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Saint's Row
By: Volition
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One of the best games ever
On: 2008-11-12this game is really one of the best games ever. this and cod4 are my favorites. theres so much to do and so much custimization.
fast paced
On: 2008-10-30I like the action in this game, but Im troubled by the content. The action is non-stop. I like that. I know where the game is going and how to get there. The clues to what I need to know and do is accurate and timely.
I am troubled by the content. Its crime run amok. The more crime the main character engages in, the more hes rewarded. This isnt right. Right and wrong is treated as a flippant subject not worthy of consideration or thought.
There is no right and wrong. Everything that should be considered wrong is rewarded.
I wouldnt recommend this game to anyone. It promotes by proxy, the wrong message...that crime is OK.
A Suprisingly fun and Intuitive Game
On: 2008-10-22Ive never usually liked "Knock-offs" and trust me, Saints Row is NO Knock off. Volition clearly knew what they were doing during Development with this game. Now, since everyone is bound to say something, Ill do a quick comparison to GTA:
Both take place in an open world environment.
Thats it. Volition wasnt out to sabotage Rockstar or anyone else in this, and since this was long before GTA 4 could grace consoles, could you really blame them?
Welcome to StilWater, a city infested with Gang-Bangers an corruption, like New York is infested with rats. Drive bys, Turf Wars, and random street fights abrupt very often, and catoclysmic violence is as common as eating breakfast.
So, you start out with creating a character. Its very intuitive. You are able to choose your nose, ears, eyes, brow, your muscle, hair style, hair Height, and even your skin complexion. This is when youll be caught in the middle of a 3 way Turf War. The intro does a pretty nice job of setting the whole scenario up, and it isnt light on the action. Your rescued by Julias and Troy, 2 members of an up and coming gang called the Third Street Saints (Hehe, Irony)
Your perogative is simple: Take over the city. The gunplay is tight, and very easy to just pick up and play.
The sound design could have been a bit better, the radio inparticular. There werent a whole lot of Liscensed artists, so your basically stuck listening to Average beats, but what the Radio lacks, the Voice overs and gunshots make up for it. Each weapon sounds realistic, and the civilian voices (While not Academy Award Winning dialogue) do a fairly decent job, with many different voice actors.
The Graphics take on a very "Toon"-like feel. The Explosions and fire, look absolutely marvelous. Every time you blow up a car, you can see the heat lines emerge from the rubble, and every object such as mufflers or bumpers, fly off in the distance. Weapons even have muzzle flashes, that just add to the intensity.
Between missions, you will have to partake in Activites. This would have been an issue for me, if the Activites werent insanely fun. Apparently someone at Volition takes things a bit to literally. In one Activity youll be randomly causing mayhem to anything you see, and in another, you will be commiting Insurance Fraud. No, I dont mean getting into a car, and continually crashing it to rack up some easy money. This has you throwing YOURSELF in harms way, which really makes you admire the ragdoll physics.
Now if youll excuse me, I have an urge to return to playing. If you enjoy a good, un-adult rated action game, give this a look. The "Over-the top" style is entirely to fun. This just proves that if your going to use the GTA-esque formula, do it right, and Saints Row DOES it right.
Not for kids
On: 2008-09-01This is game is ok. The graphics are more animated (cartoon like) than computer generated like GTA. The language is very, very bad in this game and not suggested for young kids. I have to play the game on mute cause of the youngsters in my household.
saints row
On: 2008-06-27this is a very fun game. if you like to blow up, destroy stuff, or kill people. get this game. there is a lot of cool clothes, houses, and cars. you can even pimp your car out. GET THIS GAME.
best free roaming game ever hands down
On: 2008-06-25Ive played every GTA and this game and this game is 10x better - GTA gets old very fast, it feels like the missions are all the same and unrealistic at times...in this game it feels "real", the gang aspect and taking over turf is cool and having to protect it at anytime adds a cool focus to this game...definitely like the voice acting with keith david as the boss of the sains also
Better than GTA4
On: 2008-06-09Just like the GTA but better, yes thats right it is better than all the GTA games. This game is so much fun, its not repetative, its not easy but its also not too difficult to play, my favorite 360 game so far, this game is awsome!
Good, but a little on the repetetive side....
On: 2008-05-26This is one of those games for the first 6 hours your just like man this is fun. Then you play for a little while longer, and your like, havent I already done this. Saints Row doesnt really bring anything groundbreaking to the table, but is fun until Gta 4. The game focuese more on gangs then actual crime, like the gta series. That doesnt mean its bad its just not that great. If you need a game to tide you over until Gta, then this is probably your best bet.
overall 6.5-7.0
Welcome to the row, Saint's Row!
On: 2008-05-21In this game, your imagination is the game. This was the best sandbox game in the next-generation, until GTA 4 came out. Back to saints, it is a foul-mouth, gritty, violent game that is a good clone of GTA. If you are trying to decide which game to get, I would say do this: get Saints Row now(cheap price)play it, and in a few months you can get GTA4 when its cheaper. I had a lot of fun with this game, hope you do too.
The best Grand Theft Auto rip-off ever!
On: 2008-05-13Saints Row is a game that is a blantant rip-off of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, from everything right down to the way you steal cars out from people driving them on the street. But make no mistake: This isnt some rushed piece of garbage simply set out to make money off the GTA franchise. It has a little bit of TLC put into it by the game developers, as well.
Similarities to GTA:
-You can do storyline and free roaming missions
-steal and customize cars
-participate in Turf Wars taking over neighborhoods for your gang
-customize your main character
-wield a large variety of guns
-listen to a large variety of music
-and generally play the game however way you want.
Enhancements over GTA:
-Much superior graphics
-better map
-a GPS system for your maps and vehicles
-customizable cell phone, with allies you can call for backup
-customizable music playlists (in case you get sick of the randomness of the radio stations and want to hear your music anywhere, anytime)
-the hands-down BEST car customization in any non-racing video game, ever!
-health items (food) you can access anytime
-self-regenerating health that heals up from about-to-die to full health in about one minute or so
-superior firearms (albeit none of them look very unique)
-a slightly better menu interface to access your firearms (I just wish they hadnt put the food and weapons in the same system; it gets confusing)
-the police are the most minor threat in the game
-shooting style/difficulity is fair (a little harder than GTA, but without the auto-lock aiming)
-both men, AND women, can be recruited as allies in your gang, or killed in other gangs. Hurray for murder equality!
-celebrity voice acting (I instantly recognized Mila Kunis as Tanya and Michael Rapaport as Troy)
Worse from GTA:
-No bikes or motorcycles to ride which is diaspointing
-no boats or planes either (not that theyre really needed here)
-character can barely swim
-only one safehouse in the entire city/game
-clothes choices are lame and uninspired
-despite the good voice acting, the dialogue is terrible and it sounds like it was written by the whitest people on the planet (shades of "187: Ride or Die")
-an excessive overuse of cursing (if youre going to use it in every other word, its impact and gravitas is completely lost)
-the A.I. is stupid, and the enemy gangs have that "random spawning" effect whenever you have a "wanted level" by them
-its mandatory to do the side missions as you have to earn "respect" in order to do the main storyline missions, and respect is only gained from the side missions
-many of the side missions are hard or just plain annoying, like the later level Escort missions
-the "humor" of the game is just weak and lacks any level of subtlety whatsoever, like the Wendys burger chain parody, "Freckle Bitchs" for example
-the radio stations are horribly put together, and their names are awful, too
-the music is generic and lame, and theres only a few "name brand" artists contributing to the games soundtrack. Mainly, the Clipse and Twista.
-theres no difficulity setting and the main missions in the game are a bit too easy (while the side missions are often too hard)
-the "escape the police" method in this game is weak and lame. Its a drive-thru confessional booth, not that youll ever really need to use it. I never even been in "Forgive and Forget" before.
Overall, Saints Row is a worthy edition to the GTA genre of video games. Although its a rip-off, in every sense of the word, its defintely not of inferior quality. In fact, Saints Row is even better than most of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The game, at its core is nice, but what really bogs it down is the story, which is pretty lame and generic, and the script, which is just laughably cheesy in its attempt to sound "urban" or "gangsta" or "hip hop" or whatever. San Andreas dialogue and script felt 100% genuine. Saints Rows, however, sounds forced, like they were too lazy to do their research and just decided to "wing it."
It would be easy to just make a Grand Theft Auto clone thats pretty bad (True Crime has proved that, for us). It would also be pretty easy to try to make your own game, using many of the famous GTA elements involved (I.E, CrackDown). But Saints Row, however, is a true Grand Theft Auto imitation, that manages not to photocopy the game, but use it as a worthy starting off point for their own series. I like mostly everything in this game, and the only real things keeping it from being superior to every GTA game ever made on teh older consoles, is its cheesy dialogue and cheesy writing, and lame attempts to be funny.
Other than that, Saints Row is a worthy duplication of the "sandbox shooting and driving" genre created by GTA itself, and it definitely deserves to be played, even if only as a week-long rental, by any Grand Theft Auto fan.
