I was more than pleased with previous Brady Games books for Grand Theft Auto IV, and GTA: San Andreas. Past experience set high expectations, so I purchased this guide site unseen.

It's so disappointing I almost feel cheated. Most of the book is little more than a recitation of the instruction manual and readily available in-game information with a few common sense tips that you can easily figure out by yourself.

In previous Brady books, collectible locations were usually described with overview maps, a sentence or two description on how to find them, and pictures to make collecting an easy, albeit often tedious, task. The Saints Row 2 book only provides a map, making elevation and exact location of collectibles much harder to pin-point.

Instructions on completing hit lists and car jacking give you no more information that what the game itself already gives you when you get the car and hit lists. No new advice, and no detailed location instructions.

The sections on vehicles and weapons is a major waste of space. All you get are pictures. No details and no statistics.

Brady had no business releasing this book. It is far, far below their usual standards.

This is one of the worst game guides I have ever tried to use. For the collectibles, there is just a map with no description of where or how to find what you are looking for. On top of that, the maps aren't even complete. There are 32 secret areas but the guide only has 19 on the map. The map only shows 65 of the 80 stunt jumps. The barnstorming map shows 33 of the 35 events but has eight crosshairs scattered around the map for no reason. I think only the CD's map has the correct number of markers. When you start a new game and bring the map up on the screen, everything except for the area where you start is grayed out and lacks detail. This is the screen shot they used in the guide for all of these maps. The prison where you start the game is bright and has some detail but everything else is not.

Other parts of the guide are equally deficient. The weapons section just has a picture and a name but not stats or information about the weapon or how to get it. The Hitman sections often give no more information about the target than what shows in the game.

I could go on and on but you get the idea. This is a total amateur job and not worth the money. There will be much better maps and guides available online for free before long, if they aren't available already. Wait for them.