Saints Row (Xbox360)

Over the past few years, merely mentioning the term ‘sandbox’ has brought about associations with Grand Theft Auto, the king of all sandbox titles; Rockstars ultimate money spinner and the franchise that would have console manufacturers climbing over one another for an exclusivity contract. Where other developers have tried (with only luke warm success at best) to replicate the experience, Rockstar has enjoyed success to the exclusion of all others continually honing, fine tuning and perfecting it’s craft, the ultimate culmination of which appeared late 2004, ‘Grand Theft Auto – San Andreas.’

Enter Saints Row, Violitions own take on the sandbox genre; or more correctly, not so new take on the genre. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; that being the case Rockstar should indeed be very flattered by Violitions effort. Saints Row isn’t so much about reinventing the wheel, but rather refining it, presenting players with a world they are instantly familiar and comfortable with minus the unnecessary game mechanics that felt fiddly, uninspiring or other wise broken in GTA SA. While this may have allowed Violition the ability to create a leaner, cleaner and technically more proficient title, it does mean Saints Row loses a degree of freedom and immersion.

No boats, no planes and no bicycles or motorcycles. The former shouldn’t come as to much of a surprise, geographically Saints Row simply doesn’t allow for the use of boats or planes; Stilwater is structurally to dense to even consider maneuvering a plane and the only body of water seems to serve as the barrier that separates the city center and upper class suburb residents from having to face the idea of sharing land with the ghetto’s and blue collar working class.

The exclusion of motorcycles and bicycles however can’t immediately be explained, even when subscribing to the concept that Violition have focused squarely on what works minus the fiddly bits, the truth is the inclusion of motorcycles and bicycles have almost entirely become a given. They aren’t entirely necessary but certainly there omission is rather odd.

What Saints Row lacks in the two wheel department it certainly makes up for with a large array of cars and as if there weren’t enough of them gives players a wealth of customisation options. The customisations on offer allow payers to create vehicles they will be more than proud to show off, turning some of the more plane Jane vehicles into the toughest, phattest or most pimp’n vehicles in the Row and unlike previous titles in the genre, encourages users to create their own special custom vehicles by allowing players access to these vehicles throughout the entire game. In the event that a vehicle is left behind or the casualty of one of many shoot-ups, a quick trip to the local mechanics garage or Crib will allow you to access your precious vehicle once again. The car will however reappear with any damage it was left, if the vehicle was totaled, it can be put back on the road for a price. This system ensures vehicular customisation exists beyond just a novelty, and with the options available to the player ensures your precious stallion will be at your side while you pop caps into gangsta’s for the entirety of the game.

Customisation also plays a large role on player specific characters, encouraging players to make their character their very own. The tools in which players are given to do this are certainly powerful, possibly more so than they really need to be; it’s unlikely any two players will create identical characters, no matter how many they happen to cross online. Before entering Stilwater players are asked to create their character from a choice of four racial backgrounds; Caucasian, African American, Hispanic and Asian. From here players are able to modify their characters facial features, body mass and hair. Initially players will be limited in clothing options however once players have acquired enough funds, they can visit any number of clothing and jewellery stores to further make characters their own. Unfortunately, these modifications are only superficial as characters body mass and physique have no actual bearing on a player strength and fitness so unlike GTA SA there are no incremental benefits or statistics to enhance your characters abilities through repeated actions or experience.

Of course all this customisation would be for naught if the game play itself failed to hold up, this however is where Saints Row excels. To say Saints Row’s controls, game mechanics and firing commands were competent would be a disservice to Violitions efforts as the action in Saints Row is not only smooth and precise, it is undeniably the most solid game engine yet found in a sandbox title.

There is no awkward lock on functions, character animation is smooth, clipping while still evident doesn’t rear its head nearly as often as other efforts and the frame rate on foot remains steady at 30fps even when the action gets heavy, which it most certainly will. Undeniably this is the single greatest aspect of Saints Row and what lifts the experience head and shoulders above all other sandbox titles and will no doubt be a focal point for GTA to lift its game. It’s these action sequences that players will find the most enthralling and Violition have seen fit to put players into fire fights the likes of which previously would not have been possible, as gangs reinforce themselves with car loads of fellow members with alarming speed. Mercilessly players are given a rather extensive catalogue of weaponry to defend themselves, all of which can be quickly accessed with the B-button along with the simple push of the analogue stick in the appropriate direction, all in real time; no more cycling to be found here.

While ferocious yet engaging action sequences are where the meat of the game resides, players will find in order to advance through the story they must first meet a missions reputation requirements, the fastest way of which to fill is through activities.

Activities come in a variety of forms, some better than others. Many activities consist of escorting drug dealers as they go about offloading their wares, other activities require players steal hoes from opposing gang’s pimps and deliver them back to an awaiting client or hijacking cars and offloading them at garages. These activities aren’t particularly original in terms of how they are carried out; drive to target, kill / steal / deliver goods and make your way back to safety zone. That’s not to say they aren’t fun because they are and they break up the action from the storyline nicely, however when compared to the activity of Insurance Fraud, they just aren’t as original, nor as funny. Insurance Fraud is a stand out amongst these activities, requiring that the lead character be thrown haplessly into oncoming traffic, sending the rag doll character sailing through the sky only to be bent, twisted and contorted in all manner of unnatural positions before a final ‘score’ be awarded for damage inflicted. Insurance Fraud is one of those rare moments of sadist joy to be found in a video game, an activity that rewards crazy, over the top action comedy. Later levels of Insurance Fraud may be more of an exercise in frustration than comedy, however like all Activities completing all eight levels, especially in conjunction with completion of all similar activities across all territories rewards players with custom weaponry, health and skill bonuses and unique vehicles and / or clothing.

In all, Saints Row is in its own right, a fantastic action title. It doesn’t offer more than GTA SA nor as much as many other titles in the genre, what it does offer however is very solid, proficient and engagingly fun action with a healthy dose of satire and comedy. Gratuitous use of the ‘f’ word amongst others can detract from the experience and much of the adult content will likely prevent younger gamers from access to the title. If however you meet the MA15+ age requirement, have no problems with repeated (excessive) swearing and looking for a title that’s GTA without actually being GTA, this is the title for you.

Saints Row may not be overtaking Rockstars signature franchise right now but Saints Row is itself an excellent title and a very solid foundation from which Violition can expand upon.

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