Yu0

After finishing SR3, then SR2 and now SR3's story DLCs, I have to revise some of my points.

1. SR2's controls are not HUGELY inferior to SR3. Only big downside is the fine-aim keybinding, which they improved in SR3. Reconfiguring it to right-mouse-button sadly screws up weapon controls in a helicoptor.
2. SR2 is pretty funny too and I must have had a bad day to react THAT strongly to the cruel scenes.

Also I just got a face-slap from SR3 when I found out that you cannot replay missions. Not without replaying all before too.

Then there is that invulnerability, no-reload and infinite-ammunition thing at Level 50 in SR3. For playing the DLCs I "cheated away" a whole list of upgrades, that had trivialized gameplay, such has invulnerability, not being ragdolled by explosions, infinite ammo with all weapons and "no-reloading", all of which basically removed tactics from the gameplay step-by-step.

Also while I DID like the upgrade system, the later upgrades were way too strong, while the early ones were too weak. Even if you exclude the "invicibility" upgrade.

TL;DR-Version: SR3 is technology-wise more refined (and thus more fun in DIRECT comparison); Story and atmosphere of the two games are almost polar opposites to me (where I prefer the SR3 style).

I played Saints Row the Third first and bought 2 immediately afterwards, currently playing it and being well into two of the quest series. Honestly, I couldn't even quite believe, that they are supposed to be part of the same series.

Technologically, Saints Row 3 is better in any way I can think of. Controls are much more refined, activities don't get forced down your throat continously, etc. In SR3 I sometimes drove around the city, buying shops, just for the fun of driving, in SR2 I find it tedious because of the awkward camera handling while driving (particularily in sharp turns). Likewise customization was fun to me in SR3, but felt cheap in SR2. Where SR3 has a few console-porting issues regarding controls SR2 has countless of them. Honestly though, thats simply the difference in age...

Story and characterwise I doubt that one can even properly compare the games. SR3 has an over-the-top humor all way through, SR2 is pretty cruel and dark. Where SR3 has oddball anti-heroes and charicature-like villains, SR2 simply has brutal criminals on all sides.

Personally I prefer the light style of SR3 and find the cruelty of SR2 sometimes hard to stomache. I can imagine though, that people who bought SR3 because they liked SR2 feel let down by the radical change of style.