Amazing Open Level Title
This has been a rather good year for open world games. Mercenaries 2 was, for me, a lot of fun. GTA 4 finally hit and sold pretty darned well. Now, we get Saints Row making a return. SR1 was viewed as a fun, but rather blatant, rip-off of GTA.
Well, it's still a carbon copy. This game is, basically, GTA in all but name. It's not as pretty and the characters aren't A defined and, overall, it's not as GOOD a game as GTA IV --- but I'll argue it's more FUN.
At the end of the last game, there was a big explosion. You survived and are in a prison infirmary where you quickly escape and set about, well, playing the game. You're still in Stillwater and the game's engine is still phenomenal. The seamless indoor-to-outdoor moves is still impressive.
Volition, yet again, embraces the sheer absurdity of the story. You're a gang-banger --- who can also fly aircraft rather well, perform CPR, etc. Your list of skills is a bit much, but it does provide so many other things to do. 54 missions (1 is hidden) take a lot of time, but the diversions are second to none. I may HATE controlling helicopters, but it was still enjoyable.
It's hard to really sum up this game's greatness. The zombie minigame is unexpectedly fun. Committing insurance fraud is a blast. Getting an achievement for singing along with "Take On Me" was funny. Not as polished as GTA, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
