Game Review: Saints Row

Before you write off THQ's new video game title, Saints Row, as just another rip-off of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series, read through the game's reviews and make the judgment yourself. Just by the look of the trailers and box cover, you might think it’s an imitation, but don't let it fool you. THQ did their homework and the behind-the-scenes work and research has really paid off.

The developers have taken what Rockstar did with GTA -- as far as the open-ended criminal action gameplay -- and upped it a notch. With the power of Xbox 360's gaming system, gamers will be pleasantly surprised by what has been done. And not to mention that this is the first for Xbox 360 in this now crowded genre.

Like GTA, Saints Row combines the same mix of driving and shooting action and is set in a fictitious, modern day American city. You can drive, run and explore pretty much any part of the city with no direction if desired, and listen to a long list of licensed music, via the radio stations of the game's city of Stillwater.

You begin the game by creating your own gangster to run wild throughout the large and detailed city. Unlike GTA, you can determine your character's appearance with an almost limitless number of options to choose from, such as ethnicities, haircuts, facial hair and eye color to start. Although it may seem a little gimmicky at first, your character's look -- as far as clothing, tattoos and a few other aspects -- do have an impact on the gameplay as time goes on. The player creation is very impressive, giving Saints Row an edge over some of its predecessors before it.

After player creation, you start getting caught in a gang shootout where you are saved by Julius (voiced by Keith David), the charismatic leader of a racially diverse gang called the 3rd Street Saints, one of Stillwater’s four biggest criminal groups. From there, you become a valuable soldier of the gang, helping them take out your rivals -- The Carnales, a group of short tempered Latinos backed by a Columbia drug cartel; the Westside Rollerz, a bunch of kids from the suburbs who have an appetite for street racing; and the Vice Kings, the most dangerous of the four, fronted by shady businesses and connections with a police, which help them to an extent.

THQ spared no expense in getting the some actor heavyweights to lend their voices for the game's main characters, including Michael Clarke Duncan, Keith David, David Carradine, Michael Rappaport, and Tia Carrere among others. All of them add to their character's personas very nicely, much like the actors in all of the GTA games. Without the cast, the game's plot would most likely fail rather than shine as bright as it does. The plot isn't on point during the entire game, but its occasional misses are outweighed heavily by the quality of the game's writing and storytelling, which is one of the biggest highlights.

The meat of the game lies in the missions, with the main directive being to take over the 36 neighborhoods that make up Stilwater. The Saints, your character's gang, have been on the losing end as of late, and your addition will undoubtly help in their quest for dominance. An aspect that was left out would be the gamer's choice of allegiance, which would result in a more user-defined experience, but Saints didn't quite make that advancement, although they had the advantage with the Xbox 360, possibly Rockstar will with their next release.

As you begin to take on missions, you find that each gang has their own set, which you can complete in any order that you'd like. Unlike GTA, the core missions are not immediately accessible. You must fill your character's respect rank to take part in each mission. To fill your street respect, you must "put in dirt," as they say, and to do that you take on activities like hijacking cars, insurance fraud, pimpin' hoes, or simply go on a killing spree, targeting rival gang members. Although these activities can be chosen by the player's discretion, the game forcing players to complete these to take on mission get old after awhile. But, it does add to Saints long hours of gameplay, some Volition (the developers) are responsible for.

Saints' gang-warfare angle is really prevalent throughout. At random times during playing, rival gangs will attack your neighborhoods, prompting you to head over to help out your fellow members and take out enemy lieutenants or lose control of your territory. You also can raid enemy strongholds, which take you on an action-packed on-foot shooting spree. Although it's not difficult to take on unlikely odds -- like 30+ enemies, the missions are a welcomed change from all the driving around that is required. There is also some nonviolent alternatives, including spraying over rival gangs' graffiti around the city and finding hidden music CDs all around the city. Another plus is the further customization of you character, including clothing, jewelry and tattoos, which you can purchase various stores within the game, as well as the car customization, where you can pimp out virtually any car of your choice, with a wide variety of accessories, from paint jobs, body kits, rims, nitrous and hydraulics.

The bottom line is that although Saints is not too different from what gamers have come to love about the GTA series, it only means you will know exactly what to expect going it. The hours of satisfying, violent gameplay it delivers is worth the cost, and not to leave out other pluses including multiplayer playability or the Hollywood production values. As players anxiously wait for Rockstar to unleash another GTA title, Saints will undoubtly fill the void.

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