Metareview - Saints Row (Xbox 360)

by Blake Snow { Aug 30th 2006 at 8:00AM }

In case you didn't know, third-person action/adventure thug titles keep gamers glued to TV sets and sell a lot of product. Enter THQ's GTA rip-off for the 360 with a current average review score of 84% according to Metacritic:

GamePro - 95%: "Parental units should take note: Saints Row definitely ain't for the kiddies. If anything, it's even sleazier than the GTA titles... [but] Saints Row is just too good to miss."
IGN - 85%: "Saints Row, despite its distinct lack of originality, is fun. It starts out fun and it stays fun. It gets deeper and more engaging, and the storyline and the characters come to life, and you're compelled by seeing the narrative unfold just as much as getting all of the 10- and 20-point Achievements."
Games Radar - 80%: "It looks good, plays great, offers plenty to do and it's even funny at times - though in a much cruder way than GTA's more sly, subversively socially relevant sense of humor."
1UP - 70%: "Sure, GTA's story and sense of humor were pretty infantile most of the time, but it was still damn funny and did a bang-up job of satirizing American pop culture and consumerism. In Saints Row, however, it all feels obligatory. Like it was something they just had to do, and the result is pretty lifeless."

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

T-Bag @ Aug 30th 2006 8:19AM

Too bad I don't have enough spare cash laying around to get this. Seems like a lot of fun.

AlloyNES @ Aug 30th 2006 8:20AM

I played it ALL DAY yesterday. Damn good game. And I only got 2% into single player. I spent a lot of the night in online multiplayer. Although laggy because it's the first day, it was VERY VERY fun. Earning cash to buy clothing and tattoos for your online avatar is addicting. Oh, and forming gangs online is gonna be fun. And being able to have a gang go around with you (which grows as you gain more rep) in single player is pretty cool, too. So far, I give the game an 8.5/10

Btw, why the hell is 1up.com always the "downer" of the bunch? Their attitude is one reason I don't go to their site anymore.

Mad Gerald @ Aug 30th 2006 8:38AM

I'm sooo loving this game. As IGN said, it is FUN. My girlfriend and I have been in stiches at the language and attitude of the NPCs. I've spent more time shooting people than actually completing the missions. I did find a bulldozer near my "crib" and took that for a spin. Shame it won't fit in my garage. :(

- I'm up for some online play (my nic is Mad Gerald).

Nightowl @ Aug 30th 2006 8:40AM

If anything the reviews are low on this game across the board. I was a huge GTA fan and I actually enjoy this game more. Granted, I'm sure GTA IV will probably up the bar next year, but this is better IMHO than any previous GTA and its still more than a year until we see GTA IV.

Still, clone issues aside, this game is VERY good!

Highly recommend it if you like this style of game.

Note: It is much more mature themed and gritty than GTA, this should require quite a bit of parental digression in regards to its appropriateness for minors.

Atomicapondula @ Aug 30th 2006 8:41AM

No Thanks!

Pseudo99 @ Aug 30th 2006 8:42AM

I haven't been so addicted to a GTA style game since GTA3. In my opinion, they ripped off GTA almost exactly, but improved upon many aspects of the game. It's alot of fun and a very solid 360 title.

AlloyNES @ Aug 30th 2006 8:49AM

I wish everyone would stop with the "ripped of GTA." It's not like there's a GTA game on the 360. And it's not like I had a choice between GTA 360 and SaintsRow. For cryin outloud...

Jesi @ Aug 30th 2006 8:51AM

Despite all the murder and mayhem, one of the biggest aspects of Saints Row isn't how many thugs you can cap, but the deep level of customization.

Daniel @ Aug 30th 2006 9:00AM

I would love to grab this game. Alas, not enough moolah. Ironically, I'm sure this could teach me how to steal a gun, cap a dude, and take all his cash to buy the game. But I need the game first! Woe is me!

hoos30 @ Aug 30th 2006 9:09AM

I'm sick of the "ripped off GTA" thing. GTA is a great series which created a new genre. Period. Do writers prattle on and on about Doom 'clones' anymore?

dish @ Aug 30th 2006 9:15AM

a must have in my book

Canadian Geese @ Aug 30th 2006 9:16AM

It's a solid rip-off of GTA, but better in every way. Great gameplay, fun, and addicting.

KilgoreTrout XL @ Aug 30th 2006 9:22AM

That 1up review really phones it in.

