Co-optimised: Saints Row 4 plays best with a buddy

Co-operative play in Saints Row really isn't anything new. Saints Row the Third allowed players to team up and tackle the campaign from start to finish, having each others backs when the going got rough.

Here are five reasons you should, if possible, experience Saints Row 4 with a buddy. Trust me, you won't regret it.

Super Powered Co-op

It's one thing to team up to take down a rival gang, but it's another to hop around rooftoops, glide around, run up and down buildings, and smash down into the streets, sending enemies and innocent pedestrians flying in all directions. The best thing is that by having multiple people, you can combo your power to some truly impressive results. Since switching elements isn't always instant and requires a bit of a cool down, one of you could shoot a Freeze Blast, freezing any enemy in the area, while the other shoots down a Fire Blast, instantly incinerating the entire group.

Super powers kick ass to begin with, but unleashing chaos on Steelport with a friend is that much cooler.

Collectible Completionist Made Easy

There are a ton of collectibles in Saints Row 4. From the hundreds of data clusters to upgrade your character's powers, to destroying Zinyak statues, and even a bunch of audio logs from various characters once they've been saved in the game. Finding collectibles in co-op is made that much better, since anything picked up by either player, gets added to both players' total.

Activities Lose the Monotony

If there is a universal truth to most Saints Row games, it's that despite the variety of Activities available, they definitely tend to get repetitive.

The best thing about doing these Activities with a buddy is that they tend to negate that monotony associated with them. Destroying waves of glitched enemies alone isn't anywhere near as satisfying as taking them on with another super powered buddy.

For a game that relishes in a ton of Activities to do, anything that makes them feel a little less repetitive, and more fun, is definitely a welcome option.

Tag Team the Entire Campaign

Sure, running, super jumping and gliding around the city of Steelport is fun, but let's not forget that you can complete the game in its entirety, campaign wise, with a friend.

That means you get to experience everything from alien abductions, matrix-style virtual realities, rescuing and recruiting your now beloved crew of badass Saints and rescuing humanity from the evil clutches of Zinyak.

What's even better, you're not really losing out on anything by playing with a second player. Every cutscene always features your created President, meaning you won't ever have to feel like you're playing second fiddle.

Feeling Competitive

As much fun as kicking alien ass is, sometimes, the spirit of competitiveness takes over us. There are more than enough opportunities to see who is the best.

From various competitive Activities like Cat & Mouse, which has, like the title implies, one person chasing the other, usually in a highly weaponized vehicle.

But competitive activities don't need to be structured in Saints Row 4. Want to decide who's the fastest? Just pick a straightaway and see who can sprint down to the end the fastest. How about a climbing challenge? Pick one of the six Zinyak Towers and see who can reach the top first. The beauty of this game is that it allows for these sorts of activities, without them actually being Activities.

Saints Row 4 is an amazingly fun game, our review says so dammit! If you do have a buddy to play with, the experience just gets that much better.