As bizarre as it may seem, this is probably the best open-world crime game ever made. In retrospect, Saints Row 2 came out at just the right time: late enough that its shooting, driving, and other mechanics are reasonably engaging (unlike the PS2 GTA games), but early enough that it didn't suffer from the massively bloated map and content padding of today's open-world games. Its tone manages to strike a good balance between childish shenanigans and crime drama, and I was pretty emotionally invested in several characters by the end of the game. Saints Row 2 is no masterpiece, but unlike the later GTA games, it's not trying to make some grand (and incredibly misguided) statement on the American experience, and as a result, it's actually a much better video game than its competitors. I was never a huge fan of the series, but if you're looking for a fun sandbox crime game to waste some hours on, you can't do much better than Saints Row 2.