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Saints Row 2

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Title Screen

Saints Row 2

Developer: Volition
Publisher: THQ
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, Linux
Released internationally: January 5, 2009 (Windows), April 14, 2016 (Linux)
Released in JP: December 4, 2008
Released in US: October 14, 2008
Released in EU: October 16, 2008
Released in DE: November 28, 2008[1]
Released in AU: October 17, 2008


AnimationsIcon.png This game has unused animations.
AreasIcon.png This game has unused areas.
CodeIcon.png This game has unused code.
ObjectIcon.png This game has unused objects.
MinigameIcon.png This game has unused modes / minigames.
GraphicsIcon.png This game has unused graphics.
SoundIcon.png This game has unused sounds.
TextIcon.png This game has unused text.
RegionIcon.png This game has regional differences.


PrereleaseIcon.png This game has a prerelease article
NotesIcon.png This game has a notes page
BugsIcon.png This game has a bugs page

See, this is why server preservation is important.
This game's online features are no longer supported.
While this game's online features were once accessible, they are (as of May 31, 2014, PlayStation 3 and Windows) no longer officially supported and online-exclusive features may be documented as now-unseen content.
So very stubbly.
This page is rather stubbly and could use some expansion.
Are you a bad enough dude to rescue this article?

Saints Row 2 is the multiplatform sequel to the Xbox 360-exclusive original. It's known for going far more over the top than the original ever did, a move that would only be further exaggerated by the next three games. It was once known for being one of the worst PC ports, until the source code was miraculously found by Volition after around a decade. Thus, an optimization patch is in the works along with the console-exclusive DLC.

Note: As this game was built off the previous instalment, there is still some unused content lingering from there. This page will cover content only exclusive to the sequel, unless stated otherwise.

Hmmm...
To do:
Quite a bit.

Sub-Pages

Read about prerelease information and/or media for this game.
Prerelease Info
Miscellaneous tidbits that are interesting enough to point out here.
Notes
Read about notable bugs and errors in this game.
Bugs
SR2 3rdStreetSaintsIcon.png
Unused Mission-Related Text and Audio
There's quite a few!
UI act piracy.png
Activites and Diversions
Other ways to wreak havoc and make it to the top.
SoundIcon.png
Unused Audio
Less unheard sounds this time around.
SR2 ui hud act ico theft.png
Unused Graphics
New stuff, except with Saints Row 1.5 leftovers.
Blank.png
Unused Locations
Way more hidden than The Pyramid.
Blank.png
Unused Clothing
Forbidden threads from last year's fall collection.
SR2 cdvariantbfront.tga 0.png
Oddities
More than just hidden secrets...
SR2 photoofkingjuls pl.tga 0.png
Saints Row Leftovers
Stuff that got lost within Stilwater's mass gentrification.
Blank.png
Regional Differences
We beg your pardon - very bad things happen in this Sub-Page!

Removed Activities

Hmmm...
To do:
Get a video of them.

Piracy

UI act piracy.png

Piracy was an Activity that would have involved boarding Cargo Ships to kill guards and steal a laptop, then taking the stolen goods to a drop-off point. On the way there, ambush points would have been present with police in boats and helicopters.

The Miami has a Piracy variant defined in the game's files, which is equipped with sirens. The game's files specify that the Playa would have been riding a Shark for this activity.

As the data files for this Activity are incomplete, some of the details of this activity are uncertain, although the map coordinates for the cargo ship locations are present. Some of the data files cross-reference the deleted hijacking activity with the piracy activity, but it is unknown whether piracy was originally supposed to replace hijacking or simply be an additional activity.

Guardian Angel

Ui other angel.png

The data files for this Activity are included with the game. The data files for this Activity were incomplete, so the details of it are uncertain, but it seems that this Activity involved protecting people in an Escort-type mission. This activity would see the light of day in Saints Row: The Third.

Hijacking

Can be found half-complete in the game's data files, though details are vague. The only info we have on it is dialogue files found in the game, and the lines from the strings file.

Unused Mission Objective

Hmmm...
To do:
There's more

In the mission Room Service, there exists a cut objective where the player must visit the arms dealer at Sunnyvale Gardens before heading to the hotel, complete with unused dialogue. It can be failed if the dealer gets killed in any way.