SAINT'S ROW IS AWESOME
On: 2008-04-28SAINTS ROW IS AN AWSOME VIDEO GAME, AMAZON IS A GREAT CHOICE FOR ALL YOUR NEEDS. THEY HAVE EVERYTHING I WANT FROM DVDS TO VIDEO GAMES, AND EVERYTHING ELSE. THEY HAVE REALLY A GREAT SELECTION, HERE YOU DONT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT TAX. I LOOKED FOR THIS GAME AT TARGET, WAL-MART AND K-MART. EACH ONE CAME OUT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN AMAZON, THEY HAVE REALLY FAST SERVICE AS WELL, AND GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE. OH YEAH DID I MENTION THAT THIS GAME IS AWESOME. THANKS AMAZON, YOU THE GREATEST.
Saints Row
On: 2008-04-20Saints Row
Grandson loves this game and plays it all the time.
grand thef auto don't stand a chance
On: 2008-04-19this game is really fun its way better than gta cause all the gta games are really the samething different story but samething but this game is hot you can custom mize your character the picture is not small like gta you can recruit your friends to join the fun and you can go in stores and rob banks you couldnt do that with gta and theirs much more in this game and the grapic is amazing gta 5 better have something up their sleeves cause not than this rules gta history
Mediocre
On: 2008-04-17Saints row, while having many interesting qualities such as weapons storage and easy vehicle repair, is deeply lacking in many areas. The incessant abuse of timers, poor AI from other vehicles and "homies", as well as a shabby plot, combine to decimate the games entertainment value.
Don't Believe The Hype (as Public Enemy used to say)
On: 2008-04-17Dont believe the hype. This game is not only derivitive of the Grand Theft Auto series, it is quite repetitive and boring. Most of all there are too many glitches and bugs that wasnt fixed before it was even shipped. You will find yourself walking away from your car only to find it gone. Then there are those ridiculous challenges where you are expected to go from point A to point B while being gunned down by several enemies from unrealistic angles. If you like your game with lots of swearing then this game is for you. But if you look more than lots of swearing, then stay away from this highly over-hyped rubbish.
a.k.a. GTA: Glitch City
On: 2008-02-05Saints Row is an online-enabled Grand Theft Auto, with a "hardcore gansta" body kit.
For the most part, its a decent game. Theres definitely some quality gameplay inside this box. I especially enjoy the highly customisable character appearance.
A few gameplay innovations address some of the complaints GTA received, and there were also some interesting new mingames but I didnt find anything truly revolutionary to warrant all the hype this game received.
In fact, for every innovation that added to this game there seemed to be a glitch that detracted. My favourite, the "Where did my car go?" glitch, causes your vehicle to disappear for no apparent reason. When this happens, your character comes to an abrupt halt, stuck in mid air. I could find no way to begin moving again or exit the "missing" vehicle. This particular glitch repeated itself every time I attempted one particular mission, rendering the game completely unplayable from that point forward.
Even though there were some fun minigames, I found the "Respect" system caused them to become quite repetitive. In order to progress with the story you need "respect". In order to get respect, you must complete side job after side job ad infinitum. While fun the first few times, they get old fast. Good concept, poor execution.
Still, for its faults there are enough enjoyable qualities to make this game worth playing- just not enough to live up to the hype.
Pros:
-Beautiful scenery
-Highly customisable character
-Celebrity voice overs
Cons:
-Glitches/bugs
-Rep...rep...repetitive
-Too much distance/driving between every point A and point B
A fun way to kill some time.
On: 2008-01-27You cant deny that Saints Row carries many similarities to the GTA series. This may be a good game for you if you really must have something to play while waiting for the release of the next GTA game. Some things like flight, motorcycles, bicycles, and boats will be missed by some fans of the GTA series, but many things like drive-by shooting, and steering AI for NPCs has seen some improvements over ever popular GTA.
Im sorry to compare the two games so much, but it almost seems like the best way to review this, is to compare it to the games that it is obviously trying to emulate. The creators themselves even said that they wanted their game to look better, play better, and sound better, and generally be even more fun than Rockstars hit series. Youll want to check this out, and look for Saints Row 2, hopefully later in 2008!
average
On: 2008-01-22Some nice game play features in this game - like store hold up, reviving dead team members.
But story line missions seems shorter than gta games.
GLITCHES GALORE!!!
On: 2007-12-07DO NOT BUY THIS GAME...IT IS FILLED WITH GLITCHES!!!...ITS LIKE DRIVER 2 FOR PLAYSTATION IF ANYONE HAS EVER PLAYED IT AND SEEN HOW UNDERDEVELOPED THE GAME WAS...I CANT DO MUCH IN SAINTS ROW WITHOUT FALLING THROUGH THE GROUND OR FREEZING UP IN A CAR...THE GLITCHES HAVE KILLED THIS GAME FOR ME
BETTER THAN GTA 9 OUT OF 10
On: 2007-11-23With competitors like Saints Row and Crackdown taking spotlight from Grand Theft Auto, GTA IV better have a lot of tricks up its sleeve. Saints Row is the best GTA ripoff you can find. But it improves itself over GTA, like shooting is much smoother, the graphics look much better, the collision damage on cars is more believeable, and when you hit people with your car its more believeable. The missions are excellently done and are at times quite hilarious like insurance fraud. If youre bored waiting for GTA IV buy this game along with Crackdown. And while youre at it you might want to wait for Saints Row 2 when it hits store shelves in 2008 for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
Carnage Fun!!
On: 2007-11-14Very fun game, very similar to the GTA Series, even better in certain areas. Although lacking air and sea vehicles and no motorcycles, but the variety of vehicles and missions makes up for it.
pretty good but a little lacking
On: 2007-11-06The game if fun, sometime its just the right thing to drive around and see how many stars you can get so that the cops come looking for you like its cool. You can end up with a rocket launcher and a heck of a nice assult riffle as well. Plus their vehicles are pretty cool as well, Ive got them all in my garage.
I think Ive found and kept all the various vehicles in the garage, got to collect them all. The new clothing options that are out now for download are rather good as well. Its nice to be able to mix things up all over the game.
Graphics: They are pretty good but I think they could have made somethings a little better, but then again this game was put out not all that long ago so maybe the next version will have much better improved graphics for us to be able to enjoy the game all the more. reguardless there is nothing like HD gaming on this type of game. Blowing stuff up, steeling cars, shooting up the block, running people over and so on.
Weapons: There is a nice selection of weapons to be had from grenades, pipe bombs, hand guns, rifles, assult weapons, clubs, knives and so much more.
A great way to get your frustrations out from work, driving, the not so bright people you have to deal with in the stores and so on.
YES!!!
On: 2007-09-25This is alike to Grand Theft Auto but a lot better. This is a MUST HAVE for all mature gamers. This is one of my favorite games.
so much more than a clone
by: Anonymous On: 2007-09-12
Saints Row is one of the best games on the 360. I have spent almost as much time in this game as oblivion. the comparisons to GTA are inevitable when it comes to saints row, but i dont feel like theyre ripping them off. they took the good ideas and moved them to the next level. to hold a lack of originality against this game would be completely insane. you might as well cast out every FPS for the last 10 years. now THOSE games are clones.
Graphics - some pop up occurs when youre driving fast, but other than that Saints Row has a smooth framerate with nice textures and lighting effects. not the best looking game on the box, but it deffinitely doesnt look out of place.
Gameplay - WAY better than any GTA ive played. ive grown so tired of that nearly broken auto-targeting of GTA. Saints Row decided to go in an fps direction. the game plays almost exactly like an fps with the aiming reticle in the center of the screen and all that but in a 3rd person view. all the cars handle well. everything in this game works very well.
Story - meh... its decent, but the characters dont have that same draw as many gta characters and the stories surrounding them. there is a major plot twist toward the end, but youll have to play through it to find out. basically theres 3 gangs, one ruling each part of the city, and its up to you and the Third Street Saints to clean up the town.
Sound - GREAT soundtrack. classical, 80s hair metal, techno, rap, rock, and a little pop punk all thrown in the mix. its also really cool how your character has an MP3 player you can store songs on you buy in the in-game music store. its kind of pointless b/c if you want to listen to music the whole time you play you could just use whatever you have saved on the system.
theres so much to do between missions other than killing hundreds of pedestrians. side missions include: saving hos from mean pimps, driving one around while she does business in the back, racing, demolition derby, causing mass chaos, stealing certain cars and delivering them, kill certain people from a hit list, and others i cant remember right now.
theres tons of stores to visit as well. Clothing stores have hats, shoes, belts, pants, shirts, coats, ect. you can get tattoos and the tattoo parlors. you can get piercings and bling at the jewelry shops. of course you can buy guns and such at the gun stores. theres liquer stores scattered through the city (you can get weed there too!). theres a few barber shops and plastic surgery centers. theres a couple car dealerships around too.
another thing that needs to be mentioned is the character customization. you can choose from black, white, hispanic, or asian to start things off, and from there you adjust everything from their weight to the distance between their eyes and the style of hair.
i was disappointed in the lack of aircraft. thats my only complaint about the entire game, and a very minor one.
if you like the open world genre at all, and you havent played Saints Row yet, you need to right now.
so much more than a clone
by: Anonymous On: 2007-09-11
Saints Row is one of the best games on the 360. I have spent almost as much time in this game as oblivion. the comparisons to GTA are inevitable when it comes to saints row, but i dont feel like theyre ripping them off. they took the good ideas and moved them to the next level. to hold a lack of originality against this game would be completely insane. you might as well cast out every FPS for the last 10 years. now THOSE games are clones.
