The Saints Row reboot could pick up an incredibly fun mechanic by mimicking Saints Row 2 rather than Saints Row: The Third. The way that each game treated unlockables is vastly different, and Saints Row 2 was far superior in that regard. While The Third's presentation may have been sleeker, it was a definite downgrade from 2
Saints Row 2 is considered by many to be the best game in the series, even after two more sequels and the Gat Out Of Hell spin-off. It was not as over-the-top as the games that came after, but rather it managed to hit the perfect mix of street-level action that the series started with and the outright chaos that the games became famous for. The part of the game that benefited the most from this was the selection of side activities and that unlockables that came from them. After what was shown in the Saints Row overview trailer, taking this inspiration from Saints Row 2 could increase the game's hype even further.
In Saints Row 2, almost all of the game's side activities are available from the second story mission onward. The exception is Heli Assault, which unlocks after helicopters are introduced. Each activity has two tiers of rewards, one after beating three levels, and one after beating all six levels. With all activities aside from Demolition Derby having two sets of levels, that means that players can earn up to four bonus rewards from beating side missions. With the rewards ranging from new weapons to borderline cheat codes, the benefit to playing side activities as soon as possible is tremendous while perfectly fitting the absurdity of Saints Row and its gameplay.
Saints Row 2's Unlockables Made Playing Minigames Worth The Effort
In Saints Row: The Third and 4, unlockables are handled in a very different way. Most of them are tied to experience levels and in-game cash. These upgrades and unlockables can only be accessed by raising the player's Respect level to a certain threshold, then using cash to buy the upgrade. One downside of this system is that it takes a very long time to unlock anything good, with most of the game being spent providing minor upgrades. Many of the most worthwhile upgrades will not be available until close to the end of the game, so the player won't have as much time to play around with them, compared to Saints Row 2's unlockables being accessible right away. Saints Row previews look very promising, but a boring upgrade mechanic like The Third's won't do it any favors.
The biggest upside to Saints Row 2's method of handling unlockables is how it encourages players to explore everything that the game has to offer. By locking bonuses and unlockables behind these side games, it gives players a lot of incentive to seek them out and beat them. Even more frustrating challenges like later levels of the Escort and Crowd Control mission can keep players playing with the knowledge of the awards waiting for them upon victory. These prizes are an excellent method to encourage players to beat every minigame, just to find out what other bonuses are waiting for them. These sorts of fun mechanics combined with Saints Row's extensive customization options are exactly what the reboot needs to succeed.
The Saints Row reboot would do well to bring back Saints Row 2's method of handling unlockables. Not only do they fit perfectly into the Saints Row universe, but they make every set of minigames worth seeing through to completion. Bringing this system back to the Saints Row reboot would be the best way to handle both unlockables and side activities.