Be a Thug for Life on Saints Row

The neighborhood has finally reached the breaking point. Gangs from all corners are waging war for turf and bragging rights, but the Saints are looking to finally put the mess to rest. Stand tall and take back your streets.

So begins the story of Saints Row, filled with urban grit, grime, respect, and the thirst to come out top thug in the world's most dangerous city.

New store policy: Help yourselves.

The setup and the world offer a similar taste to the venerable Grand Theft Auto series, but don't worry, Saints Row is no GTA clone. Instead, this game, while familiar, offers a distinctive feel along with refined open-ended gameplay. With just a little bit of play time, Saints Row distinguishes itself in a variety of ways.

Make It Your Own
Create-a-player options are only recently making their way into action games from the more traditional realms of sports and RPG titles. Just as in The Godfather™ The Game, if you're going to spend dozens of hours in gang warfare, the game creators realized you'd probably want to do it with a creation of your own. Build your own thug from scratch in Saints Row, with options to compare favorably to even EA Sports™ Fight Night Round 3.

That guy's trying to get your attention.

Whether you're shaving an inch off the brow line, finding that perfect curve for the nose, sculpting movie star cheekbones, or adding a flare of mischief to the eyebrows, you'll be able to craft your perfect gangster from the ground up.

Customizing hardly stops with the face or body either. Take a look at the level of customization available:

• All manner of haircuts are available, both at the beginning, and as unlockables throughout the game.
• Clothes can be bought and unlocked with the cold hard green you collect with each successful mission or fallen enemy.
• Once a car has been "transferred" to your possession, you can buy any number of after-market upgrades to put together a ride worthy of your respect and status. Factory stock cars need not apply.

Dynamic Turf
Classic turf warfare is not only represented, but it lives and breathes with dynamic borders in Saints Row. It's not about edging out a rival gang for a plot point, but also about literally taking their turf and making it your own. Consequently, unlocking new areas and shops makes more sense, as taking over territory gives you access to the items and upgrades in that territory.

This is what happens to those who get in your way.

Turn and Shoot
Third person action games have traditionally used an auto-lock-on mechanic for shooting, but recently, the standard dual analog control has seen major success as well. Think Mercenaries™, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter™, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell® Chaos Theory™, and Saints Row takes its place on that list with a fluid targeting and camera system that allows you to always feel in control of who or what you're shooting.

Never Lost
Little else is more frustrating than wandering aimlessly through a city in the mere hope that you're reading the in-game map correctly. Again, Saints Row innovates with an elegantly simple waypoint system.

Any location on the map worth visiting can be highlighted, which sets an easy-to-follow path directly to your destination of choice. What's more, the path changes dynamically depending on where you are, offering not only the correct route, but the quickest one too.

News and Notes
They may not be major features, but the following demonstrate the immersion, quality design, and production value inherent in Saints Row:

• Spotting Doors: Saints Row provides a glowing hand icon on doors that you can enter, solving the trial and error tedium found in games that leave you wondering where you can and can't enter.
• Little Touches: From bits of muttered dialogue, to the reactions of passersby and the actions of your AI controlled homies, Saints Row breathes life into its densely packed world. One unexpected example came to pass in a traffic pileup, where a lone pickup truck slammed into a pile of cars, causing the unfortunate driver to fly through the windshield and out onto the street.
• Turf Earnings: You'll gain access to daily funds with each bit of territory you steal from rival gangs, symbolizing the active entrepreneurial enterprises of your Saints gang.
• Earning Homies: You begin your Saints career as a low level thug, but as you continue to prove yourself, you'll not only earn the respect of your peers, but their active support as well. Before going on missions, you can recruit a set number of homies to back you up dependant on your respect rating.

Saints Row may feel similar at first glance, but there's a world of refined gameplay, a gritty and often hilarious story and city to experience, and overall thoughtful design that will keep this game on rotation for months at a time.

Article by Ryan Treit