SAINTS ROW 2 MAP MUSIC TRIAL

The great thing about the Saints Row franchise is that we've got this great setting of an evolving city, and we get to draw upon its rich history and build it up at the same time with all these characters. Along with some new lieutenants for the sequel, several other characters the player may have met in SR missions or storylines return as well. Troy isn't a Saint anymore, but obviously become a fixture in the city as Stilwater's top cop. Gat's girlfriend Aisha, who went into hiding after being presumed dead, is still around to lend a hand to the cause. Who tried to kill the player, and what were their reasons? In Saints Row 2, you'll find out why the player got blown up and how the score gets settled… IGN: Is Johnny Gat the only friend from the last game that you meet up with in SR2? If not, who else? JT: We definitely have other characters from SR making appearances in Saints Row 2. Why reveal it in a trailer? JT: The way the first Saints Row ended left everyone with a lot of questions. That seems like a pivotal part in the storyline of Saints Row 2. IGN: At the end of the trailer we see the player's character pointing his gun at Julius who's on the ground and then we hear a gunshot. The attitude of the main character is very empowering this time around. Players now have motivations we can better express and an authority we can project rather than always relegating them to the role of submissive mutes who do what they're told without question. What has this allowed you to do with the story that wasn't possible in the first game? JT: From a storytelling standpoint, it's been very liberating.

IGN: We know that the player's character will speak this time around. When we were designing this gang we also wanted to give them some links to Los Carnales from the original Saints Row, and our artists worked hard to incorporate this into their visual elements. Money laundering and securities fraud isn't their thing, pulling up in a monster truck and beating someone's skull in with a baseball bat while robbing them is. They prefer strength over subtlety and have little use for the finer, more coordinated aspects of organized crime. IGN: Who is this Brotherhood that we keep hearing about? What's their story? JT: The Brotherhood is the most physically imposing of the new gangs. As the Saints deteriorated, several new gangs swept in to fill the void: the Ronin, the Sons of Samedi, and the Brotherhood. Julius still had ties both to his old neighborhood and to the Kings, Troy was working for the police, Lin was dead, and Gat and Dex were destined to butt heads forever. IGN: What about the Saints as a whole? Why aren't they ruling the streets? JT: The events surrounding the player's apparent death brought the conflicting interests of the Saints' leaders to light, making the collapse of the gang became somewhat inevitable. Suffice to say, the Saints' leadership has been fractured and scattered. Julius has tried to wash his hands of gang activity altogether, while the player character has been recovering in a coma, battling the after effects of being caught in a huge boat explosion.

Troy Bradshaw, the undercover officer who had penetrated the innermost circle of the gang, has gotten out of detective work and is the presiding chief of police.

SAINTS ROW 2 MAP MUSIC TRIAL

Johnny Gat, one of the top Saints lieutenants, has been in prison awaiting trial for murder. James Tsai: A lot has changed in Stilwater since the original Saints Row, and the Saints gang has seen the city slip from its grasp over the course of a few years. IGN: If you could, sum up what the core characters have been up to in the interim from Saints 1 to Saints 2.

Saints row 2 map music