xBox 360 Game Review: Saint's Row

xBox 360 Game Review: Saint's Row



xBox 360 Game Review: Saint's Row - If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the guys who made Grand Theft Auto must struggle to get through doors these days. What they got for creating the 'urban mayhem' gaming genre was a string of imitators. Saint's Row is Volition's contribution for the Xbox 360, and while there's nothing screamingly original about it, it's a solid gaming experience.

You begin the game by joining one of the four main gangs in Stilwater, an open-ended environment where you can do everything you'd expect in a GTA-rip-off. There's lots of driving, shooting, driving and shooting, adult content and a whole pile of cussin'. Saint's Row does offer a little extra in the way of plot and dialogue, something that's apparent when you hear the voices of David Carradine and Keith David. There are still a few lines that fall flat and jokes that don't work, but at least someone felt there should be a script.

You access main-plotline missions by earning 'respect', the currency of Stilwater's gangland. While this is a pretty obvious device to make you spend time on side-missions and minigames to earn respect, that's okay. It's fun. Particularly fun is Insurance Fraud, where you throw yourself in front of cars. You get extra points for witnesses, rebound, making other cars crash - all the cool stuff. It makes for a nice break if you get bored with driving and shooting people.

Like its obvious predecessors, the gameplay in Saint's Row is completely, gleefully, over the top. Stilwater might look like the real world and be completely interactive, but there are no real consequences to actions. You can stand on the hood of a cop car and mow down pedestrians to your heart's content. Obviously, if driving prostitutes and guarding pimps isn't really your cup of tea, or you find offensive language actually offensive, this is not the game for you. There's a good variety of cars and weapons to play with, all of which have tangible differences. You can pick up your own gang of 'homies' too: they'll jump in your car at the press of a button. Should they heroically die in combat, they can be revived by administering a surgical 40oz beer. Always drink responsibly, etc.

The game is generally very forgiving. You can take a lot of damage, you heal quickly as long as you avoid getting damaged further, and should the 'worst' happen, you can either start over, or endure a quick trip to hospital - where, surprisingly, no-one administers a surgical 40oz beer. It's also really helpful. Your minimap doesn't just show you where your mission objective is, it also points out the easiest way to get there. Any driving around aimlessly will be entirely down to you.

That said, Saint's Row does have a few glitches. Getting AI-controlled characters in your car when you want them and not when you don't can be problematic. 'Tire tracks up the back' sort of problematic. The 'enemy' AI is just as dumb. Rival gang members will often stand out in the open and shoot until they empty a clip, making them ridiculously easy pickings. Cars can pop into existence on the horizon, or just vanish.

The graphics bugs are worse with the multiplayer game. Textures pop in and out, and the frame rate can get choppy when the screen gets busy. Despite that, online play is still a bunch of fun. When you've finished shooting people for kicks in the game lobby, you can choose between four modes of play, which actually play differently: Big Ass Chains, Gangsta Brawl, Protect the Pimp, and Blinged-Out Ride. And unlike some Xbox 360 games, Saint's Row lets you put together your own gang.

Nobody should ever try to take this kind of gang warfare 'down in the 'hood with my homies' type game seriously, and Volition hasn't tried. More credit to them.

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