Saints Row

"TMOG plays Saints Row."

I'm pretty sure I know what you're thinking right now. “Oh, Saints Row. Isn't that just the GTA wannabe game?” Well, it's my pleasure to inform you that you're only half right. While Saint's Row shares MANY similarities and gameplay elements with its older brother Grand Theft Auto, there are also enough differences in this game to make you come back for more.

I don't think anybody was more surprised at this game than I was. I don't even like Grand Theft Auto, and now this game is one of my favorite games for the Xbox 360 – if not my favorite. I don't even know why I added it to my GameFly list to rent it. But when it came and I started playing it for that first hour, I knew it wasn't going to leave my house. I bought my rented copy that very day.

I could go two ways with this review – I could either compare it to Grand Theft Auto, since the games share many similarities. Or I could review it as a stand-alone game. I'm going with the latter, because the first style is more of a comparison than a review.

Where to begin? Let's start with a spoiler-free summary of the main plot. Your character, referred to only as “Playa”, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Caught in the crossfire of a three-way gang battle, it looked like you weren't going to get out of there alive. But you were saved by two members of the 3rd Street Saints, and offered a position within the gang. You accept the offer and start clearing the other three gangs out of the city of Stilwater.

There are three other gangs for you to clear out, each with their own storyline. The (Los) Carnales receive their funding from the Colombian drug lords; the Vice Kings work alongside City Hall and control the local police; and the Westside Rollerz are a gang of street racers. Of the three storylines, the Rollerz are definitely the weak link. This is unfortunate, because they have the most interesting cast of characters.

All three storylines have about ten missions each, which can be played by increasing your gang respect. To increase your gang respect, you have to participate in activities, which are basically shorter, non-plot relevant missions. Activities range from stealing prostitutes to taking part in a demolition derby. While quite a few activities can seem very tedious, some others – like the demo derby – can be pretty fun.

Completing activities gets you more rewards than just gang respect. You can also have special bonuses, such as discounts in clothing / weapon stores, unique weapons (such as the platinum riot shotgun), unique cars, and unique “homies” to follow you and help you in your missions.

If the game has one glaring flaw, however, it's the replay factor. After one or two runs through the game, you'll feel very little motivation to come back and play for a third time. In my opinion, the replay for this game would have been greatly increased if they gave you the option to play as members of the other gangs after you finish the 3rd Street Saints storyline. I'd have liked to see how the story would have played out if you were a Vice King, Carnales, or a Roller. Even a storyline from a police officer's point of view would have been nice. Sadly, Saint's Row doesn't offer this.

Multiplayer comes in a variety of types. The most basic multiplayer game is Gangsta Brawl, which is just your standard deathmatch. Big Ass Chains is a deathmatch in which you kill other players to grab their gold chains, and then drop them at a predetermined location on the map. Both of these modes are playable both free-for-all and team-based.

Protect Tha Pimp is a team-based game in which one team must protect their leader (the pimp) and escort him to a destination, while the other team tries to kill the pimp. Blinged Out Ride (my personal favorite) has two teams competing to upgrade their gang's vehicle; this is accomplished by earning funds from killing other players and depositing gold chains at drop points.

Of course, there is one big flaw to the multiplayer: It's hard to find a large game. Sadly, Saints Row doesn't have too big of an online community, so any games you do find will be quite small.
Now we move on to the fluff of Saint's Row. By “fluff”, I mean the frills after the actual gameplay; the graphics, music, and other things. The things that don't have a direct impact on the way the game is played, but some people may view them as important anyway.

As far as the graphics go, Saint's Row is visually pleasing. The character models are pretty well-done, and you can even customize you character completely. If you want him to be a fat Asian, go for it. Or if you want him to be a muscle-bound Hispanic, that's possible too. Or maybe you just want a skinny white guy. The level of customization is great. The vehicles in this game are also very well detailed. They range from beater cars with rust-covered paint jobs to shiny new vehicles. It's very pleasing to the eye.

However, there is the problem that the graphics aren't exactly “next-generation”, at least not on a standard television. I don't know firsthand what they look like on a HDTV, but on a standard television the graphics are almost indistinguishable from a late Xbox game. Then again, this is true for just about every Xbox 360 game. Once I get an HDTV and can see what this game looks like at its full potential, I'll update this review to reflect this.

The game's completely voice-acted, but that's become pretty standard nowadays, so it shouldn't come as a surprise at all. The voices are pretty well-done and fit with the character who's talking. The music is also pulled off pretty well, ranging from rap to classical to metal. Anything for anybody's tastes in music… although I would have liked to see more metal than what's available in this game. One huge advantage, however, is the game's built-in “MP3 Player”, with which you can buy music tracks (with the money you earn in-game, of course) and assign them to play constantly instead of just when you're in a vehicle.

Okay, I think that about covers everything that's relevant about this review for Saint's Row. Let's take a look at the summary.

Gameplay – Very reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto, but unique in its own right. I love the free-roam aspect, but some parts of it can get tedious, especially some activities that you have to play in order to access storyline missions. Multiplayer is a blast, but it's hard to find a large room online. 91/100

Storyline – Three storylines in one, actually. Playing through each storyline gives the game a nice feeling of playing through episodes. Some parts of the story are, however, pretty weak and feel like they're just there as filler, and there are a few pacing issues. 83/100

Graphics – The graphics are very pleasing to the eye. There's a nice level of detail, and everything has a smooth, polished look to it; unless, of course, it's not supposed to look smooth and polished. There is, however, the problem that it's hardly distinguishable from a late Xbox game, but that doesn't mean the graphics are bad – just not evolved. 96/100

Sound/Music – I have no problems at all about the sound or music in this game. The variety of music types in this game, and the fact that you can customize your own play lists is just fantastic. There is, however, the problem that some music genres receive more attention than others. 98/100

Overall – Saint's Row is a great game marred by a few problems, notably the lack of instant replay value and some tedious activities. All in all, though, it's a pretty fun game, worthy of at least a rental. And if you like it as much as I did, then you should spend the cash and buy it.

Final Score – 9.2 / 10 (rounded down to 9)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/06/06, Updated 10/22/07

Game Release: Saints Row (US, 08/29/06)