Graphics - some pop up occurs when youre driving fast, but other than that Saints Row has a smooth framerate with nice textures and lighting effects. not the best looking game on the box, but it deffinitely doesnt look out of place.
Gameplay - WAY better than any GTA ive played. ive grown so tired of that nearly broken auto-targeting of GTA. Saints Row decided to go in an fps direction. the game plays almost exactly like an fps with the aiming reticle in the center of the screen and all that but in a 3rd person view. all the cars handle well. everything in this game works very well.
Story - meh... its decent, but the characters dont have that same draw as many gta characters and the stories surrounding them. there is a major plot twist toward the end, but youll have to play through it to find out. basically theres 3 gangs, one ruling each part of the city, and its up to you and the Third Street Saints to clean up the town.
Sound - GREAT soundtrack. classical, 80s hair metal, techno, rap, rock, and a little pop punk all thrown in the mix. its also really cool how your character has an MP3 player you can store songs on you buy in the in-game music store. its kind of pointless b/c if you want to listen to music the whole time you play you could just use whatever you have saved on the system.
theres so much to do between missions other than killing hundreds of pedestrians. side missions include: saving hos from mean pimps, driving one around while she does business in the back, racing, demolition derby, causing mass chaos, stealing certain cars and delivering them, kill certain people from a hit list, and others i cant remember right now.
theres tons of stores to visit as well. Clothing stores have hats, shoes, belts, pants, shirts, coats, ect. you can get tattoos and the tattoo parlors. you can get piercings and bling at the jewelry shops. of course you can buy guns and such at the gun stores. theres liquer stores scattered through the city (you can get weed there too!). theres a few barber shops and plastic surgery centers. theres a couple car dealerships around too.
another thing that needs to be mentioned is the character customization. you can choose from black, white, hispanic, or asian to start things off, and from there you adjust everything from their weight to the distance between their eyes and the style of hair.
i was disappointed in the lack of aircraft. thats my only complaint about the entire game, and a very minor one.
if you like the open world genre at all, and you havent played Saints Row yet, you need to right now.
alittle better than GTA:SA
On: 2007-08-10when i heard they werent releasing GTA4 until March 2008, i went out and baught this game. i enjoy this game for the same reason i enjoyed GTA:SA...and thats the ability to LIVE within a game and do whatever you want, any way you want, at any given time. save over 50 cars in your garage, customize the cars, get your guy clothing, drive around and listen to the radio, go play a side mission and just enjoy the experience of the game any way you like. ultimate freedom...
a couple things i like better about this game over GTA is that the Gang Members are alot SMARTER than those in GTA. they dont stand 5 feet away from someone and shoot at them and MISS. another thing is the Gangs dont bother you unless you mess with them first...so you can ride around in that nice car and not have to worry about people shooting at you and messing up your ride. and the game overall is just more realistic than GTA:SA, the civilians are less Goofy (but still say funny things) and everyone is dressed differently than the other person (unlike gta).
the graphics are GREAT and the music is alright, i liked a few songs and others i didnt but overall, the hip hop music is great. my favorite songs in the game are "Dont F&*k Me Like Im Your Wife" LOL and "NightLife" by M.E.D. im not big on doing too many missions...so i only do the side missions. i love the Snatch activity...the Drug Dealer activity is pretty fun as well..and the tax fraud mission is hilllaaarrriooouuusssss. overall, THQ put together a great game with this one...and it should hold me over until GTA4 comes out. who knows, it might even be better than that gta too...
only thing i DIDNT LIKE about the game is that you CANT pick up any hookers :| how in a game filled with drugs, violence and pimps can you NOT PICK UP A HOOKER?? terrible..
iLL .
GTA is way better than this trash.
On: 2007-07-28GTA is way better than this. In GTA you can fly planes or helicopters,parachute,drive motorcycles,and drive boats. In this game there are planes and helicopters but youre not allowed on them.There are no boats or motorcycles or bikes. Only cars and a train. Some of the voice acting in the game is really cheesy. I still like that you can create your own character but the idiot never talks through the whole game. The game gets really repetitve when you beat it unlike GTA. If you played San Andreas youll think this game is boring and dull. This is one of the worst GTA clones ever made. If you want a better GTA clone just get CrackDown.
GTA is way better than this trash.
On: 2007-07-27GTA is way better than this. In GTA you can fly planes or helicopters,parachute,drive motorcycles,and drive boats. In this game there are planes and helicopters but youre not allowed on them.There are no boats or motorcycles or bikes. Only cars and a train. Some of the voice acting in the game is really cheesy. I still like that you can create your own character but the idiot never talks through the whole game. The game gets really repetitve when you beat it unlike GTA. If you played San Andreas youll think this game is boring and dull. This is one of the worst GTA clones ever made. If you want a better GTA clone just get CrackDown.
GTA 3.5
On: 2007-07-20I titled this GTA 3.5 because it feels like this takes place in the middle of GTA 3 and GTA Vice City. It is fun in its own rights, but it gets boring after awhile of playing. The music selection is horrible, but you can play the songs you want if you "BUY" them from the in-game store. (You dont use real money, I am talking about the in-game money) There are some interesting side-quests and some fun to be had. Dont plan on playing this game like you would a GTA game, it just doesnt work...I had high expectations and I was a little let down.
GTA 3.5
On: 2007-07-19I titled this GTA 3.5 because it feels like this takes place in the middle of GTA 3 and GTA Vice City. It is fun in its own rights, but it gets boring after awhile of playing. The music selection is horrible, but you can play the songs you want if you "BUY" them from the in-game store. (You dont use real money, I am talking about the in-game money) There are some interesting side-quests and some fun to be had. Dont plan on playing this game like you would a GTA game, it just doesnt work...I had high expectations and I was a little let down.
GTA Clone - but still good
On: 2007-07-05To some this games game play in a nutshell, its basically Grand Theft Auto. What Havok and THQ have done is build on top of the GTA formula. First of all they have put in a very in depth character customization, which makes it feel a little more like it could be you in the game, or at least a difference from your buddys game. The vehicle customization is pretty good as well. What I like most about the vehicle customization is you save your vehicles in your home base, so if you even blow it up or leave it you can always get it back with all the modifications youve done. Another nice touch made was you can have your gang members with you at pretty much any given time. Its cool having your crew there just to roll with you while you wreak havoc on the city, or if you need the extra firepower in a mission. Visually the game is very pleasing with a good variety of environments and vehicles to select from, unfortunately theres no bikes. Gameplay feel, honestly it feels pretty much identical to GTA tight controls with good old fashion open ended game play, and well I dont really have any complaints with that. Were all waiting for the next Grand Theft Auto to come out, this will satisfy the hunger for most GTA fans until Rock Star comes out with their version. Definitely recommend picking this one up.
Graphic Language Overload
On: 2007-06-27This game has a lot of graphic language that takes away from the whole experience. Some graphic language is fine, but this is ridiculous.
Even if it's a GTA clone, this game rocks!
On: 2007-06-08There are many similarities, and many things missing from GTA -- flying planes, riding cycles & bikes, base jumping, gambling, etc. However, the graphics and overall gameplay are great, and you could spend hours (read:days) wreaking havoc and causing mayhem. This game will cause the GTA franchise to raise the bar on its future games for the 360 & PS3 because Saints Row is looking over its shoulder.
AWESOME... kinda
On: 2007-05-15This game rocks you can go anywhere and do anything, My personal favorite is beating the snot out of the pimps... The only part of this game that I dont like is the very end of the game, but I wont give that away...
AWESOME... kinda
On: 2007-05-14This game rocks you can go anywhere and do anything, My personal favorite is beating the snot out of the pimps... The only part of this game that I dont like is the very end of the game, but I wont give that away...
Not just another clone!
On: 2007-04-19This is not some cheap thrown together clone of GTA .. at all. In fact the boys at Rockstar/Take2 can learn a lot from this game. Lots and lots of fun .. the missions were just the right difficulty .. I have no complaints whatsoever. A quality title.
Saint's Row is fun!
On: 2007-04-11Fun game similar to Grand Theft Auto series. I purchased this game for my college-age son but I quickly became immersed in the gameplay also. We both play this game alternately. I still like Dead Rising better but hos is fun!
Saint's Row is fun!
On: 2007-04-10Fun game similar to Grand Theft Auto series. I purchased this game for my college-age son but I quickly became immersed in the gameplay also. We both play this game alternately. I still like Dead Rising better but hos is fun!
Better than GTA
On: 2007-04-10This game is much much better than any of the GTas. If u like gta u will love this game its more realistic than gta also and there is more stuff to do. u can start hold ups on ur own as much as u want. Tons of stores and tatoo parlors. Itssss GREAT
Better than GTA
On: 2007-04-09This game is much much better than any of the GTas. If u like gta u will love this game its more realistic than gta also and there is more stuff to do. u can start hold ups on ur own as much as u want. Tons of stores and tatoo parlors. Itssss GREAT
Excellent Game!
On: 2007-03-21I love this game. Ive had my xbox 360 for about 4 months and this has to be one of the most enjoyable games! The storyline is fun and once you finish the game there are other things to do! It has great replay value! You could basically do nothing and just wander around in the game and still have fun!