Strangely, the dealer can actually be recruited as a Homie, though it uses the placeholder icon of a female caucasian gang member. The voice line also sounds quieter than the other voices in the game, meaning it was probably placeholder dialogue.

(Source: MasakoTeam)

Unused Cutscene Content

Within the files (voice_script_us.le_strings) exist unused extra subtitles for various cutscenes.

Cutscenes for Activities will NOT be covered in this section due to having separate voice lines.

Scrapped Prologue Cutscene?

Marked as tss00, are three lines spoken by Julius, likely intended to take place at the very beginning of the game. Those lines are only present in the cutscene file and aren't referenced anywhere else. When asked about those lines to Steve Jaros, he couldn't remember as there were too many drafts of the story.

For reference, The Anna Show (used on the Attract Mode screen) is called CUTSCENE_TSSP_INTRO02, while the Vacation's Over cutscene is referred to as CUTSCENE_TSSP_INTRO2.

String Character Text
JULIUS_TSS00_CUT01_01 Julius Yeah...that's them...
JULIUS_TSS00_CUT01_02 Julius I can...this one's a survivor. Can they hear me?
JULIUS_TSS00_CUT01_03 Julius Sorry playa, but I did what had to be done. Hopefully you'll understand someday.

Choices

Unused audio descriptive subtitles.

String Character Text
WMPLAYER_BR04_CUT02_1 Protagonist (Male 1) Breathes Heavily
BMPLAYER_BR04_CUT02_1 Protagonist (Male 2)
HMPLAYER_BR04_CUT02_1 Protagonist (Male 3)
WFPLAYER_BR04_CUT02_1 Protagonist (Female 1)
BFPLAYER_BR04_CUT02_1 Protagonist (Female 2)
HFPLAYER_BR04_CUT02_1 Protagonist (Female 3)
CARLOS_BR04_CUT02_PAIN_1 Carlos Painfully wheezing
CARLOS_BR04_CUT02_PAIN_2 Carlos Screams in agony
CARLOS_BR04_CUT02_PAIN_4 Carlos Breathes faster and shallower
CARLOS_BR04_CUT02_PAIN_5 Carlos Screams in agony
CARLOS_BR04_CUT02_PAIN_6 Carlos Softly whimpering and crying

An Amazing Quarter

The cutscene has an unused intro according to dialogue lines.

String Character Text
DANE_TSSE_INTRO_1 Dane Vogel Let's give another round of applause to Mr. Gryphon and his mining project...
DANE_TSSE_INTRO_2 Dane Vogel Thanks to all of you for making it out today...it's been a big year for all of us in the Ultor family, and I think we owe a lot of that to our legal team...
DANE_TSSE_INTRO_3 Dane Vogel 300 indictments, no convictions!
DANE_TSSE_INTRO_4 Dane Vogel But we're not here to celebrate past victories, no matter how impressive...no...we're here to discuss the future.

An extra line intended to be used at the end of the cutscene.

String Character Text
DANE_TSSE_INTRO_8 Dane Vogel Now here's the best part...this isn't some distant plan, some hypothetical solution...the future is happening now. Most of the undesirables have already been swept away. All that's standing between us and a better world is The Third Street Saints...now I don't know about you, but I'm feelin' pretty good about our odds...

Unused Text

Hmmm...
To do:
Yup, even these were translated into over a dozen languages....

Activities

String Text
PIRACY_LEVEL_SELECTION Piracy Level Selection
PIRACY_START start Piracy
PIRACY_TITLE PIRACY

Cribs

Mentions of the Barrio Hacienda and Yacht crib are listed, but have no furniture customization options. "BA" obviously stands for Barrio, but it is unknown what "MU" stands for.

String Text
Crib_BA Barrio Hacienda
Crib_BA_PURCHASE purchase the Barrio Hacienda crib for ${0}
Crib_MU Yacht
Crib_MU_PURCHASE purchase the Yacht crib for ${0}

Map Icons

Map icon strings for scrapped Activites. Oddly, Hijacking is nowhere to be found.

