Saints Row is More Fun than GTA, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Urban Sandbox Games Again

I have issues with open world games. Especially Grand Theft Auto. Back in the days of yore, I played Vice City to 100% completion, which even by today's standards was a huge feat. But ever since then, the series just hasn't held the same allure. Maybe it was because the Frankie outfit was kind of a letdown, but I think one part of the problem is that sandbox games give me too much freedom. When I'm able to do whatever I want, whenever I want, I end up not doing anything because I have no clear goals and objectives, and therefore no sense of progress or reward. I just drive around aimlessly, run over some  pedestrians, die in a shootout and turn the console off.

But another big issue is that Grand Theft Auto can just be a frustrating game to play. I decided to gave GTA IV a shot a few months ago, because it had some ridiculously good reviews, but I got frustrated as soon as I started taking missions. Don't get me wrong, GTA IV is a good game with super high production values, and you can see the polish on ever surface. But even so, a host of minor annoyances kept me from enjoying the game as much as I should have.


The main problem is that the missions are just poorly designed. For one thing, they seem to build in a lot of travel time, requiring you to drive halfway across the map to reach your objectives. When I find myself debating whether to cut through Algonquin or take the highway to avoid rush hour traffic, I think this is the opposite of fun. Another huge issue is the lack of automatic checkpoints, so that every time I died I had to start the mission over from scratch. And I died a LOT. The combat felt sloppy to me; the addition of a cover mechanic was a solid choice, but aiming and locking onto the right target never clicked with me.

The mission that finally made me quit the game required the following steps:

1. Drive for five minutes through traffic to pick up an NPC.
2. Drive another five minutes to the mission site.
3. Ride a slow-ass elevator to the top of a skyscraper to snipe some enemies.
4. Ride the slow-ass elevator back down the building.
5. Run into a construction site and get into a protracted firefight.

And every time I died, I had to start the whole thing over again from scratch, including the full ten minutes of drive time. Honestly, it's as though Rockstar built tedium into the game on purpose in an effort to add 'realism.' I do not want realism and tedium in an urban sandbox game; I want immediate action.

After trading in GTA IV, I thought I was done with the genre for good. But a recent Game Informer had a preview for Saints Row 3, and it specifically mentioned that the series dealt directly with many of my gripes with GTA. So naturally, I picked up Saints Row 2, because its only $17 and I didn't want to wait until Q4 for the third entry.

Aw, they're like an Internet meme Romeo and Juliet.

Let me tell you right now. Saints Row is wild, crass, and way more fun than GTA. This game puts the emphasis on immediate, balls-out action. Several technical choices were made that really cut down on the tedium: Drive times are shorter, combat feels much tighter and more responsive, and THANK ODIN they put automatic checkpoints in their missions. But the missions are also much more entertaining. One thing that always drove me crazy about GTA was that you're supposed to be this badass gangster rising through the ranks of the underworld, but you're still required to run minor errands for every low-life hood in the city. (Two missions ago, Niko Bellic murdered 50 people with a rocket launcher and supposedly took over the Liberty City drug trade. So why is he now driving around some middle aged politician so he can have sex with hookers in the back of a sedan?!) In Saints Row, on the other hand, every single thing you do feels completely epic. The very first mission has you breaking out of prison, racking up a triple-digit body count, and then shooting down helicopters from the back of a speed boat. Awesome! And things only escalate from there. Another mission has you fighting Yakuza across a flotilla of Chinese junks, and another has you riding ATVs through a shopping mall.

Epic.

Yes, the tone is much more, ah, "urban," but it's so gratuitously over the top that it's hard to take seriously. If GTA is a satire of gangster sagas, Saints Row feels like an out-and-out parody. Let me put it another way: If Rockstar* aspires to be the Martin Scorsese of urban sandbox games, then Volition* is the genre's Robert Rodriguez. You can decide for yourself which you prefer, but personally I'd rather watch Desperado than The Departed any day.


The premise of the game is that you're leading the titular Saints to take over the city of Stilwater by pushing out three conveniently color-coded rival gangs. Each gang's territory is handily outlined on the in-game map, and you can see your territory expanding as you gain control over more and more neighborhoods. This really adds to the sense of progression within the game, and as your gangsta minions begin to patrol every street you feel like you're actually having an effect on the city.

Another great feature is the fact that you can customize nearly everything about your character, down to height and weight, facial features, tattoos, clothing, even the way they walk. You can also customize your gang, which means I get to have an army of ninjas that drink 40s and carry AK-47s.

Everything about this picture is awesome.

When I read the reviews for Saints Row, you know what the major complaints were? That the radio stations didn't have as many songs as in GTA, and that it wasn't as deep because you didn't have friend and romance options. Yeah, because you know what I miss the most about GTA IV? Having "cuzzin Roman" call me in the middle of a firefight while "Don't You (Forget About Me)" plays on the radio. Honestly, I don't know what the hell these reviewers were thinking.

Look. GTA IV is bigger budget, and it shows in higher production values. Liberty City is more fully formed than Stilwater, and more attention is paid to the little details like radio stations and billboards. I've also run into some technical glitches with Saints Row, including one that froze my box and required a hard reboot. But despite all that, Saints Row is hands down more enjoyable than the competition, whether you're taking missions or just dicking around. Does GTA let you toss hostages 20 feet through the air? No? Case closed.