Saints Row 2's fun factor will help you see past any minor issues it may have.
But it still manages to not only stand apart from other open-world titles, it also manages to stand out from many of them as well. Once you get a little deeper into the game and discover the plethora of customization options for both your character and your vehicles, over-the-top storyline, hilarious side missions, awesome online co-op, and top-notch voice acting, you realize that it manages to pull off something that many games have trouble with: It's ridiculously fun, and it begs you to continuously play you've explored every last square inch of the game map.
And fun is the name of the game here, kids. This game goes to great lengths to prove that it never takes itself seriously, and that you shouldn't take it seriously either. Before the game is over you will have done everything from slaying entire gangs to streaking (or maybe even slaying entire gangs while streaking), and it gets to the point where the insignificant graphics and sound become just that: insignificant. You'll be having too much fun to count pixels.
Saints Row 2 only suffers from a couple of minor problems. It will occasionally freeze-up on you for no apparent reason (it froze on me three times during the course of the entire game), which can get pretty frustrating if you're just finishing a difficult mission. But it's so infrequent that most people will see past it and just re-start their consoles without a care. The other issue is the aforementioned A.I., which can really screw your day. Sometimes your allies won't have the sense to just walk around an obstacle, and in turn get themselves stuck and killed. This forces you to revive them, and leaves you open to attack while you do so.
Another important thing to mention here is that when I say this game goes over-the-top, I mean it goes absolutely over-the-top. There were times that I literally dropped my controller because of what was happening on-screen, so don't expect this game to tread lightly. It wears size-thirteen steel-toed boots, and will kick your backside every chance it gets.
This game is for just about everyone except for gamers who won't be able to handle the mature content, and those who dislike open-world games in general. Everyone else owes it to themselves to buy this game and play it, as it's too much fun to pass this up or pass it by. I promise you won't regret it for an instant.