String Text
MAP_ICON_GUARDIAN_ANGEL Guardian Angel
MAP_ICON_PIRACY Piracy
MAP_ICON_THEFT Theft

Miscellaneous unused strings. Underground is not used in Stilwater Caverns, where the Spelunkers shop appears instead.

String Text
MAP_ICON_STAIRS Stairs
MAP_ICON_UNDERGROUND Underground
MAP_ICON_UNDEFINED Undefined

Menus

Oddly, 101.69 Sizzurp is the only scrapped radio station to be mentioned in the Radio Station Menu suggesting it got further than the other stations.

String Text
RADIO_STATION_GENRE_SIZZURP Hip Hop and Rap Music


Localization Leftovers

String Text
LOCALIZE_CHOP_SHOP {localize}Chop Shop
LOCALIZE_FRANCHISE {localize}franchise
LOCALIZE_HITMAN_DISPLAY_NAME (LOCALIZE)HITMAN_DISPLAY_NAME
LOCALIZE_NONE None
MISSION_UNLOCALIZED_STRING Danger! Unlocalized String over Network!

Multiplayer

String Text
MSSN_DESTROY_OBJECTS (Temp) Stay in the area to cause a commotion.

Unused Subtitles

Newscasts

There exists unused subtitles for newscasts that are played after beating missions, but they never show up. Not all of them have subtitles, suggesting that they were scrapped early.

String Mission Text
JANE_TSSP01_NEWSCAST_01 Jailbreak It's been said that this year's heatwave has made this summer the worst in Stilwater's history. Today another feather has been added to this years dubious cap: the leader of the Third Street Saints has awoken. Long since forgotten, this criminal icon joined fellow inmate Carlos Mendoza in brazen escape from Stilwater Penitentary. In a plan born from pruno and despiration, the two fugitives cut a bloody swath as they moved from cell block, to the open water. While their current wareabouts are unknown, it's safe to assume that the sidewalks are no longer safe. I'm Jane Valderamma, chanel 6 news.
JANE_TSSP02_NEWSCAST_02 Appointed Defender It was an ending more dramatic than a movie of the week, and more violent than a Charles Mueller film but the Johnny Gat trial has finally come to a close. Earlier today the formerly comatose leader of the Saints burst into the Stilwater Courthouse guns blazing, leaving Justice not only blind but gut shot as well. As the odds of our city plunging into gang violence rise the one safe bet is this: the only people happy about what happened in the courthouse, is Friendly Fire. I'm Jane Valderamma, channel 6 news.
JANE_TSSP03_NEWSCAST_01 Down Payment The streets of Stilwater were quiet today, as apparently the homeless population of Stilwater took the day off. Sidewalks that were once bustling with hobos panhandling are eerily vacant, and park benches are stangely available to be sat on. No one knows for sure what happened to our oft forgotten and smelly bretheren...maybe someone finally gave them their two dollars. I'm Jane Valderamma, channel 6 news.
JANE_TSSP04_NEWSCAST_01 Three Kings Like Saint Nick stuffing candies in a child's shoe, an annonomus individual hid goodies of a different sort in the Stilwater River. This morning bodies of several homeless as well as those belonging to astreet gang known as "The Sons of Samedi" were found floating down the coast. Could this be a bloody portend of things to come? Only time will tell. I'm Jane Valderamma, channel 6 news.
JANE_RON01_NEWSCAST_01 Saint's Seven It was the god Posideon who watched over sailors setting forth from Greece, ensuring their safety. Sadly, the Grecian diety was unable to extend this same protection to his Texas Hold 'Em tables. While details remain sketchy at best, early reports have said Troy Bradshaw is handling the investigation personally. More on this daring robbery as the story unfolds. I'm Jane Valderamma, channel 6 news.
JANE_RON11_NEWSCAST_01 One Man's Junk... The Chinese Heritage Festival...a time for fun, egg drop soup and tonight...murder. It was here that the notorious street gang known as "The Ronin" terrorized the festival presumidly looking for tea house entrepaneur, Mr. Wong. As fires burned junk and tai chi practicioner alike, the festival goers were rescued by an unlikely savior...the Third Street Saints. I'm Jane Valderamma, channel 6 news.
JANE_BR08_NEWSCAST_01 Jail Bait Today members of The Brotherhood who were released from prison found out that while the law aquitted them, justice is a blind and spiteful whore. As the newly released men and women were being driven to be released, the leader of the Third Streets turned these vehicles of deliverence into municipal coffins. I'm Jane Valderamma, channel 6 news.
JANE_SOS05_NEWSCAST_01 Burning Down the House Chaos. It's the only word fitting to describe the results of the conflageration that's consuming Shivington. Earlier tonight a series of meth labs exploded creating a chain of events that is nothing short of catastrophic. As the neighborhood burns, emergency teams are desperately trying to treat any one they can find. As burn wards throughout the city get filled to capacity, one has to wonder. What sort of sociopath could be responsible for causing this. I'm Jane Valderamma, channel 6 news.
JANE_TSSE02_NEWSCAST_01 Pyramid Scheme The Pyramid. It was a fictional place constructed in the minds of conspiracy therorists and the severly deranged...or was it? Today an explosion deep within Mount Claflin destroyed more than just bedrock...it obliterated our fragile beliefs. Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you're sitting down: The Pyramid...is real. For more on this breathtaking development, tune into channel 6 news tonight. I'm Jane Valderamma, channel 6 news.
JANE_TSSE03_NEWSCAST_01 Salting the Earth...Again It was to be the gala to end all galas...and regretably for the Ultor Board of Directors...it was. The mirth born of profits and over priced vodka gimlets was drowned out by gunfire, as an unknown assailent killed the party with more efficiency and brutality than any line dance could. I'm Jane Valderamma, channel 6 news.
JANE_BONUS_NEWSCAST_01 Revelation It is the end of an era. The body of gang icon Julius Little was found this morning, and while the time of his passing has yet to be deterimed, his multiple gun shot wounds have ruled out accidental death. Does this mean that the gang epidemic is finally coming to an end? Or is this simply one more casualty in a continually mounting gang war? I'm Jane Valderamma, channel 6 news.

