Saints Row 2 Starts Beef With Gta Iv

Saints Row continues to be underappreciated.

Ignoring the potshots at GTA, that trailer was awesome.

I actually kinda liked the first game despite how relentlessly shallow it was. It was just kind of fun and goofy and occasionally intense (the story sucks, but those last missions for each gang are just nuts) However that trailer is probably not going to have the desired impact.

Is there still still campaign length co-op in this game, because it might be fun to do the whole story with a friend or whatever.

Also, it might be nice to play a game all about the rampage. GTA 4 is fucking awesome, but Niko's lack of health and the way the story draws you in makes rampaging something I wasn't particularly interested in.

All of that stuff looks fun. I'll imagine it'll be ever so slightly poorly executed though. Still, worth overlooking if it's playable and has that co-op.

It's like they're doing the stuff GTA would have done this incarnation if the writers for GTA4 hadn't undergone a serious mood transplant.

Well, let's hope the horrid bugginess that marred the first release won't happen a second time around. in terms of game mechanics, on their first try the Saints Row developers managed to produce very good driving and aiming schemes.

There's something that SAINT'S ROW had that GTA didn't... and it's still terrific fun. The Insurance Fraud missions. Those on their own sucked up a lot of playtime. If GTA 4 had something along those lines it would be perfect.

Yep. I fucking loved Saint's Row. It was just fun. Yeah, the story sucked, and the comedy was juvenile, but goddamit it was fun as shit to play. That trailer makes the sequel look fucking awesome. I'll be picking this up.

I wasn't a big fan of Saints Row but the trailer does bring up some fun points.

Continously going bowling with Roman or taking Kiki to the fuckng club got super dull. How come I can't go fucking on the roller coaster or play mini-golf? So if Saints Row 2 can pull off the gameplay aspects it advertises this time around if could be loads of fun.

Of course as much as I love GTA 4 I fall into the camp that it feels more like GTA 3.5. I was expecting a bit more, especially in the mission variety. Too many chase the whomever missions and the Assassin missions were dull as fuck. Missed opportunity.

Agreed. I feel like every aspect of GTA IV is an improvement; in some respects, a gigantic improvement. Except for the mission designs/variety, which saw no improvement whatsoever.

Can't wait for the scathingly funny commercials where their game is played by Justin Long and GTA is played by John Hodgman!

What a classic case of not getting it. Who's cooler, the fine tuner or the innovator?

Yeah, it looks kinda fun, but dissing on GTAIV is not gonna win fans over. I know I rolled my eyes a couple of times hearing them put GTA down.

Yeah, I'm with Alex. Please. You know your game isn't as good as GTA 4, fans and makers of Saint's Row. Just shut the hell up about it and enjoy it for what it is. It's Joel vs. Mike all over again, only where one isn't near as good as the other. Oh, shit...

Isn't GTA 4 coming out with their first round of DLC around the time Saint's 2 was originally going to ship? You know what would be a bastard (awesome) move by Rockstar? Push back their DLC release to come out a couple of days before Saint's 2. "Hey, guys! More GTA! More missions! Clothes! Euphoria physics Crash Test Dummy mini game! Why spend $60 for a new game when you can spend less than that for more of the game you love!" God, that would be very, very prickish. I hope it happens.

Sorry, Alex, but while Saints Row does owe a lot to the GTA series, they upped the game in a way where it came to the point where GTA IV was so focused on creating a realistic world, that it forgot to be fun at points. There's simply not enough to do in GTA IV. Your friends ARE whinny bitches who need your attention. Most of the sidequests are just sidequests and don't make your life any easier. GTA IV would be even better if Rockstar had put as much effort into the variety of mission as they did into the radio and TV satire programs.

I think GTA IV has a story that's a million times better than Saints Row, but Saints Row remembered what GTA IV frequently forgot: videogames should be fun.

Also, GTA IV's cars drive like shit compared to Saints Row.

The DLC for GTA IV just got pushed back to November. Saints Row 2 is coming out first.

Matt Goldberg, sadly for GTAIV, and happily for Saints Row, speaks truth.