SAINTS ROW IS REALLY BORING AFTER A WHILE
On: 2007-03-18Ive bought this game 2 different times and both times have disappointed me, its a beautiful game, with a great soundtrack, but the story is really stupid and non original, its really fun when you first play it, but it really lacks any replay value, once youve already gotten all of the clothes and jewlery (which isnt much) theres nothing to do. Just drive around and do the boring side missions. When you first play its fun just to rob people and make money to buy clothes.
Saints Row - Kids love this one.
On: 2007-03-15My two kids love this game.. so by far one of the best purchases I have made for the XBox 360.
Saints Row - Kids love this one.
On: 2007-03-14My two kids love this game.. so by far one of the best purchases I have made for the XBox 360.
Best of the GTA Wanna-Be's
On: 2007-03-01Look, this game is not as good as GTA, especially the amazing experience that is San Andreas. However, this game is still very good and will hold over GTA fans until IV comes out later this year. If you enjoy playing GTA, chances are you will enjoy this game, especially where this franchise made some significant improvements. If you didnt like GTA games and are offended with overt violence, strong language, and direct sexual references, then steer away from this game. Here are the pros, cons, and "washes" as they compare to GTA:
Pros:
Better graphics
Better sound effects of cars and weapons
Cars are cooler
Superior implementation of the map functionality.
Save system is improved, but I can not understand in todays day and age of gaming why RPG-action games like this dont have a "save-at-any-time" functionality or at least provide reasonable interim mission save points - which this game did not.
Ability to save up to 70 cars in your garage
Insurance Fraud missions are arguably the most enjoyable missions ever envisioned for a sandbox game.
Some other missions that were direct rip-offs from GTA are arguably more fun like the pimp missions, hijacking, and hit-man.
Cons:
There is no mistaking that overall feeling of an awesome atmosphere you get in any GTA game that just wasnt present in this title. I cant put my finger on it, but you will see what I mean if you get to experience this game vs. any GTA game.
Story was a little better in San Andreas
No planes, boats, motorcycles, helicopters, or bicycles.
Voice acting is superior in GTA San Andreas. With that said, there was just way too much cursing. Cursing in any game or movie is good for adult entertainment when it is appropriate for the setting. This title just went way over the top on the cursing and was mostly out of place.
Music selection is superior in San Andreas in both amount and quality.
Washes - neither better or worse than GTA:
Open world sandbox environment enabling diverse ways to execute missions
Driving mechanics of the cars
Despite popular opinion, weapons functionality, though different, have about the same difficulty/ease factor.
Map size and mission amount/scope is more epic in San Andreas, but this title is probably a little bigger that GTA III and possibly Vice City. Not too shabby.
Best of the GTA Wanna-Be's
On: 2007-02-28Look, this game is not as good as GTA, especially the amazing experience that is San Andreas. However, this game is still very good and will hold over GTA fans until IV comes out later this year. If you enjoy playing GTA, chances are you will enjoy this game, especially where this franchise made some significant improvements. If you didnt like GTA games and are offended with overt violence, strong language, and direct sexual references, then steer away from this game. Here are the pros, cons, and "washes" as they compare to GTA:
Pros:
Better graphics
Better sound effects of cars and weapons
Cars are cooler
Superior implementation of the map functionality.
Save system is improved, but I can not understand in todays day and age of gaming why RPG-action games like this dont have a "save-at-any-time" functionality or at least provide reasonable interim mission save points - which this game did not.
Ability to save up to 70 cars in your garage
Insurance Fraud missions are arguably the most enjoyable missions ever envisioned for a sandbox game.
Some other missions that were direct rip-offs from GTA are arguably more fun like the pimp missions, hijacking, and hit-man.
Cons:
There is no mistaking that overall feeling of an awesome atmosphere you get in any GTA game that just wasnt present in this title. I cant put my finger on it, but you will see what I mean if you get to experience this game vs. any GTA game.
Story was a little better in San Andreas
No planes, boats, motorcycles, helicopters, or bicycles.
Voice acting is superior in GTA San Andreas. With that said, there was just way too much cursing. Cursing in any game or movie is good for adult entertainment when it is appropriate for the setting. This title just went way over the top on the cursing and was mostly out of place.
Music selection is superior in San Andreas in both amount and quality.
Washes - neither better or worse than GTA:
Open world sandbox environment enabling diverse ways to execute missions
Driving mechanics of the cars
Despite popular opinion, weapons functionality, though different, have about the same difficulty/ease factor.
Map size and mission amount/scope is more epic in San Andreas, but this title is probably a little bigger that GTA III and possibly Vice City. Not too shabby.
Move over GTA, Saints Row is here.
On: 2007-02-13The game Saints Row tells the epic tale of one gang called the Saints as they battle rival gangs to become the rulers of the city Stilwater.
It starts off letting you customize your character - anything from nose size and hair to muscle definition and weight. From there youre allowed to run around, punch & kick enemies & civilians, hijack or buy and customize cars, spray paint walls, buy clothes and jewlery, purchase guns (and boy is there a wide variety of guns such as RPGs, handguns, shotguns, grenades, etc.) , buy CDs, call up your homies to fight along side you, and MUCH more. In order to do missions you have to earn respect. To gain respect you can do "activities" scattered throughout Stilwater such as snatching hookers away from their pimps, protecting drug dealers as they do their things, race, participate in demolition derbies, steal cars for stores, kill rival gang members, and many more. Also, if you wear a lot of purple (the Saints color of choice) you can gain extra bonus points.
The missions themselves are BRUTALLY fun (with the exception of maybe 3). They go from destroying planes, storming mansions, robbing cars, blowing up buildings, rescuing people... its all really fun, and your rewarded with viscerally appealing and cool sounding cutscenes afterwards.
To earn money you can rob stores (eitrher by holding them up or by opening the safe yourself), beat up people and take their money, do the activities I mentioned, or beat missions. The more money you have, the more things you can buy.
Also, as you take over enemy turfs for your own they will do these things called "push backs" on random areas. This is when rival gangs try to take back their lands, and its basically an all out war between the Saints and the enemies until you kill the red highlighted lieutenants scattered throughout the territory. Once thats done, you can resume your game. Also owning more territories gives you more money each day... by the time I beat the game I hasd about $8 grand coming to me each day.
Moving on, this game has an EXCELLENT sound track. There is something like 100 songs from different genres such as hip hop, rock, and classical to listen to and many of them are really catchy. They even have some big namers on it like Xzibit, Wu-Tang, Winger, and Fall Out Boy (but I dislike FOB). Ontop of that, if you have a hard drive for your system you can upload your own songs into the game which is great. The sound effects are really top notch - like the guns shooting and things blowing up. Additionally, the voice acting is superb as well. Everyone portrays personality through curses, crude humor, and anger.. not to mention THQ also got some big times to do some acting such as the guy who plays Goliath from the Gargoyles and the girl Jackie from "That 70s Show".
The graphics are great in Saints Row. Everyone looks lifelike, and the city looks so realistic. The weather changes from sunny to rainy, night to day... its breathtaking. The cars look AMAZING, be it really new and shiny to old and rusty, everything has an authentic feel to it. Easily better looking then Grand Theft Auto.
But like always, no game comes without faults. For starters, the weapon selection screen is hard to get down and sometimes when you choose a weapon it wont exactly change to that weapon. Ontop of that, shooting while driving is a nightmare. The ally AI is sometimes incredibly dumb and when you want them to get into a car with you they will just stand there. Finally, the ending was terrible - you kill the last guy and take over Saints Row. Julius, who is the head of the Saints, tells you he still thinks something is amiss and that youre his right hand man now. Then they show you cocking a pistol and overlooking a crew of your boys. Then this mission called the "3rd Street Saints" mission opens up where you have to take a bus and destroy it, and when thats complete you, Dex, and Gat have to blow up like 5 police cars... evntually you meet with a guy running for mayor and he says "thank you but I have to kill you". He proceeds to surround you with like 50 of his goons, then the ship blows up. Uh huh..
To sum it up, Saints Row is a MUST HAVE for X-Box 360 owners or people who enjoy GTA-like games. There so much to do, and its so fun to do it that you just have to own this game.
GTA:III in 2K6?
On: 2007-02-07Saints Row - Circa 2006
GOOD:
- Great Graphics and physics make the game come to life.
- Shooting works efficiently and easily, Shooting is more like that of a Third Person Shooter (like Lost Planet on Xbox 360)
- Online gameplay either with or against other people, with modes like versus/team play ect...
BAD:
- Plot is considered pretty weak to many.
- Voice acting maybe good, but most dialog feels like a forced/fake attempt to seem hip-hop urban.
- No Motorcycles, Boats, or helicopters (only the police get helicopters).
- Game might seem like too much of a Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas rip-off for some.
IF IT FITS YOUR TASTE:
- A go anywhere do anything at any time type of game that we have seen in such games as Grand Theft Auto. Youre a new Gang member in an up and coming gang and its your job to help stop (kill off) other rival gangs.
- Much like Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (on Xbox 360, PS3, PC) you can customize your own character with things like Race/Hair styles/and setting the positions or types of things like eyes, nose, mouth ect. Also you can go back anytime and change these attributes (at the plastic surgeon for body and face and Barber for new hair types or styles). On top of all that you have many different clothing options/styles/types to choose from different clothing stores.