Homie Calls

There's no subtitles for Zombie Carlos.

String Character Text
SHAUNDI_CELL_PHONE_01 Shaundi You can count on me, boss.
SHAUNDI_CELL_PHONE_02 Shaundi I'm nearby, boss. Gimme a sec.
SHAUNDI_CELL_PHONE_03 Shaundi I can make it... but I'm really baked right now...
SHAUNDI_CELL_PHONE_04 Shaundi Are you near a Freckle Bitch's? I've got the munchies...
SHAUNDI_CELL_PHONE_05 Shaundi Should I bring the guns or the tequila?
String Character Text
PIRECE_CELL_PHONE_01 Pierce Shit, I ain't doin' nothing else...
PIERCE_CELL_PHONE_02 Pierce Don't start havin' fun 'til I get there.
PIERCE_CELL_PHONE_03 Pierce They're gonna be sorry they fucked with us...
PIERCE_CELL_PHONE_04 Pierce I knew you liked me... Shaundi don't know shit...
PIERCE_CELL_PHONE_05 Pierce For real? ...man I just made a sandwich.
String Character Text
LEE_CELL_PHONE_01 Legal Lee Don't worry, I'll make all your legal problems disappear.
LEE_CELL_PHONE_02 Legal Lee You need a fixer? Stay right there.
LEE_CELL_PHONE_03 Legal Lee Don't confess to anything until I get there.
LEE_CELL_PHONE_04 Legal Lee Need me to tamper with evidence, huh?
LEE_CELL_PHONE_05 Legal Lee Anything for my best client.
String Character Text
JANE_CELL_PHONE_01 Jane Tonight's top story: Award-winning reporter kicks some ass.
JANE_CELL_PHONE_02 Jane My first undercover assignment!
JANE_CELL_PHONE_03 Jane I've never been an embedded journalist before!
JANE_CELL_PHONE_04 Jane This is Jane Valderama, soon to be reporting from the frontlines.
JANE_CELL_PHONE_05 Jane I finally get the exclusive on the 3rd Street Saints?
String Character Text
GAT_CELL_PHONE_01 Johnny Gat I'm comin' Don't move.
GAT_CELL_PHONE_02 Johnny Gat If I get to shoot somethin', you only gotta ask once.
GAT_CELL_PHONE_03 Johnny Gat See... I knew you'd miss me.
GAT_CELL_PHONE_04 Johnny Gat And here I thought you'd never call... On my way.
GAT_CELL_PHONE_05 Johnny Gat About time. I was startin' to get bored here...
String Character Text
TROY_CELL_PHONE_01 Troy Let's crack a few skulls for old time's sake.
TROY_CELL_PHONE_02 Troy I'm bringing my gun and leaving my badge.
TROY_CELL_PHONE_03 Troy I'll help you, but you gotta keep the bodycount down.
TROY_CELL_PHONE_04 Troy I knew you'd need my help.
TROY_CELL_PHONE_05 Troy Gonna be just like old times, huh?
String Character Text
TOBIAS_CELL_PHONE_01 Tobias Well if it isn't my favorite formerly comatose psychopathic killer...
TOBIAS_CELL_PHONE_02 Tobias LET'S GET IT DONE!
TOBIAS_CELL_PHONE_03 Tobias I'd do anything for the Saints, you know that.
TOBIAS_CELL_PHONE_04 Tobias You need me? Aight... lemme just find my pants...
TOBIAS_CELL_PHONE_05 Tobias Yes... YES.

