Ben MooreReview: Saints Row (XBox 360)
June 12th 2009 04:48
Category: No Category
Another GTA clone or a game of it's own?
Since Grand Theft Auto III revolutionised the gaming industry in 2001, we have seen a range of the inevitable copycat games. Unfortunately the majority of these have been rushed to release and haven’t been able to live up the high standards set by GTA.
So does Saints Row follow this trend of failed rip-off’s or does it give GTA a run for it’s money? Thankfully Saints Row lands in the latter category, mostly due to the fact that it borrows very heavily from GTA: San Andreas. As soon as you take your first steps in Stilwater (the fictional city that Saints Row is set in), almost immediately anyone who has played the GTA series will realise how much Saints Row has borrowed; from recruiting gang members, taking rival gang territories, the open ended mission structure, tattoo and clothing customisation, hidden items, tagging, vehicle hijacking and the weapons system, it’s all obviously pulled straight from San Andreas. Luckily these functions are well implemented and although it’s not the most original game, it does have a few nice new functions that help support it.
One of the most obvious new features is the ability to customise the look of your character at the start of the game. There are a huge range of options here to allow you to create some truly realistic likenesses or the most disturbing creations imaginable. Your character also doesn’t have a voice, so you don’t have to worry about your creation not matching the way he sounds and there’s also a few jokes revolving around the fact that you’re the strong silent type. You are however limited to creating a male character but if you get bored of the way you look, you can easily change it at one of the many plastic surgeons located around Stilwater, for the right price of course. Another nice feature is the ability to put a marker anywhere on the map and a path to your destination will be automatically generated to help instruct you to your desired location.
Unfortunately there are a few elements of Saints Row that detract from an otherwise entertaining experience. Even though the game is set in the ghetto, the dialogue of your fellow gang members feels like it’s trying a bit too hard with expletive’s being every second word. On top of this, despite the fact that the radio system is very similar to that of GTA, the stations just aren’t as memorable and there are very few big name artists. There are however some quite humorous discussions as well as funny signs throughout the game.
Another realisation that you may have is that the game really isn’t that challenging. The police pose very little threat and even on the highest wanted level you will rarely have trouble escaping. Gangs and activities are thankfully more challenging but only once you reach the higher levels.
Overall Saints Row is a very entertaining game and those of you looking for something to tide you over until GTA IV will definitely find something here to enjoy. The graphics are also very nice and even though 36 missions may not seem like a lot, there are still a lot of activities to complete and achievements to obtain as well as an online multiplayer mode to keep you playing for hours.
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Presentation - 8.0
Graphics - 9.0
Sound - 7.0
Gameplay 8.0
Lasting Appeal 8.5
OVERALL 8.0 (out of 10)
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