Has Saints Row Abandoned its Roots?

With the recent release of Saints Row: The Third, fans of the series couldn’t help but realize a change in the way the game was presented. The sole aspect of Saints Row: The Third is comedy. The once comedic yet hardcore gangster game is now full of jokes, gags, strange weapons, and crazy characters. A series that so well focused on street life has now turned its attention to gimmick groups that call themselves crime rings and a phony playable movie. With what Saints Row: The Third had to offer, I see that the game has turned its back on the series true fans and promoted it the way were they would see the most sells. After all who cares about their true fans when they can makes some extra cash… right?...

[TheSuperior]

Saints row has left all that is was behind... As a die hard fan its sad to me and i hope for so much more for the next game.

[DaveMan]

left what behind. No offense, but the first 2 games were nothing more than gta inspired rip offs. Nothing did Saints Row do that other open world games like gta and true crime hadn't done better.

With Saints Row 3 they found there niche. GTA has seemingly abandoned that silly, do anything that you want sandbox approach, and it's truly refreshing to see Saints Row 3 capture that back.

Slapping people with dildos, driving 100mph on a hoverbike, jumping out of a parachute from a jet seconds before colliding into a building. Juevnile? Yeah, very. But at the same time all the sillyness reminded me why I loved video games in the first place.

Saints Row being non silly equates to nearly every other open world game out there. Saints Row being over the top in every single aspect is something that no open world game does today.

[TheSuperior]

Yeah true but the first two werent rip offs of GTA. they were both unique games with their own ups and downs. the only thing im saying is Saints Row used to have more to it then what they brought in SR3. Its always been over the top and thats great but it now seems like they are trying way too hard to impress when ive always been a fan.

[-EvoAnubis-]

I agree with DaveMan 100% All it was before was a GTA rip-off. With SR3, yeah, it finally left that behind and started to become it's own game. Which is why it's the first SR game that I actually liked.

[ape007]

@DaveMan

i got what u mean, but gta was never as silly as sr3, not even close, it was a mix of crazy things with some maturity

[Tanir]

I agree with Daveman

i hated the first 2 games, they WERE just gta rip offs and SR3 is AMAZING, i adore the direction they are taking with the series and can't wait for more.

and to Ape007,

your wrong, gta used to feature electric guns, running over elvis's and driving on roof tops, if anything gta has lost its roots

[abombletap]

i cant take this game seriously at all. its only for shits and giggles. i see no replay value in it anymore.

[TheSuperior]

Thats what im talking about nothing replayable about it you laugh once and that it. The old games at least had a reason to love and reply them. now its all messed up with funny. you laugh once and its over. plus they took out the multiplayer which had a die hard fan base.

[LX-General-Kaos]

The game is made by THQ. Going into your purchase you should have already known there wouldnt be much there.

[DaveMan]

@TheSuperior

No they weren't. Did they do some unique things? Sure, the narrative in terms of gangs and stuff is interesting...but the narrative was always shitty.

The only thing I don't like is the lack of customization options in saints row 3.... The Superior I'm sort of puzzled as to what you miss so much from the previous games? I brushed through the narratives for both games...again the narratives where interesting for one time but that's all. All the times I played Saints Row was purely to roam around and cause mayhem and have fun. Saints Row 3 accomplishes this. I'm good.

Replay them? For the narrative? Seriously? Are you standards that low? Maybe some of the missions were a tad more intersting... I would agree. But let's not fool ourseleves. RDR had a brilliant narrative, that was emotional and heartfelt. Saints Row is a generic gangster tale was horribly written script and narrative.

[vortis]

You hit the nail on the head.

Saints Row games have always been about juvenile stupidity and I loathed the "main character" even though he/she was a created character...utterly reprehensible.

I think I see TheSuperior's point but at the same time everyone else makes the right call in saying Saints Row 3 is not even remotely similar to GTA anymore.