- GPS type map lets you put markers on the map and the CPU will map out (using a dotted line to your goal) the best/fastest route to get there.
- Lots of Car customizing to be had. Also note your garage can hold over 50 cars (which can be accessed by a scrolling menu). Also once a car is added to your garage its saved their so if you lose your car it will show up in your garage (in the same state you left it in), and if you destroy your car you can get a brand new one from your garage (for a small price).
- Pick and use weapons/health ups from a click wheel (like Turok 2 form N64 had), this makes switch weapons fast and easy. Also you dont lose weapons after you die.
- If you fall into water in the world of Saints Row you can swim, but you can also warp to the shore saving time and effort.
GAME ITS MOST ASSOCATED TOO:
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2/Xbox/PC)
- The Godfather: The Game (Xbox/PS2/Xbox 360)
- CrackDown (Xbox 360)
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- There is already new content out for download for this game (most of which is free) via Xbox-Live. One pack gives you a Santa Suit.
- Reportedly this game is also coming to Sonys Playstation Three.
GTA:III in 2K6?
On: 2007-02-06Saints Row - Circa 2006
GOOD:
- Great Graphics and physics make the game come to life.
- Shooting works efficiently and easily, Shooting is more like that of a Third Person Shooter (like Lost Planet on Xbox 360)
- Online gameplay either with or against other people, with modes like versus/team play ect...
BAD:
- Plot is considered pretty weak to many.
- Voice acting maybe good, but most dialog feels like a forced/fake attempt to seem hip-hop urban.
- No Motorcycles, Boats, or helicopters (only the police get helicopters).
- Game might seem like too much of a Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas rip-off for some.
IF IT FITS YOUR TASTE:
- A go anywhere do anything at any time type of game that we have seen in such games as Grand Theft Auto. Youre a new Gang member in an up and coming gang and its your job to help stop (kill off) other rival gangs.
- Much like Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (on Xbox 360, PS3, PC) you can customize your own character with things like Race/Hair styles/and setting the positions or types of things like eyes, nose, mouth ect. Also you can go back anytime and change these attributes (at the plastic surgeon for body and face and Barber for new hair types or styles). On top of all that you have many different clothing options/styles/types to choose from different clothing stores.
- GPS type map lets you put markers on the map and the CPU will map out (using a dotted line to your goal) the best/fastest route to get there.
- Lots of Car customizing to be had. Also note your garage can hold over 50 cars (which can be accessed by a scrolling menu). Also once a car is added to your garage its saved their so if you lose your car it will show up in your garage (in the same state you left it in), and if you destroy your car you can get a brand new one from your garage (for a small price).
- Pick and use weapons/health ups from a click wheel (like Turok 2 form N64 had), this makes switch weapons fast and easy. Also you dont lose weapons after you die.
- If you fall into water in the world of Saints Row you can swim, but you can also warp to the shore saving time and effort.
GAME ITS MOST ASSOCATED TOO:
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2/Xbox/PC)
- The Godfather: The Game (Xbox/PS2/Xbox 360)
- CrackDown (Xbox 360)
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- There is already new content out for download for this game (most of which is free) via Xbox-Live. One pack gives you a Santa Suit.
- Reportedly this game is also coming to Sonys Playstation Three.
A GTA rip-off that is better than GTA itself
On: 2007-02-06Ever since GTAIII came out for the PS2 a few years ago, there have been countless rip-offs that people want to burn, except it would be waste of wood. Well, after years of sad attempts to conquer the gang-bangin leader of controversial video games, GTA now has a worthy competitor, Saints Row, for the Xbox 360.
Like most stories of this genre, you live in this gang corrupted city named Stillwater. Three major gangs own parts of the city, theyre the Vice Kings, West Side Rollerz, and Los Carnales (remember its not THE Los Carnales), and a smaller gang called the 3rd Street Saints (>GASP<). This where you come in. You are later save by the Saints and join them in thier unrelenting quest to take the wor...I mean...city.
Let me break it down for you.
The Good-Full character creation and customization. You can be muscular, good lookin, and have a full set of hair, or fat, ugly, and in serious need of a toupee. Use money you earn to buy 100s of clothes and acceseries (or a facial and hair cut!). Sorry, no bikes, motor cycles, boats, planes or choppers, just cars. But they make it up to you by allowing you to fully chop down any vehical you find and build it to your perspective (if you got the cash). Barely any glitches at all, mabey a few now and them only if you play non-stop for 7 hours (unlike GTA). Terrific graphics, everything has the smallest details from mailboxes to skyscrapers (characters actually have hands and fingers!(Unlike GTA)). Tons of fun and clever side missions to keep you buisy. Online play, create your own online character and compete in many kinds of modes with friends.Regenerating health and "save anywhere" function. Store as many cars as you want in your garage. If they get destroyed pay $500 at the machanic and your car is as good as new. Replay missions and cut-scenes in the movie theaters around the city.
The Wack-Character only male semi-mute. Area isnt that big or creative. Not the most original or epic story. The "gain respect" system slashes out the realism by using respect to "purchase" new story misions. Some side missions can be very frustrating.
All in all Saints Row is a very good game. If your into the GTA genre and have a 360, get this game NOW.
Pssst, Rockstar. Take notes
A GTA clone, but fun anyway
On: 2007-01-29This isnt the greatest game ever. However, if you feel like playing GTA on your 360, and dont want to play your old GTA games, then Saints Row might be for you.
I cant emphasize this enough, it is JUST a GTA clone. If you dont like GTA, you arent going to like this game. If you are expecting something more than GTA, you arent going to like this game. But if you play it and expect it to be GTA with slightly better graphics, youll have a good time.
A GTA clone, but fun anyway
On: 2007-01-28This isnt the greatest game ever. However, if you feel like playing GTA on your 360, and dont want to play your old GTA games, then Saints Row might be for you.
I cant emphasize this enough, it is JUST a GTA clone. If you dont like GTA, you arent going to like this game. If you are expecting something more than GTA, you arent going to like this game. But if you play it and expect it to be GTA with slightly better graphics, youll have a good time.
Underrated little brother to GTA
On: 2006-12-29Alot of people are saying Gears of War was the best game of the year but I think Saints Row beats out everything. This game has just about everything that made the GTA games great. It has a large to city to explore and plenty of things to do. The missions are fun as well and the side activites are enjoyable. Hell any game that has an activity called "Insurance Fraud" has to be great right? Well this game is! Go pick it up.
Saints Row
On: 2006-12-15This game is really fun to play, tons of action and things to do. Really similar to GTA:San Andreas. The ending is terrible and confusing. Doing activities between missions in order to gain respect gets old after a while a frustrating. Not many options when creating, dressing or customizing your character.
Saints Row
On: 2006-12-14This game is really fun to play, tons of action and things to do. Really similar to GTA:San Andreas. The ending is terrible and confusing. Doing activities between missions in order to gain respect gets old after a while a frustrating. Not many options when creating, dressing or customizing your character.
Great
by: Anonymous On: 2006-12-14
Probably one of my favorite games that i have played on the 360. Its shorter than gta San andreas, but its more fun. The way that you can keep the car you pimp out is cool. i recommend this game to anyone who liked grand theft auto san andreas.
Great
On: 2006-12-13Probably one of my favorite games that i have played on the 360. Its shorter than gta San andreas, but its more fun. The way that you can keep the car you pimp out is cool. i recommend this game to anyone who liked grand theft auto san andreas.
The Worst Game in XBOX 360 Game History
On: 2006-11-25This is the worst game I have ever played in my lifetime. The Offical XBOX Magazine said it was even better than Grand Theft Auto San Andreas...I think not.. I achieved 100% Complete they are not comparable at all. I payed 63 dollars including tax at 6.8 percent at the Quil Ceda Walmart in Marysville, Washington AND I will only get 25 dollars trade in at EB Games at the Everett, WA Mall.
A Rushed Imitation of A GTA Game
by: ethanallen95 On: 2006-11-20
Saints Row is basically an imitation or parody of GTA. Okay we know this. But is it good? Not really. Thing is there seems to have been a rushed effort with this game. Sure there were good intentions, but there was alot left unfinished in this game. You cant pick up hookers. Why even have beat-the-pimp-up levels when you cant even pick them up? The character you customize cant talk. Customization is limited to generic males. The missions are either ridiculously easy or ridiculously hard. There is no middle ground. The cheat system is also redundant since you cant get acheivements with the cheats on, thus you cant make any progress in the game with them on. So why have the feature to begin with? The story line is about as generic-wannabe-GTA as you can get. You dont have the option of picking the gang you can join. This would have been nice. This game is for a rental not a buy. But if you do buy it, buy it used like I did. Youll feel very ripped off. Wait for the next GTA!
really fun, but some downs
by: Anonymous On: 2006-11-19
saints row is one of the only, if not the best immatation of the GTA series. The gameplay on it is very addictive, like the ragdoll affect witch they could have screwed up was perfect. when you run someone over they dont just get thrown under the car like all the other driveing games. The bodys with fly over the car, or get stuck in it or break the windsheild, very cool. the guns are great but sometimes hard to find without cheats. the cars are great and there are ALOT of cars. another cool thing is the side missions witch can be entertaning. also the you can have homies witch follow you around and help you. over all the game is great and if you can, get it. the only thing that was hard, and i might be the only one who has trouble with this, is the cheats. If you look them up online they have letters instead of numbers (which you submite to your phone instead of the regular button cheats) even though im probally the only one with trouble with this it is still a very good game.
really fun, but some downs
On: 2006-11-18saints row is one of the only, if not the best immatation of the GTA series. The gameplay on it is very addictive, like the ragdoll affect witch they could have screwed up was perfect. when you run someone over they dont just get thrown under the car like all the other driveing games. The bodys with fly over the car, or get stuck in it or break the windsheild, very cool. the guns are great but sometimes hard to find without cheats. the cars are great and there are ALOT of cars. another cool thing is the side missions witch can be entertaning. also the you can have homies witch follow you around and help you. over all the game is great and if you can, get it. the only thing that was hard, and i might be the only one who has trouble with this, is the cheats. If you look them up online they have letters instead of numbers (which you submite to your phone instead of the regular button cheats) even though im probally the only one with trouble with this it is still a very good game.
