Another departure from GTA is this notion of respect, and how you gain respect in the game. To progress through the main story missions, you must complete side missions, or "activities," to gain enough respect to continue.
You won't be blazing through the story mode, but you will be playing some crazy mini-games, like Insurance Fraud, wherein you throw your body in front of oncoming traffic for huge sums of cash.
In total, there are eleven different things you can do to earn respect. These activities range from drug trafficking, to escorting hookers, being a hitman, racing, hijacking, and many others.
One great aspect of this respect system is that you are not forced to do things you don't want to do. If you don't like demolition derby missions, you can forget they even exist.
Once you gain enough respect, you can choose which part of the story to work on. Many names lace the cut-scenes in Saints, such as Michael Clarke Duncan, Keith David, David Carradine, Tia Carrere, and others. Top-notch voice acting sells the story, along with believable facial expressions, and solid motion capture.
The only downside to the missions is the distinct lack of bikes, boats, and planes. Hopefully we will see these in a sequel. As such, missions are variations on driving and on-foot action. This can get a little old at times.
Between the main story missions, and the side missions you need to complete for both respect and money, you will have 30-40 hours into Saints Row. The inclusion of well-created Achievements will see those hours go up, too.
About the best thing going for Saints Row is the tight control. Controlling your character on foot and in the car is a dream. Cars handle differently depending on their model, and shooting while in the car actually works.
Instead of an auto-aim system to lock on to enemies, you aim a reticule with the right analog stick. Gone are the frustrating close quarters gunfights from GTA, as you can aim anywhere on screen without obstruction.
Switching weapons is mapped to a context-sensitive B button. Hold the B button and you chose a weapon (using the left analog stick) from your weapons cache. Punching is mapped to the triggers; this is a huge improvement over the GTA method.
The controls alone make the game a much more enjoyable experience. The map in Saints makes navigating the fictitious city of Stilwater a breeze, as well.
Article comments
1 - Roberta
My brother can't seem to put this game down. He traded in Oblivion for it. Much better than GTA.
2 - kevin
the game is spectacular9i have beat it 100%).i like the game alot it is a game you can still play even after you beat it.but sadly the ending if horrable.you go meet the chif of police on a boat that has a boam that juleus put on it(but your guy does not know about it). then he calls his thugs out. right when you get ready for a big fight you here a bepping.then booooooooom.the boat is split in half and no one that was on the deck is to be found(not even you).then you listen to the creadets and all that.then you are foced to load your last save. which is a bad ending(personaly it should have let you be able to roam with the game beaten). that is one of the few downers to this game.so do u think that is a good ending or do you agree with me!?????
3 - pops
yea i really dont like the ending
4 - POOP12
a ppl do u know how to get over ralls on saints row? Because ive been trying to see if i could on multi player and it didnt work! Everybody has over ralls now but exept me!!!
5 - Matt Paprocki
What the hell is a rall?