I enjoyed Saints Row as well. Part of it has to do with my personal fondness for games that allow you to create a customized character rather than being saddled with what the developers came up with. No matter how great the lead character may be, I become more invested in one of my own creation.

An excellent point, and one I hadn't thought to make. The RPG aspect of Saints Row, between tatoos, appearance, etc., is more involving than being shoehorned into a character design.

I don't think it's in bad taste because they have to compete with that game and if they want to stand as their own franchise, they have to say what makes them different. Yeah, they could do this without bashing GTA, but this is better marketing because it makes us talk about the game and keep it on our radar.

I love GTA IV's story, but like I said, it's a videogame and games are supposed to be played. Also, they could have had some more mission variety instead of the two standards of either "take out thug army" and "chase down and murder someone". Missions like "Three Leaf Clover" and escaping from the museum are classic, but I wish the creativity they demonstrated in mapping out Libety City would have extended into a wider variety of gameplay.

That would have bothered me had GTA IV not crafted such a strong character with Niko Bellic.

But, how much better would Niko be if you could spend an hour with your photo taped to the television making him look exactly like your yourself? At least 49.4% better, right?

That game does look like a fun rental, but SR 1 was about as huge and blatant a rip off as could be of GTA, and them slagging it kind makes me think they're pricks that don't deserve my support.

I don't understand the use of the term "ripoff" when it comes to videogames. Yes, Rockstar created a new game genre, but that doesn't mean that only they should be allowed to play in that sandbox. By that attitude, Halo is nothing but a Castle Wolfenstein ripoff, and should be dismissed. As far as I'm concerned, anybody who thinks they can bring something to the formula should be encouraged to do so.

I think alex has missed the boat on this one. Saints row was fun, very playable and far less frustrating in terms of gameplay than the previous GTA games because they actually fixed so many issues that should have been fixed when Vice city came out. The SR2 trailer to me.. highlighted these things. Matt goldberg is on the money

I'm still playing GTA IV, and I'm enjoying it a hell of alot more than the previous gta games, but it does annoy me that the two missions I thought were the most original and actually felt like "next gen" missions, are the only two of their type (E.g Three leaf Clover). Rest of the missions seem like carbon copies of missions from the previous games.. except this time you have a competent aiming and saving system that makes them ENJOYABLE.

Saints row 2 probably wont have the greatest storyline but it will probably make up for that with a game that is fun to play. Maybe they'll even have checkpoints for extra long mission. Amazing.

Only if I can keep the voice acting.

"Look Mom, I'm so fat I ran out of pixels making virtual me!"

No thanks, I'll stick with Niko. Although in general I don't like him as much as C.J.

I always liked that Saint's Row's story boiled down to the player character being set up as the fall guy for the assassination of the city councilman that's redeveloping the Saints' neighbourhood.

And it seems odd to bitch about Saint's Row ripping off GTA when so many refinements and additions that Saint's Row made were incorporated into GTAIV.

I'm in the "enjoyed the hell out of Saint's Row flaws and all" camp. Something Awful summed the game up best; it's like the creators of Saint's Row made the game just so that they could fix all the flaws in the GTA series. Auto-saves, better aiming, GPS on the map (thank Christ) were things that had me gladly overlooking the mediocre writing and somewhat repetitive activities (there's at least 3-4 different people you have to do the same drug running activity with.) Besides, it's not like I can't have both and a little competition could be good for both franchises.

EDIT: I do have to admit I got the game brand new for only $20 not long after it came out, so that might have had some influence on my enjoyment of it.

I have to admit, that I'm enjoying the hell out of everything in GTAIV except what I should be loving most: the main storyline. Having to restart long missions is just awful. Wandering around doing shorter sidequests or taking in the game world is more enjoyable.

I'll be curious to read Alex's review of Saints Row 2 when it comes out. I'm looking to resurrecting my burned, half-drowned, supposedly dead fall guy and sending him on a rampage of destruction.

*Holy shit, I could have written this article: http://www.somethingawful.com/d/news...ive.php?page=3

The more I think about it, the less fun I think I had (and have) with GTA4.

It's cool, don't get me wrong. All the subtle details are brilliant. The humour's still great.

But I miss GTA3's revolutionary aspects. Vice City's wacky characters and San Andreas's variety. The map was huge, but christ did it provide some much-needed change in scene when you got bored with one location.