Game reviews should stick to reviewing. If you want to write a commentary about how you're looking forward to GTA4, that's fine, just keep them separate.

dsub @ Aug 30th 2006 9:48AM

hoos30-

I totally agree with you. Saying Saints Row sucks because it's a GTA clone is like saying Fight Night Round 3 sucks because it's a Punch Out! clone. Granted, Saint's Row does borrow ALOT from the GTA series, it shouldn't be dismissed just because it's a similar game. It still has it's own story, and it actually refines alot of the aspects of GTA, and is a solid game all on it's own.

GTA created a new genre, and for some reason, everytime a game is made that fits within that genre it gets dismissed as a worthless GTA wanna-be. This is an unfair judgement. Your right in saying that critics don't go on and on about all the "Doom" clones...which essentially is 9/10 FPS games that people play. This just boggles my mind...how can a game like Call of Duty 2 get huge critical praise, when it is a WWII shooter? If there is any type of game that has been overdone, it's WWII games...yet they continue to recieve high review scores.

When you review a game like Saint's Row, it is okay to mention the likeness it shares with GTA, but to give it a poor score because it borrowed something from another game in the genre is just unfair and biased.

Mark DoS @ Aug 30th 2006 10:01AM

if anything this will MAKE Rockstar up their game on the next GTA.

Tobor @ Aug 30th 2006 10:04AM

Are there any planes or choppers in this? Flying was always one of my favorite parts of GTA. None of the reviews seem to mention this.

dubz @ Aug 30th 2006 10:08AM

SR is a really fun game, with lots of things to do, and lots of customization for your character and your "ride". Yesterday I assisted a drug dealer by shooting rival gangs while he was in the process of making his deals, I blew up some meth/crack labs, I did some insurance fraud, I escorted celeb's while they we're getting BJ's in the back of my car from a hooker, and I stole a bunch of vehicles for a guy at a chop shop. I also got tatted up, bought some sweet jewlery, a watch, some glasses, and a baseball cap that I had my character wear off to the side. Of course I bought some clothes too, and of course they were all purple...gotta represent

After playing through the game for close to six hours I was very pleased with most of the game, and I can't wait till I sart making some real cash so I can bling out my character and all of his rides. There were a few things I didn't like, but the good definately weighs out the bad, and I haven't even touched the multiplayer.

8.5 so far

socrates @ Aug 30th 2006 10:14AM

Tobor -

Gamespot's review (which Joystiq didn't include in its roundup...they gave it a 8.3) mentions that SR has no bikes, no boats, no planes.

Which is kind of surprising, really - to the extent to which GTA was cloned, why wouldn't they clone all of those aspects? I demand more cloning =)

Ouch. @ Aug 30th 2006 10:19AM

Oh...
Why is 1UP even taken seriously anymore? They call THAT a review? It's like asking for money for a better rep.

Inspector71 @ Aug 30th 2006 10:31AM

No, hoos30, they don't, but not every fps is set on Mars and features a gritty marine. Whereas Saint's Row is an attempt to take GTA, copy the gameplay (which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because there's a lot to get peeved about in GTA), immerse it in the similar settings and with similar humour.

Khidr @ Aug 30th 2006 10:35AM

Some decent reviews after playing this for a couple hours. I really have to take exception to the 1up review though. It's cool that they're docking it for unoriginality, that seems fair and all, but that review is really an indictment of the genre, and the last paragraph really shows the reviewers bias. If you want an open ended game that you can endlessly replay, jump online or just make pedestrians leap 15ft barriers in fear, it's a great game.

I don't think there's anything wrong with perfecting a genre, and as of now, this is the one to beat.

Ethan Thomas @ Aug 30th 2006 11:03AM

Well, I picked up the game and all I can say is it's alot better than GTA. Which is good, because after playing the $40 JOKE that was table tennis, I'm finished with Rockstar all together anyway. They can't make a racing game (The Midnight Club series sucked...freeroam my rear end. There was always only one path that led to victory, and that was behind the ridiculously catch-up enhanced computer A.I...don't even get me started), Table Tennis was little more than an insult, and GTA is THE single most over-rated franchise in the long history of video games. It's controversial people, yes. But it isn't exactly a great...or arguably good..game. And now that Saint's Row has come along, Rockstar's cash cow could very well be in trouble. How can I like Saint's Row and not like GTA you ask? Easily. Saint's Row took everything frustrating and pitiful about GTA and replaced it with a control scheme that actually works, a customizable character, a much more realistic environment, and a heck of a better storyline. GTA 3 was a breakthrough in the sense that it created free-roam gaming as we know it today. It's just sad that Rockstar, the company that constantly sells out just to create controversy for games that wind up sucking anyway but people love just because they "aren't supposed to" be playing them, had to make it.