Placeholder Text

Found in the same text strings as phone calls.

SP text blah

Unused Data

Scrapped Mission

There are two files called em02.lua and em02.cts, which comes after Revelation (em01.lua). Inside the former are placeholder lines, with a date sharing with some missions around that time.

-- em02.lua
-- SR2 mission script
-- 3/28/07


function em02_start()
	-- Start trigger is hit...the activate button was hit
	set_mission_author("Your Name Here")
end

function em02_cleanup()
	-- Cleanup mission here
end

function em02_success()
	-- Called when the mission has ended with success
	-- Unlock SWAT costume
end

The other file has the settings all commented out with "-----". There is also no mention of em02 in voice_script_us and static_us, while em01 in the former is referred to as BONUS. The incomplete state of the files and missing lines state that the mission was likely scrapped early in development.

Unused Property

Elementary, my dear Cactus.
This needs some investigation.
Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page.
Specifically: Where is the property spawn point located when enabled?

Located between Company of Gyros and Leather and Lace, is an unused property called "Fangs Memories". It would have costed $5,000, had an income of $200, and would have given the player a 20% off discount. They have the "Localized_Name" category of of "COSTUME_NAME", which is shared with another shop called Let's Pretend. Fangs Memories may have been an earlier version of that, or judging from the gothic name was reworked into Nobody Loves Me.

Disabled Radio Stations

There are seven radio stations that are marked as disabled in the radio.xbtl and music.xbtl files. They are 101.69 Sizzurp FM, Radio Free Stilwater 87.6, The Rock FM 94.8, The Kronic 92.2, The Faction FM 99.8, WMD KBOOM 108.0 and 91.8 KPASA. All of the radio stations are left over from the previous game, with the exception of KPASA and Radio Free Stilwater 87.6. Attempting to re-enable the radio stations will crash the game due to not having any associated audio files, and all of them having a placeholder slot of "123" in the radio.xbtl folder.

91.8 KPASA was likely a radio station that would have played Latino music judging from the name, where a station like that would likely later appear as Kabron 104.2 in Saints Row: The Third. It was likely cut early in development because no songs were assigned to them in the files, and having leftover strings for weather report audio and for The Rock FM 94.8 that was present in the previous game. Radio Free Stilwater (or RFS for short) was a radio station that was supposed to appear in Saints Row, but was cut despite being listed in the manual credits.

In pause_menu.lua, only Radio Free Stilwater, Sizzurp 101.69 and WMD KBOOM 108.0 are listed, but they don't have any preview audio, which goes by "RADIO_STATION_GENRE" instead of the title of a song.

Internal Data

Hidden Mission Credits and Dates

Found in misc_tables_city for the Xbox 360 version or common in the Windows version contains internal names for missions, which have authors and dates of the .lua scripts.

