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Saint's Row
Not for the faint of heart, sensitive, or children. This over the top
look into the world of an imaginary gang called the 3rd Street Saints. A
gang led by a guy named Julius. The claim to fame of the 3rd Street
Saints…or Julius really is that they claim to have one goal only, for
the other gangs to leave the neighborhood alone. Hmmmm a rose by any
other name as they say…
As noted this is not for children as the language is more street, than
street, and I know I’ve been around a lot of it growing up. So parents,
please pay mind to the Ratings on this game, they are not just putting
it on there because it looks cute.
Players start the game by choosing a character type, more like a race.
Then you can make the character either as muscular or thin or even
fat…as you would like. Along with some features of the face which really
don’t seem to come into play much other than perhaps some abilities for
making the characters look different perhaps for the online play portion
of the game... Other than that I see no real use in the ability for
choosing, race, and body type or any other tweaks to the characters
features.
The game world is reminiscent of the Grand theft Auto titles, and in
some ways does it a bit better than GTA. (Well at least raised the bar
just a bit, until the new Grand Theft Auto hits the scene for the 360)
The game world is violent and trash talk with plenty of explanative is
pretty common. Glamorizing in some respects the gang life…and in more
cases than not…there deaths, and there is a lot of death when a gang war
takes place. Well now as noted, the players character ends up in the 3rd
street Saints, Julius and a companion saves the character from some
other gang members and invites the character to come to the 3rd Street
Saints. In no time…the player is part of the gang….
To terrorize the city, or not to terrorize the city: that is the
question... Saints Row enables the player to run around and do
practically whatever tickle’s his or her fancy. One can of course go
along and play the plotline missions, but a little bit of chaos here and
there is always fun. You can steal a car and get money from a hostage
while outrunning the police, and crashing into cars head-on at high
speeds is always fun, especially when drivers get thrown out of their
vehicles! The game world is pretty good size, it does not compare to the
immenseness of Grand theft Auto, and for me anyway that is a good thing.
A too big of a game world can kind of cause some problems with keeping
interest. I kind of want to move along to the next thing, not travel
100’s of actual miles to get to the next goal. But hey that’s just me.
Let’s see the game premise is pretty much to the point as noted earlier,
so let me get down to brass tacks… the game looks freaking awesome. Now
for the 360 as I have noted in another review, the knee jerk eye popping
feel of the eye candy has worn off of the 360…for the most part. A game
just has to have a lot more than looks to really keep the interest and
make to make it worth the time and money of all you impulse gamers out
there. Saints Row, while it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, is a game
that has the looks, and the teeth to grab hold and keep a gamer going
and coming back for more.
Cut scenes move things along and lend itself well to the feel of the
game. The Xbox 360’s power is used well here. Everything is smooth and I
often felt like I was watching some really interesting animated movie
instead of just playing a video game. Other parts of the eye candy that
the game throws at you in extreme abundance is actually in game play
itself. Lots of vehicles on screen at once and a lot of characters as
well, all with out so much as a small graphic stutter. The city itself
all looks really good, with shops and different structures such as
warehouses, a city and the suburbs and even a freeway to get you around
a lot faster. While the game really does look spectacular, I could not
help but feel that there could be more in the graphic department. Small
glitches during loading of scenes makes you wonder if something in the
game has crashed for the briefest of moments. Textures disappear and
then come right back when it fully loads. This in no way degrades the
game.
Speaking of the looks…buildings and streets and all the little things
graphically look just down right spectacular. This includes the vehicles
of which there are goodly amounts. From two door cars, to SUV types and
also big rig semi trucks. All of which you can car jack and go for a
spin. Even the emergency vehicles can be borrowed and taken for a ride.
Lights and siren blaring or not. What a blast! Driving and shooting are
a bit of a challenge when you’re trying to do it at the same time,
that’s why it is always suggested you get some of your fellow gang
members to go along with you for any drive by destructive outings you go
on. While you concentrate on driving and bashing into what ever the heck
you want to, you pals will target any rival gangs and blast away with
their weapons.