In short, if you want a real free-roaming game with an urban theme to it without a bunch of 80's music and repeated storylines, go with Saint's Row. GTA FTL in my book.

Moogle @ Aug 30th 2006 11:06AM

What's with the persecution complex? If anyone actually said "SR sucks because it's a GTA clone", then I missed it.

All I see is a lot of "SR is a good game that borrows a lot from GTA." Where did anyone say this is bad?

--------
I'm impressed with the reviews it got. I wouldn't have expected much from the game, but it sounds like they did a really good job on it. Now if I didn't abhor the 'thug' image, I might be interested.

Mike Kazanjian @ Aug 30th 2006 11:11AM

Is it better than the demo, because that flat out sucked. The controls were horrible, the graphics were choppy and the overall feel just blew.

Matt @ Aug 30th 2006 11:31AM

Calm down there, Ethan, many people like Table Tennis. Sounds to me like you might have some issues... of the "biased" kind. ;)

Jake @ Aug 30th 2006 11:47AM

The game is extremely similar to GTA. It is more realistic, yet I don't feel as "free" in it. I don't like the "thug" image, which makes this game hard for me to enjoy.

Overall, though, it is a very solid game. If you are into this sort of thing, I would call it an absolute must have. Better than GTA, maybe. But my favorite part of GTA was tooling around on a crotch rocket; this game sorely lacks that feature.

Ethan Thomas @ Aug 30th 2006 11:53AM

- Matt

That same statement could be reversed back to you ;). Just because alot of people like something, doesn't mean its great. People love low prices, but most hate going to Wal-Mart.

I suppose I am a bit biased though. Since Rockstar has sold me three or four hype-driven games, taken my money, and delivered some of the worst gaming experiences I have ever had..and I've been playing games since Atari 2600...yes, I'd have to say I won't be sending them a Christmas card.

Darth Pixel @ Aug 30th 2006 11:56AM

This game is quite bad, really. A lot of marketing will be needed to raise its profile.

Enzo @ Aug 30th 2006 11:56AM

I'm pretty psyched on this game. The demo is a lot of fun and is the kind of game I need for the 360 right now. It's not pay day until the end of the week, but I think I might need to whip out the credit card for this.

Jigen @ Aug 30th 2006 11:56AM

1. This game is better than the GTA games in some ways, worse in others :

Better : Physics that enhance gameplay, more 'minigames' and ways to create havok in gameplay, graphics (of course), 'feels' better (action is more realistic for the most part), walkin buildings (not much load time, even for cutscenes)...

Worse : Story feels corny and pushed, not as many vehicle types, not as much statistics as GTASA

2. Did anyone notice that 1up's review is the lowest so far?

Jigen @ Aug 30th 2006 11:59AM

Also, forgot, there's also multiplayer which is awesome too.

Finally, I'd say the storyline feels longer than the GTA games, but the area is somewhat smaller than GTA:SA's (but with more detail).

The game is awesome, I can't see anyone who has played it saying otherwise.

Anthony @ Aug 30th 2006 12:41PM

Ethan, your a D-bag. Table Tennis is one of the most fun, addicting and deep games out there. You are obviously major ADD or just a major A-hole.

Saints Row is a great game, and it will raise the bar for Rockstars next GTA. And that my friends is a great thing for us, the gaming public.

Kudos to Volition for making a great game, very fun and engrossing. This will hold me over until NHL 07 hits....the rovket launcher rules!!

Oh yeah Ethan, I owned a Telstar....

9.2 out of 10

Scott @ Aug 30th 2006 12:45PM

This is a great game in my opinion. Despite the fact that it takes place solely in a mall - running around and killing zombies is a great deal of fun!

I especially love how you can use so many different items as weapons to kill the undead!

(editor's note: these comments are a joke and added to prove that Saint's Row is also a ripoff of Dead Rising!! Don't the game members look like undead? Both games let you use weapons! Coincidence - I think not!!)

:)

Ed @ Aug 30th 2006 12:47PM

Saint's Row is region free. The asian version is being sold at play-asia.com for $43 shipped.

Just a heads up. My copy should arrive early next week.

Sure it's a GTA clone, but GTA4 isn't coming out for over a year, and I need something to tide me over until then. And the GPS and other tweaks in SR certainly make it more appealing than playing SA again.

