Review : Saints Row (page 3 of 5) [Xbox 360]

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Saints Row

Saints Row (page 3 of 5)

By Vicious Sid
August 26, 2006 20:39 PM PST
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The on-foot controls are sleek and efficient

Ghetto SOCOM?

Saints Row controls more like a sleek first/third-person shooter than the GTA games -- call it "ghetto SOCOM." The free-aim mechanic has its quirks, but overall it's a vast improvement over GTA's clunky lock-on targeting. Shooting and maneuvering feels tight and nimble, though the camera pans around a bit too slowly for our taste.

In the firepower department, Saints Row offers both good news and bad news. The bad news is that the selection of guns never quite opens up as wide as we'd hoped: it's an array of pistols, SMGs, rifles, and some explosives. On the other hand, the weapons are satisfyingly powerful and feel well balanced for multiplayer play. Thanks to the precision-oriented controls, scoring headshots is a cinch. In a nice twist, this means that even low-end 9mm handguns are ruthless killing machines in Saints Row.

The only time the controls ever get truly sticky is when you're trying to simultaneously shoot and drive -- practice makes perfect, but you may want to try reconfiguring the driving controls to master this tricky task. Otherwise, Saints Row is a smooth ride, with fast, fluid driving mechanics and superior gunplay -- definitely a remarkable improvement over San Andreas.

Saints Row's lighting looks particularly good. Note the accurate shadows

Inner-City Internet

Then there's the feature every GTA fan has clamored for since GTA III: online multiplayer matches. Saints Row's Xbox Live presentation is a colossal step in the right direction for the genre, with its live-action lobby, imaginative game modes, and an MMO-inspired element that allows you to amass and spend the money you win online.

Standard Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch modes are a given. Big-Ass Chains adds a financial element: you earn money and points by depositing the chains of fallen enemies at drop-off points. These simpler, pick-up-and-play games are great fun, and leagues better than the tacked-on multiplayer modes found in GTA: Liberty City Stories.

The sniper rifle has three levels of zoom, so you'll be well-equipped to make precision shots in multiplayer matches

Protect tha Pimp is more interesting because it's basically an urban-infused remake of Counter-strike's V.I.P. game. One team consists of the pimp and his followers, while the other consists of hired hitmen. The hitmen must try to wipe out the pimp; the pimp must make it safely to the exit without being blown to smithereens. This was one of the most suspenseful match types we played, as players each have only one life (ala Counter-strike), and the pimp could take any foe out with a single, devastating "pimp slap" melee attack. Perfect, isn't it?

Blinged-out Ride is also worthy of mention. Two teams compete to build the best car, blasting each other in order to steal cash to pay for the overhaul. Once one team has a big lead (and a blinged-out car), the other team inevitable tried to sabotage their car en route to the mechanic in order the even the odds. It's a fascinating tug-of-war: kind of like Junkyard Wars meets New Jack City.

There's also a two-player cooperative mode, but it's disappointing in size and scope. You can't play through the full single-player campaign with a buddy via Xbox Live. Instead, you're stuck with a collection of simpler mini-missions that, from what we played, seemed routine. Co-op is a fun distraction, but it wont' replace the bread and butter modes.