Filename Mission Author Date
tss01.lua Jailbreak Ryan Spencer April 25, 2008
tss02.lua Appointed Defender Ryan Spencer and Phillip Alexander March 19, 2008
tss03.lua Down Payment Ryan Spencer March 21, 2008
tss04.lua Three Kings Ryan Spencer March 27, 2008

The Gang Missions all share the same credits schemes as the individual missions, but are different for factions;

  • The Sons of Samedi Missions are credited as Mark Gabby and Brad Johnson, while the dates are all March 28, 2007.
  • The Ronin missions are credited to Philip Alexander, while the dates are all Match 28, 2007.
  • The Brotherhood missions do have credits for different missions below;
Filename Mission Author Date
bh01.lua First Impressions Aaron Hanson and Ryan Spancer March 11, 2008
bh02.lua Reunion Tour Kevin J. Price, Aaron Hanson, and Mark Gabby March 28, 2007
bh03.lua Waste Not Want Not Kevin J. Price March 28, 2007
bh04.lua Red Asphalt Phillip Alexander and Aaron Hanson (aka Father Zucosos) March 28, 2007
bh05.lua Bank Error in Your Favor Aaron Hanson March 28, 2007
bh06.lua Thank You and Goodnight! Phillip Alexander and Aaron Hanson March 28, 2007
bh07.lua Retribution Phillip Alexander and Aaron Hanson March 28, 2007
bh08.lua Jail Bait Phillip Alexander and Aaron Hanson March 28, 2007
bh09.lua The Enemy of My Enemy Aaron Hanson March 28, 2007
bh10.lua The Siege Phillip Alexander and Aaron Hanson March 28, 2007
bh11.lua Showdown Aaron Hanson March 28, 2007
Filename Mission Author Date
ep01.lua Picking a Fight Phillip Alexander March 28, 2007
ep02.lua Pyramid Scheme Phillip Alexander and Aaron Hanson March 28, 2007
ep03.lua Salting The Earth...Again Aaron Hanson and Ryan Spencer March 28, 2007
ep04.lua ...And a Better Life "Mark Gabby and Anoop Shekar March 28, 2007
em01.lua Revelation Ryan Spencer April 25, 2008
em02.lua N/A N/A March 28, 2007

Development Oversights

Hmmm...
To do:
Cover:

Audio

Subtitle Errors

Mission Filename Audio On-screen Subtitles Actual audio
Veteran Child HMPLAYER_SOS4_PHONECALL_04
Don't worry about, I wanna take care of this personally. Don't worry about it, I wanna take care of this personally.

Trail Blazing Downtown Cutscene Line Error

In the Downtown cutscene for Trail Blazing, Chuck states that the protagonist will be "running around" in a flame suit but they stay in a vehicle at all times. Though this line can be related to exaggeration, this is more likely a leftover of the earlier Human Torch Activity where the protagonist must torch many pedestrians as possible while wearing a suit on fire.

Filename Character Audio Transcript
CHUCK_TORCH_DTOWN_4 Chuck
OK, let's just get you registered with the union and we'll have you running around in a flame suit in no time...

Unavailable Unlockable Vehicle

In the unlock graphic for "Gang Customization Cars 3" (ui_ct_territory3.tga_0), a unique Third Street Saints Socialite can be seen at the top left but is never unlocked in Gang Customization. An unused variant of the Socalite in the exact same appearance from the graphic does exist.

It just didn't ride hard enough.

Stilwater Science Center Statue Error

The statue of the Stilwater Science Center is different in the unlock screen in comparison to the final.

Graphic Final Image
SR2 CentennialBeachUnlock.png

Miscellaneous Oversights

  • In Pyramid Scheme, the protagonist is tasked to raise Ultor Notoriety to four stars, but only the regular Police Notoriety is used. This implies that the unused Ultor Notoriety was going to be used.

Regional Differences

Hmmm...
To do:
A LOT of German version changes.
  • Also, some Japanese version changes.

Saints Row 2 dialled up the edgy nature from the previous entry, resulting in changes to be made for the German and Japanese versions. Like the previous game, the Achievements are different in those versions, and are thus treated as "separate games".

