Saints Row is an action-adventure video game, available for the Xbox 360. It was developed by Volition. It's like GTA!!!
The game centers on the player, a newly recruited member of the 3rd Street Saints. The Saints are a gang that are coming under attack from three other gangs dominating the city of Stilwater (based on Detroit and Chicago).With the player's help, the Saints attempt to fight back and take over the city, one neighborhood at a time. The city of Stilwater consists of many different districts as well. Some districts are characterized by violent gang activity, due to the proximity of gang-controlled areas to the districts.
Since Saints Row was largely inspired by the Grand Theft Auto games, its gameplay is structured similarly, consisting of elements of a third-person shooter and a driving game, affording the player a large, open environment to explore. On foot, the player's character is capable of walking, running, swimming, climbing and jumping, as well as utilizing weapons and basic hand-to-hand combat. Players can steal and drive a variety of automobiles.
The open, non-linear environment allows players to explore and choose how they wish to play the game. Although storyline missions are necessary to progress through the game and unlock certain content, they are not required, as players can complete them at their own leisure. When not taking on a storyline mission, players can free-roam and create havoc (drive-by shootings, robberies, etc.). However, doing so generally attracts unwanted and potentially fatal attention from the authorities. The more chaos caused, the stronger the response from the police.
The game, although very similar to the Grand Theft Auto series and its open-world format, has included some minor gameplay elements which serve to differentiate itself from the GTA games. First, should a player ever fail a mission in Saints Row, the option of instantly retrying the mission is given to the player, instead of having to drive back to the point in the city where the mission originated from. Saints Row also does not revoke the player's weapons if he dies or is arrested. In addition, there is no auto-targeting with weapons, as weapons are aimed freely by the controller's right analog stick, and by default, a player can drive-by shoot 360 degrees from a motor vehicle. Weapons are selectable from a one-touch inventory system, rather than toggling through each weapon.
Activities and respect system
The player can also partake in a variety of side missions referred to as activities, ranging from street racing, pimping, carjacking, robbery, drug trafficking, kidnapping, and even insurance fraud, in which the player earns money for self-inflicted injuries. Completing such activities helps players earn respect throughout the various districts of Stilwater, as well as granting special abilities (ie. more hit points, more effective weaponry, etc.) The player's attire also reflects on the respect level, such that a "clothing bonus" is awarded upon successful completion of a mission when a sufficient number of stylish or gang-appropriate items are being worn. Once the player has earned enough respect in a neighborhood, another story mission or location of an enemy stronghold is revealed. Completing the story mission or taking over the stronghold will in turn help the player gain more territory within the city and earn more money for the territories held.
The player can engage in whichever activities he prefers to increase the 3rd Street Saints' respect level. For example, if the player does not wish to street race and instead wants to focus on the chop shop activity, he can steal and deliver cars instead. One can make the same amount of progress through the game by choosing this route than if one had done the same amount of street racing. Essentially, the game is tailored to reward the player for whatever he enjoys doing the most. By fully completing all of the levels of a given activity, the player can unlock jewelry, designer clothes, tattoos and other bonuses.
As in the Grand Theft Auto games, breaking the law incurs the wrath of the police. Furthermore, killing enemy gang members or performing activities in locations controlled by enemy gangs increases your notoriety among that gang. The amount of attention the player has currently drawn from these groups is displayed in the HUD, and directly influences the amount of resistance encountered. The player can lose all police and gang attention at a nearby Forgive and Forget location by paying a small fee.
Other features
The player may also recruit additional gang members (or "homies") to aid them. Players can obtain these computer-controlled gang mates throughout the game, unlocking additional homies as they progress through the missions. The player can either recruit a fellow gang member when encountered or make a phone call to a character who has offered his/her services.
The game features an extensive character customization mode similar to ones found in recent popular games such as Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005. For example, players can customize his character's skin type, facial features, facial hair, clothing, body type, tattoos, hairstyle and color. There are only two notable restrictions: the player is always male and the same height.
The game also has an online multiplayer mode for Xbox Live that supports up to 1-12 people. Players can join a gang and engage in street warfare with other gangs online. Saints Row features 4 different online games. Gangsta Brawl (and the team-based version) is a standard deathmatch. Big Ass Chains (and the team-based version) forces players to collect chains by killing people, and then depositing them for points. A bonus is awarded for delivering more chains at once. Protect Tha Pimp is a team based game, in which one team must escort the pimp to a destination point, while the other team must kill the pimp or prevent their opponents from reaching this point. It is very similar to the VIP mode from Counter-Strike. Blinged Out Ride is another team based game in which two teams must raise enough money from killing opponents and collecting chains to upgrade the team's vehicle several times in the Chop Shop.
The majority of the cars in the game can be customised at one of three garages. Once modified, the newly designed vehicle can be saved at the garage and restored if it is ever wrecked or destroyed for a fee of $500. Players can store up to 60 cars in each of their cribs.
The game is notable for its use of ragdoll physics, using the Havok engine. The implementation of this feature, combined with the chaos the player can cause in an urban setting, often yields humorous results. This is extensively used during the insurance fraud activity, allowing the player to "go limp" at the push of a button and get hit by oncoming traffic.