Fastlane Revisited
On: 2006-11-14If you are a fan of the GTA series; play GTA: San Andreas. Saints Row is yet another poor imitation of the real thing. The gameplay is repetitive and uninteresting, and the story and dialogue dont work on any level.
Fastlane Revisited
On: 2006-11-13If you are a fan of the GTA series; play GTA: San Andreas. Saints Row is yet another poor imitation of the real thing. The gameplay is repetitive and uninteresting, and the story and dialogue dont work on any level.
very good single player, not so good online
On: 2006-11-10The single player mode(story mode ) in this game is very good. the missions and storyline are quite interesting. There are also all types of side missions, some of which get quite hard. it will take you quite a while to get 100% of everything of the game. there are more things to do in the game than in GTA. The multiplayer is a LAGFEST. If you intend to buy this game for the singleplayer go ahead. But do not buy this game if you only plan on playing it online because you will be dissapointed.
Awesome Game
On: 2006-11-10This game is loads of fun.
And now that the online update has been released,
multiplayer online matches work great now!
Co-op play is really fun too.
If you are a fan of any of the GTA style games, this is a must.
A must have 360 game.
On: 2006-11-10If you like GTA or GTA style games, there is no doubt that you need this game. With charater creation, online gangs, very good car customization, ragdoll physics, crazy explosions, and much much more, I have been having a ball playing this game. I highly recommmend it.
very good single player, not so good online
On: 2006-11-09The single player mode(story mode ) in this game is very good. the missions and storyline are quite interesting. There are also all types of side missions, some of which get quite hard. it will take you quite a while to get 100% of everything of the game. there are more things to do in the game than in GTA. The multiplayer is a LAGFEST. If you intend to buy this game for the singleplayer go ahead. But do not buy this game if you only plan on playing it online because you will be dissapointed.
Awesome Game
On: 2006-11-09This game is loads of fun.
And now that the online update has been released,
multiplayer online matches work great now!
Co-op play is really fun too.
If you are a fan of any of the GTA style games, this is a must.
A must have 360 game.
On: 2006-11-09If you like GTA or GTA style games, there is no doubt that you need this game. With charater creation, online gangs, very good car customization, ragdoll physics, crazy explosions, and much much more, I have been having a ball playing this game. I highly recommmend it.
GTA on speed
On: 2006-11-02I enjoyed Saints Row except it seems like Grand Theft Auto almost part to part. Playing this games story mode is a little slow and daunting. What I really enjoy is playing online. That is where the real fun exists. Playing battles against eleven others makes it a lot of fun especially with the live experience. That is why my rating is higher than what it should be. Without online I would only give this game three stars.
Innovative
On: 2006-10-24Welcome to Stillwater, a modern American city full of great food, commerce, and unrestricted gang warfare. With the 3rd Street Saints, Vice Kings and the Carnales waging a city wide turf war for supremacy, there has never been a better time to visit.
The game opens up with your customized character getting caught in the crossfire of a gang war. You are saved by Julius, the leader of the 3rd Street Saints, and are recruited into his gang in an effort to clean up the streets. The first couple of missions serve as a sort of introductory sequence that teaches you the mission structure of the game and introduces you to some core characters. The game has three different story arcs, one for each rival gang, for you to tackle in whatever order you would like.
After each story mission you must build your respect before you will be offered the next one. There are numerous ways to build your respect, but the easiest way to do it is to take on various side missions located throughout the city. These missions range from drug trafficking to street racing. The activities get harder as you complete them, maxing out at level 8 and awarding you a prize such as unlimited shotgun ammo at your crib or taking less damage in car crashes.
Almost all of activities are pretty fun, but the two most enjoyable are probably mayhem and insurance fraud. In mayhem, you are tasked with going to a certain area of the city and causing as much damage as you can within a certain amount of time. You are always given a few weapons with unlimited ammo and bonuses for destroying certain targets. Destroying everything in sight with a rocket launcher on mayhems level 8 is one of the most enjoyable moments of the game. In insurance fraud, you attempt to throw yourself in front of traffic to collect money from lawsuits. You earn bonuses based on things like air time, hitting police cars, and the number of witnesses.
Besides those side missions, there are a few other ways of gaining respect. Robbing any store you want will give you a small amount of respect. Tagging over other gangs graffiti will also net you some respect. To help you speed up the time it takes to earn respect, you can spend your money on clothes, jewelry, and tattoos for your character. These items give you respect bonuses when you complete missions. Overall, the side mission system works pretty well. It creates a good pacing for the game, preventing you from blowing through the missions in just a few hours.
Besides allowing you to unlock new missions, as you gain more respect you will be able to recruit more "homies" (up to three at one time). "Homies" are friendly gang members which will help protect you by shooting out of car windows while you drive and following you around on foot. They do a pretty good job of helping you kill whoever is attacking you and hardly ever get stuck on objects such as trees. When they die, you have thirty seconds to revive them before they are permanently dead. At first this sounds like it would make the game too easy, but the "homies" are not overly effective, and dont take too much to kill. If you had to go find new ones every time one of them died, it would become pretty frustrating. So having 30 seconds to revive those that died turns out to be pretty convenient.
When you are not building up respect, you will literally be taking back the city block by block. Completing a story mission in a certain area of the city will put that area under the control of your gang. Controlling areas of the city actually has some impact on the gameplay. You will see friendly gang members patrolling the streets, providing you a safe area to run to if you are being chased by police or enemy gang members. Controlling different districts also gives you money every day that you can get from your safe back at your crib. The more territory you control, the faster you gain money. You also get new save points as well. The game allows you to save whenever you want, placing you at the closest save point from where you saved when you reload the game. So controlling more save points is definitely nice. Sometimes rival gangs will attack territory that you control, at which point you need to stop whatever you are doing and rush there to help push back the attack. If you wait too long, you risk losing your territory. This is a nice touch, and makes you feel like you are just one small part of a larger turf war.
The story missions themselves are pretty well designed and not overly difficult or annoying. There were many missions in Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas that I personally found extremely annoying and simply not fun to play. While the missions in Saints Row are challenging, I didnt run across any annoying missions like those in the GTA games. I always felt like I was making progress. The cinematic sequences for each of the missions are pretty well directed. The voice acting is great as well. The storyline turns out to be memorable and one of the highlights of the game.
While playing the game, its safe to say that you will be doing a lot of driving and shooting. The game features tons of cars, all with rock solid control. While none of them are real licensed cars, they all look different from each other and handle differently as well.
There is a pretty good selection of weapons in the game as well. Most of what you would expect to see is here, including pistols, machine guns, rifles, rocket launchers, grenades and more are present. The shooting controls are vastly improved over those of Grand Theft Auto, allowing you to control the player like you would in a first person shooter. You wont find any lock on targeting here. This goes a long way in making the firefights much more intense and fun then those in GTA.
The game features other big enhancements over Grand Theft Auto, the most important of which is the map system. At any point during the game you can bring up the map to set waypoints and locate new activities and missions. You can sort the map by stores, activities, missions, strongholds, and cribs to make finding locations very easy. The on screen minimap will show you the most efficient route to your waypoint or next objective, which makes navigating around the city a breeze. This is especially helpful during fast car chases.
Another small but significant improvement is the ability to shoot enemies in cars through the windshield. So instead of having to fill the car full of lead to get it to stop, you can instead take out the driver with one well placed shot to the head. This is extremely useful while in car chases. Since you can drive and shoot at the same time, its not that difficult to shoot the driver of the car chasing you through his windshield.
Besides those gamplay enhancements, Saints Row is also packing some amazing visuals. The entire city of Stillwater is rendered in glorious high definition. Everything in the world is extremely detailed. The game also features pretty good looking lighting and real time weather effects. The cars in the game look excellent, especially the way they crumple on impact. When cars explode, they send pieces of metal and tires flying everywhere. The frame rate is mostly pretty solid, though it can take a dive at times when there is a ton going on. However, this never hindered my enjoyment of the game.
