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Saints Row (Reviews)

Review by Ben Furfie.

We've lost count of how many games have tried to emulate the Grand Theft Auto series and have failed. True Crime, Driver and Mafia are just a few of those games that have tried and failed to capture the fun of GTA. However, now a game has stepped up to the plate that not just copies Grand Theft Auto to the letter, it takes what it already has and improves upon it dramatically. Some people say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Saints Row is more like Volition saying to Rockstar, nice try, now here's how you do it.

Caught up in a battle between the warring factions of the fictional city of Stilwater, an a typical American city based loosely upon Chicago/Detroit, you only survive a fierce gang battle thanks to the Mother Teresa with a gun like actions of Julius Little, leader of the 3rd Street Saints and his deputy Troy. Julius welcomes you to come along to the Saint's headquarters, an old abandoned church on the Row as the Saints prepare to take what was rightfully theirs. Sure it might not have the cinematic flair that the likes of Vice City and its failed drugs deal has but as for opening to the rest of the game, it fits in perfectly with the tone and scale of Saints Row.

As you might have guessed, the city of Stilwater is under the grip of an epic gang war, the likes never seen in a videogame before. With the other three gangs controlling 95% of the city at the beginning of the game you have your work cut out for you. Each has their own reason for being in power, each have a weak point. The Vice Kings, the second largest gang have the police in their pocket and a huge legitimate business perfect for laundering money. Los Carnales have the drugs trade sewn up and the Westside Rollerz... well they have the illegal motor trade under lock and key. Each is determined to crush any opposition; each is determined to keep their own stake. Each has crushed many like you who've come before and they see your fate as no different.

So what can you expect from the game other than flashy cut scenes and a story about gang warfare? Well, much like GTA you can walk, run and drive around the city pretty much at your pleasure. Unlike GTA the developers have done the right thing and opened up the entire city from the off. That doesn't necessarily mean that you can just drive around town and expect to survive, hell no. If you're stupid enough to drive or walk into the wrong area then you're just asking to be shot dead on the spot or at least get chased out with your tail between your legs.

While the game seems a little forced at points, especially with its gung-ho dialogue the game soon settles down to become a much more mature and entertaining proposition, worthy of being called an equal of Grand Theft Auto. The story is surprisingly well written and is less of a land grab than you might have otherwise expected and much more of a meticulously planned war with small minor battles culminating in total victory. The game is split into 36 separate areas, within 12 larger districts so you can expect some serious game time before you manage to take over each and every district. Of course that's not a bad thing... we've clocked up just over 16 hours on the game and loved every minute of it. Only Saints Row, Hitman and Dead Rising have so far managed to capture our attention for so long that we've played two days straight in the office without breaks so... an achievement that deserves some respect.

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- posted by duke on 05.09.06
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