IGN: Is Johnny Gat the only friend from the last game that you meet up with in SR2? If not, who else?
JT: We definitely have other characters from SR making appearances in Saints Row 2. Gat's girlfriend Aisha, who went into hiding after being presumed dead, is still around to lend a hand to the cause. Troy isn't a Saint anymore, but obviously become a fixture in the city as Stilwater's top cop. Along with some new lieutenants for the sequel, several other characters the player may have met in SR missions or storylines return as well. The great thing about the Saints Row franchise is that we've got this great setting of an evolving city, and we get to draw upon its rich history and build it up at the same time with all these characters.
IGN: It seems like Ultor might be controlling more than just the law-abiding parts of society. Are they paying off the gangs to cause a ruckus so they can swoop in and play the role of hero?
JT: Ultor keeps its hands just as clean as any other multi-national conglomerate (which is to say: not very). They'll deal with anyone that can create a more robust bottom line on the ledger and then trample them afterwards with no regrets.
IGN: Compare the amount of cutscenes from the first game to this one. In terms of hours.
JT: If you put all our cutscenes in Saints Row 2 back to back, you'd have enough footage for a feature length film. With around 90 minutes of cool fistfights, standoffs, shootouts, battles between cars, executions, and more, there is a lot of story here for players to get wrapped up in. Our animators brought back motion-capture footage of each shoot along with all the data for the scenes, and the commitment and dedication of the motion-capture actors that we saw was incredible. These individuals showed a lot of passion, putting themselves in physically demanding and often dangerous situations to get us the shots we needed, and the results look great in the game.
IGN: What returning voice actors can we expect to hear? Any new names that people might know?
JT: I'm very excited about our voice actors in Saints Row 2. Daniel Dae Kim, Michael Rappaport, and Keith David are back as Johnny Gat, Troy, and Julius. And many members of the Saints and the rival gangs are also voiced by a wide range of well known Hollywood talent as well, breathing life into the new cast of characters. Fans like me who spent evenings slamming down White Castle sliders while watching vampire slayers or Klingon warships will be pleased.
IGN: If you could compare the storyline of Saints Row 2 to a movie, what would it be?
JT: There's definitely a strong Tarantino vibe in Saints Row 2 – fans will see the influence of his filmmaking in the game. Stylistically, we drew a lot from Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill. There's this over-the-top, socially distorted lens through which we're telling these gang stories that gives us the opportunity and the means for some unique and quirky humor. But at the same time, we have some very dark elements in each mission arc that push the bounds of brutality, sadness, anger, and empathy.
IGN: There's sword fighting in the trailer. Does that mean that we'll be able to slice and dice fools with some bigger than a knife in Saints Row 2?
JT: Yeah, there's definitely some sharp steel being swung about in Saints Row 2. We've made some big improvements overall with our melee system, so we had to include fun weapons to go along with it. If the elegant arc of a samurai sword isn't your thing, the heavy-duty chainsaw is just a button push away. Of course you could always pick up a beer bottle or pool cue or twenty seven inch television and smash it over the head of your opponent too.
IGN: Thanks for taking the time, James.
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