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Saints Row (2006 video game)

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Saints Row
Game cover
Developer(s)Volition
Publisher(s)THQ
Designer(s)Volition
EngineRendering - Custom
Physics - Havok
Platform(s)Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
ReleaseXbox 360

PlayStation 3

Genre(s)Action, Driving
Mode(s)Single player, Multiplayer, Xbox Live

Saints Row is an action-adventure video game, available for the Xbox 360 and to be released for the PlayStation 3.[1][2] It was developed by Volition, and published by THQ. The game has been described as being in the same vein as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in terms of gameplay, with the developers referring to it as an emerging genre called "open world". Both games focus on urban gang activity, with the main character attempting to strengthen his gang's standing within the world.

A downloadable single-player demo of Saints Row was released via the Xbox Live Marketplace on August 1, 2006. The game arrived in stores in wide release on August 29, 2006 in North America, and on 1 September, 2006 in Europe and Australia.

Gameplay

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).[3] With the player's help, the Saints attempt to fight back and take over the city, one neighborhood at a time.

Similarity to Grand Theft Auto

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.

Some of the chaos caused by the player with the rocket launcher in Saints Row

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. 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/she 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/she 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, clothing, body type, tattoos, and hairstyle. There are only two notable restrictions: the player is always male, and always the same height.

The game also has an online multiplayer mode for Xbox Live that supports up to 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.

Saints Row allows players to customize the majority of cars in the game at certain garages. Once modified, the newly designed vehicle can be saved at the garage and restored if it is ever wrecked or destroyed.

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.

During the X06 Convention in Barcelona, Spain in September 2006, the "Funky Fresh Pack" was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace as the game's first downloadable content. The item, which costs 100 Microsoft Points, adds 23 different clothing and tattoo items for use in both the single and multiplayer modes. In December 2006, the "Ho Ho Ho Pack" was released, adding Santa Claus themed clothing items. The pack is free to download.

Plot synopsis

Saints Row starts with the player (an unnamed character with facial and body characteristics set by the player) entering the city in the middle of a gang war between several gang factions. Though he attempts to maintain distance, he gets shot at before the 3rd Street Saints step in and save him. After proving himself to the Saints, he's initiated into the Saints and then asked to assist to take over the city from three rival gangs (Los Carnales, Westside Rollerz, and the Vice Kings) to help reduce violence in the city. The player, over the course of the game, assists in several missions and base takeovers against each rival gang, slowly bringing the entire city under control by the Saints. Throughout the game, the player will gain several allies that he can call on for assistance through the completion of side missions, however, these allies have no effect on the main plot.

Because of the three different gangs, there are three linear plots that deal with the conquest of each gang, though events in one plot do not affect any of the other plots. There is also a small post story after the player has completed all three main plots and the complete takeover of each section of the city that outlines the player's success at leading the 3rd Street Saints to victory.

Gangs and characters

Stilwater is ruled primarily by four gangs:

File:Saintsrowjulius.jpg
Julius, voiced by Keith David.

Soundtrack

Main article: Saints Row soundtrack

The soundtrack includes songs from Mastodon, Fall Out Boy, Idlewild, Editors, The Stereophonics, The Aquabats, Local H, Ghostface, Rhymefest, David Banner, Xzibit, Daz Dillinger, De La Soul, Method Man, Clipse, Motion City Soundtrack, Tempercalm, Masta Ace, Little Brother, Reggie and the Full Effect, Strong Arm Steady, Jane's Addiction, Iggy Pop and Sy Smith. In total, the game features 12 radio stations and over 130 music tracks covering the classical, easy listening, electronic, metal, reggae, rock, and hip-hop genres.

Like all Xbox 360 games, there is support for custom soundtracks. There is also an in-game music player accessible through the pause menu. The player purchases songs for the music player at the record store franchise "Scratch That Music" in Stilwater using in-game money.

Reception

Prior to the retail version of Saints Row being released, the demo set an Xbox Live Marketplace record for being downloaded more than 350,000 times in the first week of its release.[6]

The game has received generally positive ratings. Although most critics have noted the striking similarities in gameplay that Saints Row shares with releases from the Grand Theft Auto series, they have also praised the game for the inclusion of new features and its improvement of existing ones from GTA. Saints Row has received ratings of 95/100 from GamePro (adjusted), 8.75/10 from Game Informer, 80/100 from Official Xbox Magazine, 8.5 from IGN, 8.4 from GamerNode, and 8.3/10 from GameSpot. GamePro called it "the best reason to own an Xbox 360 this side of Oblivion",[7] while IGN noted "despite its distinct lack of originality, [the game] is fun."[8] Saints Row has received an average critic scores of 82% on Game Rankings, based on 81 reviews.

Most critics have praised the "Activities" and the online multiplayer, as well as the free-form control scheme, which utilizes the controller's right analog stick to aim weapons. Common complaints about the game are over graphical problems,[9] as well as forced, hit-or-miss humor. While the robust character creation mode was praised, several gaming publications also complained about the main character's lack of dialogue.

Although welcomed by critics and fans alike, the online multiplayer suffered from significant lag upon the game's debut, making it difficult to play online. This issue was mostly fixed by a patch that took 2 months to develop.[10]

As of November 2006, Saints Row has sold more than 1 million copies.[11]

Saints Row has won several awards:

  • Gamespot - Most Surprisingly Good Game of 2006[12]
  • Gaming Target - 52 Games We'll Still Be Playing From 2006 selection[13]

Trivia

  • In a style similar to the Grand Theft Auto series, several of the names for characters, buildings, vehicles, weapons, and achievement names are references to pop-culture, movies, TV shows, and video games, including several of Volition's previous games such as Red Faction.
  • Game designer Christopher Stockman makes at least two appearances in the game, as a magazine centerfold in a cut scene, as well as a Hitman target in a giant HotDog suit, Bucky. His "$tock$" tattoo also appears as both a tattoo in the game, and as the name of a club.[citation needed]
  • in a cut scene it is revealed that stilwater is known as Americas's hometown

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.totalvideogames.com/news/Saints_Row_Slamming_Onto_PS3_11136_6387_0.htm
  2. ^ http://www.thq-games.com/news/show/1629
  3. ^ http://www.saintsrow.com/
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ [2]
  6. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/news/news_spots.html?date=2006-08-21#6156122
  7. ^ http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox360/games/reviews/79588.shtml
  8. ^ http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/728/728829p4.html
  9. ^ http://www.cabel.name/2006/12/buggy-saints-row-musical.html
  10. ^ http://developer.saintsrow.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4497
  11. ^ http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4133&Itemid=2
  12. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/special_features/bestof2006/achievement/index.html?page=3
  13. ^ http://www.gamingtarget.com/article.php?artid=6371
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