The biggest criticism that you could have against the game is its lack of originality. In my opinion, there is nothing inherently wrong with a game copying another, especially when it manages to improve on its inspiration. The fact that Saints Row sticks pretty close to the Grand Theft Auto formula means that inherits many of the good qualities of the GTA series, making Saints Row a pretty good game in the process. Since it does manage improve upon GTA in many aspects, its worth while for fans of the GTA series to play it. Its probably fair to say that if you liked Grand Theft Auto then you will enjoy Saints Row. If you found some aspects of GTA annoying, as I did, then it may turn out that you like Saints Row even more. In my opinion, Saints Row is the best game of its kind to be released. When GTA 4 comes out later on it may vary well topple Saints Row, but until then, Saints Row is the king of free roaming action games.
Innovative
On: 2006-10-23Welcome to Stillwater, a modern American city full of great food, commerce, and unrestricted gang warfare. With the 3rd Street Saints, Vice Kings and the Carnales waging a city wide turf war for supremacy, there has never been a better time to visit.
The game opens up with your customized character getting caught in the crossfire of a gang war. You are saved by Julius, the leader of the 3rd Street Saints, and are recruited into his gang in an effort to clean up the streets. The first couple of missions serve as a sort of introductory sequence that teaches you the mission structure of the game and introduces you to some core characters. The game has three different story arcs, one for each rival gang, for you to tackle in whatever order you would like.
After each story mission you must build your respect before you will be offered the next one. There are numerous ways to build your respect, but the easiest way to do it is to take on various side missions located throughout the city. These missions range from drug trafficking to street racing. The activities get harder as you complete them, maxing out at level 8 and awarding you a prize such as unlimited shotgun ammo at your crib or taking less damage in car crashes.
Almost all of activities are pretty fun, but the two most enjoyable are probably mayhem and insurance fraud. In mayhem, you are tasked with going to a certain area of the city and causing as much damage as you can within a certain amount of time. You are always given a few weapons with unlimited ammo and bonuses for destroying certain targets. Destroying everything in sight with a rocket launcher on mayhems level 8 is one of the most enjoyable moments of the game. In insurance fraud, you attempt to throw yourself in front of traffic to collect money from lawsuits. You earn bonuses based on things like air time, hitting police cars, and the number of witnesses.
Besides those side missions, there are a few other ways of gaining respect. Robbing any store you want will give you a small amount of respect. Tagging over other gangs graffiti will also net you some respect. To help you speed up the time it takes to earn respect, you can spend your money on clothes, jewelry, and tattoos for your character. These items give you respect bonuses when you complete missions. Overall, the side mission system works pretty well. It creates a good pacing for the game, preventing you from blowing through the missions in just a few hours.
Besides allowing you to unlock new missions, as you gain more respect you will be able to recruit more "homies" (up to three at one time). "Homies" are friendly gang members which will help protect you by shooting out of car windows while you drive and following you around on foot. They do a pretty good job of helping you kill whoever is attacking you and hardly ever get stuck on objects such as trees. When they die, you have thirty seconds to revive them before they are permanently dead. At first this sounds like it would make the game too easy, but the "homies" are not overly effective, and dont take too much to kill. If you had to go find new ones every time one of them died, it would become pretty frustrating. So having 30 seconds to revive those that died turns out to be pretty convenient.
When you are not building up respect, you will literally be taking back the city block by block. Completing a story mission in a certain area of the city will put that area under the control of your gang. Controlling areas of the city actually has some impact on the gameplay. You will see friendly gang members patrolling the streets, providing you a safe area to run to if you are being chased by police or enemy gang members. Controlling different districts also gives you money every day that you can get from your safe back at your crib. The more territory you control, the faster you gain money. You also get new save points as well. The game allows you to save whenever you want, placing you at the closest save point from where you saved when you reload the game. So controlling more save points is definitely nice. Sometimes rival gangs will attack territory that you control, at which point you need to stop whatever you are doing and rush there to help push back the attack. If you wait too long, you risk losing your territory. This is a nice touch, and makes you feel like you are just one small part of a larger turf war.
The story missions themselves are pretty well designed and not overly difficult or annoying. There were many missions in Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas that I personally found extremely annoying and simply not fun to play. While the missions in Saints Row are challenging, I didnt run across any annoying missions like those in the GTA games. I always felt like I was making progress. The cinematic sequences for each of the missions are pretty well directed. The voice acting is great as well. The storyline turns out to be memorable and one of the highlights of the game.
While playing the game, its safe to say that you will be doing a lot of driving and shooting. The game features tons of cars, all with rock solid control. While none of them are real licensed cars, they all look different from each other and handle differently as well.
There is a pretty good selection of weapons in the game as well. Most of what you would expect to see is here, including pistols, machine guns, rifles, rocket launchers, grenades and more are present. The shooting controls are vastly improved over those of Grand Theft Auto, allowing you to control the player like you would in a first person shooter. You wont find any lock on targeting here. This goes a long way in making the firefights much more intense and fun then those in GTA.
The game features other big enhancements over Grand Theft Auto, the most important of which is the map system. At any point during the game you can bring up the map to set waypoints and locate new activities and missions. You can sort the map by stores, activities, missions, strongholds, and cribs to make finding locations very easy. The on screen minimap will show you the most efficient route to your waypoint or next objective, which makes navigating around the city a breeze. This is especially helpful during fast car chases.
Another small but significant improvement is the ability to shoot enemies in cars through the windshield. So instead of having to fill the car full of lead to get it to stop, you can instead take out the driver with one well placed shot to the head. This is extremely useful while in car chases. Since you can drive and shoot at the same time, its not that difficult to shoot the driver of the car chasing you through his windshield.
Besides those gamplay enhancements, Saints Row is also packing some amazing visuals. The entire city of Stillwater is rendered in glorious high definition. Everything in the world is extremely detailed. The game also features pretty good looking lighting and real time weather effects. The cars in the game look excellent, especially the way they crumple on impact. When cars explode, they send pieces of metal and tires flying everywhere. The frame rate is mostly pretty solid, though it can take a dive at times when there is a ton going on. However, this never hindered my enjoyment of the game.
The biggest criticism that you could have against the game is its lack of originality. In my opinion, there is nothing inherently wrong with a game copying another, especially when it manages to improve on its inspiration. The fact that Saints Row sticks pretty close to the Grand Theft Auto formula means that inherits many of the good qualities of the GTA series, making Saints Row a pretty good game in the process. Since it does manage improve upon GTA in many aspects, its worth while for fans of the GTA series to play it. Its probably fair to say that if you liked Grand Theft Auto then you will enjoy Saints Row. If you found some aspects of GTA annoying, as I did, then it may turn out that you like Saints Row even more. In my opinion, Saints Row is the best game of its kind to be released. When GTA 4 comes out later on it may vary well topple Saints Row, but until then, Saints Row is the king of free roaming action games.
Its a cool game
On: 2006-10-17Listen the reason everybody even hating on this game is because, its the only game even in GTAs neighborhood (same block a couple houses down if you will). And a lot of you are just going by what other people said (mostly editors and people that dont have 360s and just now got a PS2). First off this game is a breath of fresh air. Everybody says that the aiming is similar the pemise is similar blah blah. To me its similar but in a good way, and i dont know if i can go back to target aim. I love aimin anywhere in ur car and the ability to launch a grenade at gang members and keep on driving. I like the fact you can call up a chick and do a drive by, or click A on on the map and she will drive u there (slowly but she gets u there). The Story could use some of GTAs spark as dont really feel it. But i havent feel asleep doing a mission yet, so its a good thing, i like some of the activities (Insurance Fraud is fun but gets kinda boring after a while.I mostly mess wit the ONLINE. This is where i spend about 85% of my playing. They have gansta brawl,team gangsta brawl, Protec the Pimp, and a couple other modes. If you have xbox live. Its worth the purchase. Not to say it isnt if u dont have live, it just makes the purchase easier
GTA on crack
On: 2006-10-16Ive seen the constant, and inevitable, comparisons to GTA but I enjoy this game much better. Theyve fixed a lot of shortcomings in the GTA series, including the customization aspects. Theres been some criticism about the lack of motorcycles, boats, and helicopters in this game. I admit, I miss the motorcycles a bit, but I always hated the controls for piloting a boat or helo. I suspect these will come in an add-on later.
I enjoy the non-linear storyline from having several gangs to challenge, as well as the selection of side activities. You can focus on eliminating one gang at a time, balance your gameplay, etc. It keeps the game from getting tired. Bottom line is that if you enjoyed GTA, youll enjoy Saints Row.
My only gripe is the single-player storyline leaves the game with a very disappointing conclusion. I had hoped for an open ending, allowing for the addition of add-ons and new gangs via XBox Live, or the possibility of starting your own gang and continuing gameplay. I dont enjoy online play, you run into too many idiots out there, and Id like to be able to customize the game to continue playing as a single player. Sadly, after dozens of hours of committed gameplay, all you get for your trouble is...well, I dont want to spoil it, but youll be pissed.
Just a lame GTA clone.
On: 2006-10-14Isnt fun. The characters are corny and stupid. Its dumb. Its not fun. Its just a clone of Grand Theft Auto. Its got slow down issues. Its basically the same open sandbox game as GTA but it doesnt have the comedy or satire of GTA. Dumb. I spent $60.00 for it played it for a couple of hours and never played it again. I sold it a week later. Dumb game.
Fun but why do they call them GTA clones?
by: Anonymous On: 2006-10-14
This is a fun game, but why do they call it a GTA clone, anyway? GTA games are horrible. Look at the graphics on any of them! The story is also really stupid (GTA). And they shouldnt be called GTA clones. GTA is a Driver clone. Driver came out a whole year before GTA! Driver is way a way better series (maybe excluding Driv3r)!
