The fact that pornography “actress” Tera Patrick was hired to spice up promotional duties prior to the game`s release sets the tone for your expectations. Picking up from where the first game ended, Saints Row 2 (SR2) finds the main protagonist incarcerated and in a coma. Upon regaining consciousness, a daring jailbreak ensues and the player is granted free license to create a real humdinger of a character, depending on their own predilections.

Once the breakout from prison has been successfully negotiated, there is a gang to reform and the player must take on the three dominant factions within the game: Ronin, Sons of Samedi, and the Brotherhood. These involve picking apart the many different layers of the various crime families, usually with explosive results. As influence and power is gained and more members join the gang, the streets become more crowded with members sporting the player`s colours.

Later on, as more customisation options are gained, the ability to change the gang's appearance invites all kinds of devilish plans. For example, seeing ninjas walking around a suburban area, or sitting reading a newspaper is a joyous moment. Gang members also play their part further into the game, with the ability to bring them along for missions, and using them as bullet sponges works effectively.

Naturally, the player doesn`t have to go head-long into story missions only, as there is a plentiful selection of side-missions to indulge in. These are a fun collection of interesting and downright funny diversions. Whether it’s driving a sewage truck, using it to spray more affluent areas to lower their value at the behest of a rival property developer, or Heli Assault, which sees the player using an attack helicopter to protect the player's gang members from rivals as they go from one drug drop to another. The insurance scam quests – throwing yourself in front of oncoming traffic – plays out almost like the PlayStation Network title PAIN, with multipliers awarded the distance dragged and so forth. The sick, twisted thrills are there for all to see.

The vast majority of SR2 concerns itself with gun-play, which turns out to be more accomplished than expected. By clicking in the right stick, this allows for fine aiming, giving the player the ability to target specific body parts. The infamous “nut shot” really is as wince-inducing as it sounds, although it can start to lose its impact through diminishing returns. Regardless, there is a superb selection of weapons for the player to enjoy and provide endless scope for causing mayhem.

Vehicles also play their part, with everything from excellent little ATVs to private jets making an appearance. Nothing says "white trash" better than driving a digger at 2 mph down a busy motorway, ramming cars off the road and causing all kinds of mayhem. If you deliver any vehicle to a 'crib' you own, they will always be available, which is a godsend after the travesty of two cars per house in GTA IV.

To say that SR2 looks a bit rough around the edges would be an understatement. Even in cut-scenes, it can look abysmal, but, like so much of the game, they aren`t without a certain charm. It`s almost as if the developers knew the game engine wasn`t quite up to scratch on a technical level, and decided to inject a sense of character to compensate for some of the more lackadaisical aspects of the game.

For all that SR2 does right, cracks start to appear the more you peer closely at it, such as trying to drive and shoot at the same time when in charge of a vehicle. The player can end up doing an impression of Abu Hamza trying to get to grips with spinning plates on '70s talent show Opportunity Knocks. When the timer appears because a target has moved too far away during a main mission objective, it adds insult to injury, but some concessions are provided in the form of generous checkpoints to alleviate the frustration of retries.

Infuriating bugs can occur, and random freezing, especially after a rather tedious mission lowers the tone further – increasing the action on screen – and it`s not unusual to see cars just flying up into the sky, or other such apparitions. That all this can be experienced from the off in cooperative mode is a blessing. While the game itself is a guilty pleasure all on its own, to share the experience is a riot of colourful language interspersed with shared objectives and much laughter, if both players share the games exuberance for mayhem. Ultimately, this is at the very essence of SR2: the ability to see beyond the crappy graphics, liberal use of fruity language and cringe-worthy dialogue and enjoy the lunacy on offer.

Multiplayer is a mixed bag, and beggars the question: why did they bother? Activities mostly revolve around races and the like, but are hugely derivative and unless the players change the options to accentuate the silliness, such as making everyone play using nothing but monster trucks, there is nothing of merit here.

Trashy, vulgar and complete with a set of morals that are thin at best, Saints Row 2 is a fantastically stupid game that infuriates as much as it entertains. While a Goldsmiths' Diamond might have more cachet, the cheap, twenty quid sovereign ring from Argos can prove just as alluring sometimes. A guilty pleasure that really is well worth a look.