Saints Row is a game that had a lot of potential...
Had the Grand Theft Auto games never existed it's proper to say that Saints Row could have been one of the best games released on the Xbox 360. Sadly Grand Theft Auto does exist and you can't help but see where Saints Row gets most of it's gameplay from. Sadly Saints Row is nothing but a cheap copy of Grand Theft Auto with a cut down story, annoying and repetitive activities and the same old clunky combat Grand Theft Auto
suffered from in the past. If one was to not compare this game to Grand Theft Auto it'd score an easy 8.5-9.0 but with games like GTA IV and Vice City out there, this game simply does not stand a chance.
The graphics in Saints Row are mediocre at best. While the game goes for a more comic book style of graphics it really looks like a last generation game on the 360. The character models aren't very impressive and nothing really stands out. For the most part the graphics in Grand Theft Auto San Andreas were actually on par with this game. There really isn't any more then this to be said about the graphics. The presentation of the game is mediocre, the city has an alright feel but it hardly compares to the environments seen in other free roam games. Nothing really feels alive and everything feels as if it was just thrown in there and has no purpose. I always see the same things too around the city and every part of the city looks the same. The sound in the game is mediocre as well. The dialogue is corny and lazily written and the sound effects sound dated at this point. The radio stations are alright but it's obvious they tried to copy the wit and humor of Grand Theft Auto's radio station, this is a miserable failure.
The story and game play of Saints Row can be summed up with one word by one word for both, Abysmal and Alright. First off there is no story in the game, don't come here expecting an epic tale of redemption and revenge. Rather come expecting a game that is just a glorified version of the gang wars you get in San Andreas. The story begins with your custom made character caught in a firefight which ignites a city wide gang war. You are taken in by the Third Street Saints and you essentially go through the gang trying to take out the other gangs and control the city. Other then this there is no story in the game. The game play is mediocre, the driving feels good and is easy to control but the combat is clunky. It's alright and does the job but it can be very tedious. Activities are an annoying addition to the game play formula. Personally I hated doing the same repetitive tasks in order to get respect. Sadly this is not a choice activity but rather it's mandatory if you want to advance through the game. Don't expect to find anything new that's worth checking out here.
What did I like about this game? The only things in this game that were excellent were the amount of customization. I really liked making my own character and dressing him however I wanted. Cars are also very customizable which is cool to see. There is also a lot of fun to be had doing some of the activities notably Mayhem and Insurance Fraud, the rest on the other hand were just boring like the escort missions for instance. Another good thing about the game was it had decent mission variety, it's not just kill this and that but sometimes you get to do different things like masquerade yourself as a limo driver to get to your victim to go under cover as the rival gang and cause mayhem. Sadly some of this mission variety is ruined by frustratingly difficult missions which happen randomly.
All in all Saints Row is a mediocre game and really was intended only to be build up for the eventual release of GTA IV. If you're really tired of GTA IV give this game a rent to see if you like it. If you're a GTA fan expecting to find something new don't bother. Just go back to Vice City or San Andreas, you'll have a lot more fun.