For me, the first two games were like terrible versions of True Crime: Streets of LA (not that awful Streets of NY) but a lot less fun and less RPG'y and had less over-the-top action. The third game sort of aims to create its own comedic open-world sub-niche and while I don't like it, it seems to work for the series.

The Saints Row games were waaaay too easy for my taste and the only fun part was customization.

[dazreah]

Well if it has then great as this game is a blast, its over the top and the coop is a right laugh.

[ape007]

saints row the third is a pretty damn good game great time, great fun i had with it, looking forward to gangstars in space DLC but it not as good as it should have been, it left a bitter taste in my mouth, especially the Genki bowl DLC and sometimes it feels pretty silly

comparing it with gta 4, well, saints row the third have much more things to do than gta 4, sr 3 is crazier than gta 4, BUT in terms of game quality, gameplay quality, graphics, art, atmosphere, city design, settings, characters, story, attention to detail, physics, weather effects, car handling, car physics, sound quality, main character, voice acting, radio stations and overall feel/personality, nothing comes close to grand theft auto IV

I give sr3....8.5-8.8

gta 4....9.5-9.6

[Fatty]

I disagree. The first two SRs had interesting storylines (and I really enjoyed the semi-twist ending of the first game), but they were already getting pretty nuts with SR2. Volition just went full-out crazy in SR3 and I thought it was a refreshing change from so many other games that try and make themselves incredibly serious at the cost of fun.

I can do without another stereotypical gangster rags-to-riches storyline. Give me something unique like SR3.

[Aysir]

While I agree that the way they killed Gat was stupid, most of the changes in the game are justified by story. Gangsters don't stay gangsters if they own the whole city. They could've knocked you down to square one again, but that would've been the same old shit one more time. SR2 had already started moving away from the gangster feel of SR1 anyone, it's been a gradual process - there is no 'forgetting its roots' bullshit, it's just progress. I didn't like SR3 as much SR2 simply because there was no emotion or style to anything. The sillyness only goes so far and I really miss the cool scenes from SR2 like Alisha's death, the burning boat fight and the monster truck set up.

[ape007]

i think ending gat like that was the most stupid thing i've seen ever

[Dovahkiin]

It didn't even feel significant...

[jeeves86]

Hey, thanks for the spoiler alert.

[ape007]

to me the best sr story, best gangs, best characters was in Saints Row 1, man i had so much fun at those times, rollin with Julius, Dex, young johnny, troy etc..... in early 360 days even before ps3 and wii got released and seeing first open world in HD was sooooo cooool

[MasterD919]

Saints Row 3 has great improvements and features but it feels less like Saints Row IMO. I hope Saints Row 4 tries to get back to its roots but offering much more in the process. Open-world gaming is limitless yet always feels so limited.

Still enjoy it though.

[Redcrimson101]

All I'm a say is, I like saints row 1 & 2 and thought those two games were way better than gta. I hated the 3rd one and I felt as if the game did stray too far from what it use to be and what made it a good game in the first Place. I won't be getting the 4th one. Rest in peace saints row.

[THESHAUNZY]

<----- NEVER PLAYED SAINTS ROW >.<

Don't judge!

[jeeves86]

I believe that a lot of what makes Saints Row great is the fact that it doesn't take itself too seriously. The characters take themselves seriously while doing goofy things, but the game itself promotes kooky, over-the-top fun over gritty realism. I'm not saying that realism in video games is a bad thing, in fact it's often an amazing thing, just not when it comes at the expense of a fun. Just my opinion, you may have thought that GTA was a blast - but not everyone did.

I had thought before playing the game that SR3 would be far too over the top, but it actually was a good mix. The craziness might have been a bit too much at times, but all in all it worked out pretty well.

The basic idea of SR might have come from GTA - but it's clear that they've always wanted to take SR in a different direction than GTA. If you can't see that, then you'll always see SR as a cheap rip-off of GTA.