Just a lame GTA clone.
On: 2006-10-13Isnt fun. The characters are corny and stupid. Its dumb. Its not fun. Its just a clone of Grand Theft Auto. Its got slow down issues. Its basically the same open sandbox game as GTA but it doesnt have the comedy or satire of GTA. Dumb. I spent $60.00 for it played it for a couple of hours and never played it again. I sold it a week later. Dumb game.
Fun but why do they call them GTA clones?
On: 2006-10-13This is a fun game, but why do they call it a GTA clone, anyway? GTA games are horrible. Look at the graphics on any of them! The story is also really stupid (GTA). And they shouldnt be called GTA clones. GTA is a Driver clone. Driver came out a whole year before GTA! Driver is way a way better series (maybe excluding Driv3r)!
Me too!
On: 2006-10-07I think Rockstar is gonna sue somebody.......... This game could be called GTA: Stilwater, and nobody would know the difference. Yes, its a GTA clone, and one of the more obvious rip-offs of that much beloved franchise.
Its also a good game.
Major improvements have been made from the GTA games. Aiming has been fixed; the game utitlizes typical FPS control scheme from the third person perspective, and it works much better than GTAs autolock. Thats the biggest thing, but there are a bunch of little things. For example, if you fail a mission, you can hit "retry," instead of trekking back to the mission start point.
There are just a couple of things holding Saints Row back from being a GTA-killer. Saints Row has no bikes, no planes, no boats, and a considerably smaller map than that of San Andreas. It also skips out on many of the smaller RPG-style elements of that classic. Considering that Saints Row is a "next-gen" game, these are not small omissions. PS2 did much more years ago, it just didnt look as pretty.
So basically what youre getting is GTA 3 gameplay polished till it shines. Its not that true "next-gen" experience youve been waiting for, but its solid, well-produced fun in the mean time.
Me too!
On: 2006-10-06I think Rockstar is gonna sue somebody.......... This game could be called GTA: Stilwater, and nobody would know the difference. Yes, its a GTA clone, and one of the more obvious rip-offs of that much beloved franchise.
Its also a good game.
Major improvements have been made from the GTA games. Aiming has been fixed; the game utitlizes typical FPS control scheme from the third person perspective, and it works much better than GTAs autolock. Thats the biggest thing, but there are a bunch of little things. For example, if you fail a mission, you can hit "retry," instead of trekking back to the mission start point.
There are just a couple of things holding Saints Row back from being a GTA-killer. Saints Row has no bikes, no planes, no boats, and a considerably smaller map than that of San Andreas. It also skips out on many of the smaller RPG-style elements of that classic. Considering that Saints Row is a "next-gen" game, these are not small omissions. PS2 did much more years ago, it just didnt look as pretty.
So basically what youre getting is GTA 3 gameplay polished till it shines. Its not that true "next-gen" experience youve been waiting for, but its solid, well-produced fun in the mean time.
great game
On: 2006-10-06some missions too easy. familiar to gta then youll get around great in this game. worth the money . territory system a refreshing twist on the standard do missions advance system. cool little tid bits like trickin out your car and apearence. overall i think we have already been there but if your looking to find a gta esk game on the 360 its a solid choice
Pretty Sick Story Mode
On: 2006-10-01To me the story mode is sweet but it gets a little annoying when you have to fill your respect bar after every mision. and the stronghold missions are a little boring. But other other tha that its a pretty sick game
Pretty Sick Story Mode
On: 2006-09-30To me the story mode is sweet but it gets a little annoying when you have to fill your respect bar after every mision. and the stronghold missions are a little boring. But other other tha that its a pretty sick game
A grand Theft Auto Ripoff that manages to be better than the original
On: 2006-09-29The only reason i did not give this game 5 stars in the overall section is that it does pretty much steal its entire premise from the Grand Theft Auto series. Now dont let what I just wrote stop you from purchasing the game. As a matter of fact almost any game that comes out these days apes a game that came before it and what better game to ape than grand theft auto, anyway. And, not only does Saints Row hold up to the grand theft autos it is actually, in my opinion, a much more fun and satisfying experience. The controls are much tighter and the aiming system is truly a thing of beauty and such a simple change I cant belive Rockstar never tried it with there games. The aiming is done with the analogue sticks so you never have to worry about shooting your own players, unless you want to, or fishing around with the lockon buttons for ample seconds trying to find the guy you want to kill. The vehicles in the game control like a dream, are highly customizable and you can shoot in any direction while driving them, oh yeah you can even throw grenades while driving and while this might not sound like much it really adds a whole new dimension to the police chases. While there arent motorcycles, planes or boats to drive and the army never seems to come after you, I have a feeling this will change in the future with a simple patch. Another area this game shines is with the missions. With the Grand Theft Autos I would find myself playing the missions for a while and then just giving up due to the extreme challenge or mindless tedium and causing mayhem instead. While it is every bit as much fun to cause mayhem in Saints Row the missions are , believe it or not, much more fun than causing mayhem, they are just structured that well. Your gang banging helpers are also well emplemented, actually helping kill bad guys and even dodging fire to the best of their abilities so you dont have to worry about them dying and starting your mission all over again as in the GTAs. Even if they do die you can bring them back to life if your quick enough by pouring a magical, miracle inducing forty OZ on them. I know this sounds like a weak cliche and a little hokey but it keeps the flow going and is, in my opinion, a nice and helpful touch. While it might not be as deep in some areas as the Grand Theft Autos the major gameplay improvements and mission structure more than make up for this. I am not taking anything away from the Grand Theft Autos as I still think they are some of the best and most revolutionary games around yet I still feel that Saints Row is the better game and just try to keep from smiling when the cops and rival gangs are chasing you at full speed while the Entertainer, Beethovens ninth symphony or the lone ranger theme is blasting from your highly modified and tuned up cars stereo. Oh yeah, since I cant seem to find my review of Dead Rising anywhere I would advise getting this game a million times over the drivel that is Dead Rising if you are looking for a great sandbox game.
A grand Theft Auto Ripoff that manages to be better than the original
On: 2006-09-28The only reason i did not give this game 5 stars in the overall section is that it does pretty much steal its entire premise from the Grand Theft Auto series. Now dont let what I just wrote stop you from purchasing the game. As a matter of fact almost any game that comes out these days apes a game that came before it and what better game to ape than grand theft auto, anyway. And, not only does Saints Row hold up to the grand theft autos it is actually, in my opinion, a much more fun and satisfying experience. The controls are much tighter and the aiming system is truly a thing of beauty and such a simple change I cant belive Rockstar never tried it with there games. The aiming is done with the analogue sticks so you never have to worry about shooting your own players, unless you want to, or fishing around with the lockon buttons for ample seconds trying to find the guy you want to kill. The vehicles in the game control like a dream, are highly customizable and you can shoot in any direction while driving them, oh yeah you can even throw grenades while driving and while this might not sound like much it really adds a whole new dimension to the police chases. While there arent motorcycles, planes or boats to drive and the army never seems to come after you, I have a feeling this will change in the future with a simple patch. Another area this game shines is with the missions. With the Grand Theft Autos I would find myself playing the missions for a while and then just giving up due to the extreme challenge or mindless tedium and causing mayhem instead. While it is every bit as much fun to cause mayhem in Saints Row the missions are , believe it or not, much more fun than causing mayhem, they are just structured that well. Your gang banging helpers are also well emplemented, actually helping kill bad guys and even dodging fire to the best of their abilities so you dont have to worry about them dying and starting your mission all over again as in the GTAs. Even if they do die you can bring them back to life if your quick enough by pouring a magical, miracle inducing forty OZ on them. I know this sounds like a weak cliche and a little hokey but it keeps the flow going and is, in my opinion, a nice and helpful touch. While it might not be as deep in some areas as the Grand Theft Autos the major gameplay improvements and mission structure more than make up for this. I am not taking anything away from the Grand Theft Autos as I still think they are some of the best and most revolutionary games around yet I still feel that Saints Row is the better game and just try to keep from smiling when the cops and rival gangs are chasing you at full speed while the Entertainer, Beethovens ninth symphony or the lone ranger theme is blasting from your highly modified and tuned up cars stereo. Oh yeah, since I cant seem to find my review of Dead Rising anywhere I would advise getting this game a million times over the drivel that is Dead Rising if you are looking for a great sandbox game.
GTA ripoff big time, how about some originality?
On: 2006-09-27After playing Dead-Rising at a friends house on his 360, I had pretty much decided I was going to buy one for myself, but after playing this boring, cheap-looking GTA rip-off, Im not so sure. I was never a huge GTA fan to begin with, so you can imagine my joy when after playing for 45 minutes or so, besides being totally bored, I felt like I had been playing San Andreas the whole time. Im not kidding people, this is the exact game, drugs, hos, pimps, ridiculous dialogue, lame tricked-out cars, lots and lots of guns...........yawn, been there, done that!!!!!!!! Now, dont get me wrong, I have nothing against violent games, Silent Hill and Manhunt are two of my favorites of all time, but the violence in those games serves a purpose, its needed to tell the story and define the lead characters. The violence