress: 3%