The first next-gen open-world title to grace consoles was Saint’s Row back in 2006. It enjoyed good sales and positive review scores, though many claimed that it copied the GTA series a bit too much. With the release of GTA 4 looming up ahead, developer Volition went on record to say that Saint’s Row 2 will hold its own against the behemoth when it’s released later this year.

Volition’s Greg Donovan, speaking at the game’s unveiling, commented that co-operative gameplay in the titles will be a “huge distinguishing factor”. He also added that they believe their sequel will live up to expectation and that “we [Volition] wouldn’t be releasing [it] this year if we didn’t think it would be competitive.”

Let’s see what the future holds, seeing as how both titles are shaping up to be amazing games.