The controls work well for shooting and driving, but not so well with hand to hand fighting using kicks and punches. Its a minor gripe, though, as players will likely be armed to the teeth with a variety of weapons that they'll either pick up from the dead or purchase from one of several stores in the city. Weapons are aimed using an FPS-type scheme on foot and can also be fired in almost every direction from a car, allowing you to shake off your pursuers with a healthy lead-filled send off. Other weapons are also available, including grenades and Molotov cocktails, although aiming throwables isn't as easy as it should be, requiring you to eyeball the throw more often than not.

Saints Row maintains the fun factor by focusing on what players would rather be doing instead of punishing them when they fail. Here, most missions will allow you to pick up right at the beginning of the job...usually at the doorstep of where you need to be...or quit out of one so that they can come back to it later. On the street, although you can earn money, the only real currency is respect and by performing missions and activities throughout Stilwater, your character will earn what they need to unlock extra jobs that they can try out. You won't earn extra statistics for your character, they won't get "stronger" or learn new skills, instead focusing on the action and how well you can drive and shoot at the same time.

Volition has packed Stilwater with a ton of activities and extras to earn even more respect and cash that you can blow on the newest styles for your character. You can ignore the main story missions and do hits on the side, hold up stores, break into them at night...and fight any extra security that the owner my have hired since last time you robbed them blind, race through the streets, try your skill at a demolition derby, or even engage in insurance fraud. There's a lot to do and a variety of achievements that you can unlock during the course of the game making it feel as if there is always something there to try out. Many of these scale in the challenge that they offer and allow the player to pick up at the last level that they had completed. Although you can only earn experience once by going through most of these activities, you can always repeat them for more green that you can spend.