Keeping it real in your little gang world, In Saints Row there are
several ways to get respect and money, most of them would be frowned
upon in polite circles no less, and since it is getting close to
election times again in real life this bit of indulgence may be on the
radar of some office elect hopefuls. Personally the game does not claim
to be anything else. It’s up front in its packaging and the tag lines on
the back of the box. There should be no mistaking what the games all
about. If you pick this game up and claim to be surprised and claim you
had no idea that the game would have such things in it, you’re an idiot.
Ok, that being said… there are certain activities that can net the
player respect for the character and the gang, as well as some cash in
their virtual pockets. These include store robberies, high jacking
vehicles and holding an occupant hostage long enough to scare them into
paying you money. There are also missions called…AHEM…. “Snatch”
Missions. I do not know if the term means the same thing all over the
world…let’s just say that if you do not know…it is a term meaning a
certain part of the female anatomy. In this mission you have to liberate
prostitutes from there pimps and escort them to another pimp that
will…take better care of them… Yea…
Another such mission is driving an escort around in a car as they take
care of business, the point of the mission is driving and keeping the
paparazzi away so they cannot take pictures of the escort and their
client who we can only assume is a high profile person. As a gang member
you spend time getting respect and also taking over turf, or sections of
the city for those that have no idea what tracts of land have to do with
anything. Keeping parts of the city as your gang territory is not as
easy as it sounds. Once you enter an area that is held by another gang,
you do your best to go on missions that will help your gang take over
that section of town. Completing a stronghold mission is pretty straight
forward, kill all the opposing gang members in the area and the section
of the city is yours, then come the turf wars. Gangs come onto your turf
trying to take it back and these battles can get a bit long and drawn
out.
While your character can get killed in the game, the enemy AI is not all
that bright. Finding a strategic location and just mow the enemy down as
they come on at you is almost too easy. I for one like to grab a vehicle
along with my fellow gang member and as my fellow opens up on the
opposing gang with his gun, I just run the enemy down with the car.
Ah yes, there is a police presence in the game and they will chase after
you if you cause too much trouble, they are no where near as aggressive
as the Grand Theft Auto series. Though I was very surprised to see the
Pit Maneuver in the game. That little tid bit was just enough to put a
smile on my face. The Pit Maneuver or PIT is Precision Immobilization
Technique or Pursuit Intervention Technique -- was first used in the
1970s. Many Police agencies use it in the United States to end vehicle
chases. Players can also make their mark on XBOX live, Teaming up with
fellow players for various challenges against other gangs. Challenge
players online in games such as 'Big Ass Chains', 'Blinged Out Ride' or
'Protect tha Pimp'. Form gangs, recruit new gang members and compete
against other gangs for cash and respect in a variety of online
multiplayer modes, including co-op. Hmm it’s gotta be safer than running
with a real gang. I guess.
All in all Saints Row does a lot of things a bit better than Grand Theft
Auto…. Some things I miss and would have loved to see are some two
wheeled vehicle use. Motorbikes would have been nice to have, would have
been great to go blasting through the streets on a motorbike. Another
thing I just would have liked to see is something more than a next to
useless option to customize your gang characters features. Certain stats
and the ability to go up in skills would have been a nice touch. Raising
skills such as street smarts or marksmanship so your character could
shoot better would have been fun.
In the end Saints Row for the Xbox 360 is a delightfully indulgent
thrill fest. When you get bored with one part of the game, there is
always something else to do; the player does not necessarily have to
follow the story. There is some small sense of freedom to the game and
that’s just great.
Well worth having in your game collection, Saints Row is not for young
kids, but teens and adults will find it a worthy distraction for a
couple of hours per session.
Kick back relax, let’s play.
Shael Millheim
Have Fun, play games.
Edwin Millheim |
