Activities are important to the player as they unlock Respect, which is essentially a form of currency which allows the player to continue the storyline. As previously mentioned, they also unlock cash, which has a wider use in Saints Row 2, and specific unlockables, from discounts at stores to unlimited ammunition.
Along with new Activities, some previous Activities from Saints Row return, while others have been cut. Unlike Activities in Saints Row, each Activity in Saints Row 2 has just six levels instead of eight, and there are just two instances of them, rather than three. Unique unlocks are awarded to the player after completing both level three and level six of each Activity, rather than after completing all eight levels in Saints Row.
In Drug Trafficking, you ride as a passenger while the drug dealer drives around making deals. You must protect the dealer and buyers from cops and gang members using a variety of supplied weapons.
In Escort, you are given a car in which you drive a hooker and their client around town, avoiding the paparazzi and fulfilling any desires the client wants which the hooker can't.
For Hitman, you must locate and eliminate specific targets. Targets can be killed at any time, and will appear on the map even if not selected in the HUD.
In Insurance Fraud, you must throw yourself into harm's way for profit, throwing yourself in front of cars, or diving out of them, the more damage to yourself the more money you get.
In Septic Avenger, you must use a roof mounted Spray weapon to spray human excrement all over the town to bring down property values. As with the Drug Trafficking Activity, you do not control the car, but you can ask the driver to brake.
Unlike in Saints Row, activity cutscenes cannot be replayed.
Because activities can be played at any time, neither Carlos Mendoza or Johnny Gat are featured in any activity or activity cutscene, due to storyline events which make them unavailable at some points in the game.