THQ has confirmed that the sequel to the free roaming gangster adventure, Saints Row is due for release in 2008 and will feature a rejuvenated city which will allow for unprecedented levels of freedom.

Saints Row 2 is in development for Xbox 360 and PS3 and will feature new vehicles, further customisation options and Sandbox tools and toys that will allow us to customise the city of Stilwater. In addition they'll be an online co-op and a multiplayer mode.

"Saints Row set the bar for next-gen open-world development, earning praise for its unmatched customization, controls, and the genre’s first-ever online multiplayer," said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of sales and marketing, THQ. "The team at Volition, Inc. is leveraging invaluable experience gained on Saints Row to build Saints Row 2 into a game that sets the standard for combat, player freedom, customization, vehicle game-play, team-based co-op and the most compelling online open world experience to date."

"Saints Row 2 has a much darker and more sinister story that leads your character down a path of betrayal, revenge and redemption against the city that has left him for dead, although we’ve blended that with the same light-hearted humor from the original." said Greg Donovan, lead producer, Volition, Inc. "Couple that with the most robust open-world feature set ever developed in the genre, and Saints Row 2 promises a gaming experience that will offer players the perfect balance of gripping narrative and compelling gameplay options."

Let's hope they get the online aspect right first time around - those with good memories will remember that it took THQ two months to bring out a patch to fix the awful lag issues.