the grunter

(This has to be the review with the most number of screenshots, I had fun simply taking these photos, the game is that fun.)

As one of Xbox 360′s early titles (2006), Volition’s Saints Row obviously had the advantage that Rockstar’s GTA IV was nowhere in sight (not even announced that year), but did Saints Row really need that advantage? If you ask me, I’d say it would do just fine even if GTA IV was released that same year.

The dev team that made Saints Row was apparently well aware of two things: 1) They couldn’t succeed by making a copycat of GTA (smart) and 2) Who says the GTA series is perfect as far as sandbox games go?

With confidence Volition gave us a healthy alternative to the dominating GTA titles. I played it when it came out, and found myself saying “Game quality-wise, this is at least on par with GTA: San Andreas (the latest in the series at the time). But personal enjoyment level-wise, this game is wayyy beyond GTA on my scale.”

The Good

• We’ll start with the features printed on the back of the box. First and foremost – Character creation and customization. Sure, you can change outfits in GTA, but how about fine-tuning every single detail of your main guy, from hair color to body shape? It really helps you feel more attached to the game when you have this level of customization

(Posing on the streets at night like a boss)

• Gang recruitment system – You can round up..

(Wait hold up, you said somethin’ my man?)

(What’s up? What’s up?)

(UGHHH! Who blocking the streets now?)

(Where you at! Where you at!)

• ..As I was saying, you can round up gang members as you rank up in your gang. Simply approach a thug that wears your color, and he will “ride and die with you”. This isn’t new, EA’s Freedom Fighters offered a similar game mechanic, it worked there and it works in Saints Row

(Stretching while crew does the dirty work, like a boss)

(Pulling a P. Diddy while loyal crew members get booked by the po-po. Not guilty y’all got to feel me)

• Your posse will literally follow you until either you dismiss them, or they die. They fight for you, get in the car and ready for drive-bys as you enter a car, and they never say no. If you feel that grandpa standing in front of a bus stop deserves a fierce beating, your crew will curb stomp his dentures in for you. No questions asked

• Online multiplayer, take that Rockstar! Boom, facial. And that was in 2006
• Now for the stuff not advertised – Vibrant colors and cartoonish art style, I liked that a lot. The reason I liked GTA Vice City much more than GTA III was because it didn’t give a feel that everything in the game was washed with a dull green color. Sandbox games are supposed to lean heavier on the fun/anything-is-possible side, and lighten up on the realistic level

(Standing in front of colorful burning cop cars like a.. you get the idea)

(Remember that scene in GTA where your ex returns to you as a zombie after her tragic death, fights with you using her left arm, and eats the victims you killed? Oh right, that never happened)

• Good storyline, but I will admit that most of the time I just lost track in the plot because I was having too much fun doing something stupid (See image below, no pun intended):

(I was walking here first!)

• Surprisingly fun side missions/mini-games. I got two words: “Insurance Fraud”

(I invented my own game too, it’s called “See how long you dare standing in front of a moving train without moving out of the way”)

(Did I mention I won?)

The Bad

• If there’s a way to expand on the gang system, being able to arrange different crews to execute actions simultaneously sounds like a good time. But then it may steer the basic gameplay dynamics a bit too far from being a sandbox title
• It is not really the game’s fault (well, maybe the optimization department of the dev team), but hardware resources limitation causes some inconsistency in the game. For example, you look to the left at a crossroad and see a truck approaching from afar, you look to the right, and then left again. Truck is gone, or replaced by something entirely different
• Slight frame rate drops when too many characters are on the screen, or during consecutive explosions

The ???

• (Spoiler?) User is not given anything special for completing the main story of the game
• I *heard* that the online mode is mad fun, but I did not get a chance to play it then, and I heavily doubt that there still is an open server (probably empty anyway) for this game nowadays
• If Saints Row happens to be the first sandbox genre game that you get to play, you probably won’t settle for anything less than the GTA games as far as game quality goes (sorry Mafia, Godfather and Scarface)

The ironic thing is, Saints Row, a game from 2006 still manages to deliver something GTAIV couldn’t in 2009. Thumbs up and I’m so pumped that is going to be a third in the series.

(Review 9 of 52, 2011)