If you want a free roam game with motorcycles and such, pick up Just Cause when it drops. Based on the demos, Just Cause certainly has a lot of fun aspects, and the setting is beautifully modeled and such, but I got more pleasure out of playing SR. I do know I'll really miss the NRG from GTA, though.

Ed @ Aug 30th 2006 12:56PM

What's weird is, I'd say the 1up review is way more than a 70.

" It's almost painful to say this, but if you can get over the fact that yeah, it's completely shameless, Saints Row is actually a lot of damn fun. Hell, though it doesn't really innovate, it does a lot to refine what is now, apparently, a genre unto itself. We once described Driver: Parallel Lines as a three-quarters-assed GTA. Saints Row is more like one-and-four-fifths-assed. It is, in a lot of ways, better than the games it's cribbing from."

I'd say more like an 80. They critique the story and the extent to which it's cribbed off GTA, but I still think it's a pretty positive review.

Uh_Oh @ Aug 30th 2006 12:58PM

Saints row is dumb. It ran like ass on 360. It's just another gta.

Wedge @ Aug 30th 2006 1:17PM

The demo for the game they had at PAX must have been a very old version, because it looked _worse_ than GTA and had incredibly bad AI that led to amusing animation loops. If anything, it reminded me of the True Crime series, which was full of buggy visuals and gameplay, yet was still moderately amusing.

Ed @ Aug 30th 2006 1:24PM

My understanding is that the demo that showed up in OXM, on xbox live, and at PAX, is essentially identical to what was at E3 this year. That is, it was pretty out of date.

Everything I've seen says it looks and runs much better than the demo.

Atomicapondula @ Aug 30th 2006 1:28PM

Yeah the demo sucked big time. I thought we had established that? The full game must be doing something seriously differnt to warrant those decent reviews. The poster further up summed it up with:

"Is it better than the demo, because that flat out sucked. The controls were horrible, the graphics were choppy and the overall feel just blew"

Which is exactly how I saw it. I also noted the completely humourless take on "gangsta" culture and it felt intellectually insulting to me. GTA was brilliant, this game (whether a clone of GTA or not) was sub par in most regards. Can't understand why it's now getting positive press unless as I say the full game is much better and the demo wasn't at all indicitive of the game. Shame that as it put a lot of people off already.

Jigen @ Aug 30th 2006 3:01PM

The demo looked worse than GTASA? WTF, you need your eyes checked. The difference is night and day...

Saint's Row's DEMO had real time lighting (like FEAR), higher resolutions, better textures (with normal mapping), more customization, and MUCH more shaders than GTASA (which uses no shaders, btw).

Just comparing them pretty much invalidates any opinions you might have.

Woody @ Aug 30th 2006 3:15PM

So what everyone is saying is that Wolfenstien, or Doom should have been the only FPS? I mean come on, this game is fun. Sure its very similar to GTA, but its very well done. Its a genre. And its apart of a genre because people can make similar games. Just because someone made something similar doesn't mean it always sucks.

Technically GTA3 ripped off Driver1. But they made it better. Thats exactly whats happened here.

oz @ Aug 30th 2006 6:41PM

Great fun! There is unlimited oppurtunity to take part in gangbanger melees thanx to a superb map. The conrollability is great, altho the vehicle control is slightly different than GTA. I don't think it is as long a game as GTA but being a weenie, I think I will grab a guide so as not to miss the hidden goodies. Superb graphics and I would rate this a solid 9-truly a next gen. GTA.

Truf @ Aug 31st 2006 5:00AM

GTA3 ripped of driver1?? How exactly??

If anything it simply borught the existing gameplay of the GTA series into a 3d world natural evolution there was nothing innovative about GTA3 it was totally evolutionary

Which brings us to the amount of people knocking Saints row for being a GTA clone. Those comments would probably carry weight had any of the 3D GTAs been benchmarks for the genre.

But as it stands the sandbox genre is one without a true king of the hill.

How can a game that imporoves upon GTA score lower than it?? Does that make any logical sense?? Does the lack of innovation and originality hurt Saints row that much??? Cos frankly GTA3 wasn't all that original or innovative and even if you want to argue that it was you can't honestly argue that san andreas maintained the innovation and originality.

If anything the reviews of saints row only show 2 things the 3D GTA scores were inflated (they must have been if a game that improves upon it scores lower) and the current system of reviewing games is broken