Strangely, the Linux port of the game isn't available to German players due to "issues with the source code".

German Version Changes

Hmmm...
To do:
Cover
  • Get a video of the edited cutscenes; the list it in this page
  • Check if the changed translations (kill = defeat) are also in non-German language copies of the game.

Infamously, the German version had to go through numerous cuts to ship with a USK 18 rating in Germany, leading to a lot more changes than were present in the previous game.

Gameplay Changes

  • There are only 42 Xbox 360 achievements that can be earned, compared to 50.
  • The Zombie Uprising mode is completely removed.
  • Human Shields are completely removed from the game, thus some of the missions are changed.
  • Zombie Carlos cannot be added as a Homie, as attempting to dial the Eye for Eye Phone Number after the mission Red Asphalt will result in the generic wrong number message. The number of unlockable Homies are also stuck as 8 out of 9 as of a result, but still counts towards 100% completion.
  • The Shock Paddles, unlocked with completing the Ambulance EMT Diversion can no longer be used to revive pedestrians, due to corpses disappearing instantly after death.
  • Money is dropped from pedestrians after injuring them once with any sort of weapon, rather than having to kill them.
  • Several Combat Tricks have been removed such as Head Shot, Multi Kill, Nut Shot, One-hit Kill, Slice 'N Dice, Taunt, and Throwing. Only one Driving Stunt was removed, which was Roadkill.

Activity and Diversion Changes

  • In Fight Club, it is no longer possible to perform a button-mashing finishing move on opponents, where simply beating them up instantly defeats them.
  • Four activities have been removed: Mayhem, FUZZ, Trail Blazing, and Crowd Control. Hitman is present, unlike the previous game.
    • This makes the Flamethrower, Annihilator RPG, Kobra, Pepper Spray and Chainsaw weapons in Crib completely unobtainable.
    • The 5% and 15% Crib Customization, 5% and 15% Police Notoriety reduction, 5% and 15% Brotherhood Notoriety reduction, 5% and 15% Reduced Explosion Damage, 5% and 15% Clothing Store Discount and Infinite pistol ammo abilities are also completely unobtainable as of a result.
  • The suggestive sounds in the Ho-ing Diversion have been removed.

Visual Changes

  • Headshot splatters can no longer be seen when characters are shot in the head, along with the sound being removed.
  • Just like the previous game, pedestrians no longer bleed on the ground when they're dead and disappear. The same also applies to blood pools introduced in this game, which don't appear.
  • The unique Katana weapon finisher move animations are removed.

Cutscene Changes

Hmmm...
To do:
Get a YouTube video showing all the censored scenes with comparison to the uncensored one.

Several parts of cutscenes have been censored by a black screen with a message that says "We beg your pardon - very bad things happen behind this screen!" (Wir bitten um Verzeihung - sehr böse Dinge passieren hinter diesem schwarzen Bildschirm!) even though the audio can still be heard and the subtitles can still be seen. The following scenes have been changed:

  • In the "Check, Please" cutscene of the "Appointed Defender" mission, the scene of Playa hitting The Brotherhood member with a broken wine glass was covered up.
  • The scene of Shaundi lighting up the Loa Dust and offering Playa to smoke the substance. The scenes of Shaundi describing the amount of smuggled Loa Dust was also covered up.
  • The scene of Mr. Sunshine's death in "Eternal Sunshine" was also simply cut to Playa firing the last bullet on him.

Japanese Version Changes

If not all, but some of the changes from the German version is carried over.

  • Due to CERO rating legislations regarding nudity in video games, all instances of nudity have been removed despite already having a mosaic blur. The player cannot remove underwear from the protagonist, thus making the Streaking Diversion inaccessible and all streaking NPCs have been covered with underwear. The changes also apply to all platforms.
  • Human shields have been removed from the game, as in the German version.
    • This makes the mission Bank Error in Your Favor play differently: Jessica is recruited as a temporary Homie rather than being used as a human shield to open up the safe.
  • The cutscene where Mr. Sunshine gets beheaded was cut to the protagonist chopping his head due to CERO rating legislations.