I disagree with Alex on not going on rampages because the story was so good - I didn't rampage until i'd finish a mission storyline, saving me the hassle of saving the game. Then i'd go batshit insane with a rocket launcher.

Argh. Conflicting emotions!

I get the people who enjoy the gameplay more in Saint's Row. I do, really. It fixed a majority of the problems from GTA. The gameplay was superior in SR to GTA 3-San Andreas. But, personaly, it's everywhere else I think it fails. Again, and I hate to agree with Alex so damn much, the story is pretty much shit compared to GTA's stories, ESPECIALLY 4's. And characters? Well, it's hard to have character when the person you control is a fucking mute. Oh, but hey. You can make him/her look like you. Awesome. I fucked around only slightly in GTA 4 because I enjoyed the story and characters. The extra shit might not be as fun (and yes, the Insurance stuff was great) as in SR, but the main story more than makes up for that. But, I'm one of those people who would rather mini games be kept to Flash and Wii compilations and leave the meaty main game alone. Jesus, this is taking too long.

Since GTA 4 stepped up and took a lot of the gameplay changes that SR made and threw them into their game, I just don't see the point of a SR right now. The first SR filled the "no GTA" gap that no longer exists. If SR2 was released in, say, another year or 2, after the smash of GTA 4 wasn't being felt as much, I could more easily understand that. But why do you want a knockoff so soon when the real thing just came out?

I can't belive people have started bashing GTA IV already.

It's been out for a while now. It's valid criticism - especially over it's longevity.

Pointing out problems and flaws in a supposedly "10/10" game isn't what I'd call "bashing". The main missions should have all been as great/next gen as "three leaf clover" in my opinion.

GTA IV is great game, don't get me wrong. Its the only GTA game that I'll bother trying to get 100% in. And that means something (to me anyway). But it is by no means 10/10 game material.

I highly doubt that SR2 will have the moments of unscripted insanity that I've encountered in GTA4. Like when a minor fender bender quickly devolves into a shootout between bikers, gun club members, russian mafia and cops (which YOU called into the scene just because you thought the area needed more guns) as you sit off to the side, eat a hot dog and contemplate bringing out Mr. Rocket Launcher in order to mediate this traffic dispute.

For me, it's like McDonalds vs. Burger King when comparing these two franchises. McDonald's is the ubiquitous one with the money, brand recognition, and staying power, and Burger King replicates the formula, but paints little grill markings on their meat (which is actually a really nice touch).

I may like Saints Row, but Grand Theft Auto 4 really is in a different class. I honestly just don't think it's a game about mindless destruction anymore, it was already turning towards being more character orientated in San Andreas and GTA 4 sort of created a character who actually contemplates his actions, feels remorse, feels pity and tries to make the player feel the consequences.

To me, that commercial stinks of soulless pandering. It's like something that came out of a video game focus group where the participants were all disgruntled 14 year old ex-GTA fans who wanted everything "more extreme". The thing is, GTA IV is on another level. It's Rockstar wanting to reconcile the nonlinear with the linear, and making the kind of gameplay that they're already known for part of a richer overall experience. Yes, they want to give us a sandbox to explore and play in and cause havoc in, but they're storytellers too, so this time round especially they put extra effort into developing things like character and dialogue and in-game diversions such as TV/radio/internet. What they've succeeded in creating through that is an even more detailed and immersive game world, one that's full of action, laughs, twists and turns, and trademark Rockstar cynicism, but also tinged with sadness. It's a wonderful creation.

What the competitors don't understand, and what they will probably never understand, is that the true beauty of GTA IV is to be found in the little things- it's in the random encounters with street freaks and lost causes, it's in that first suckerpunch of an email from Nico's mom, it's in the fake online dating profile that's obviously written by your closeted friend, it's in Rockstar's commentary on the fake shit people put on their resumes, it's in seeing a Hasidic Jew riding a Harley, it's in Nico starting to talk about his dead brother but then changing the subject, it's in looking up Brucie's rapsheet and finding out he was once busted for soliciting a tranny prostitute, and perhaps more than anything else it's in the simple joy of smacking someone in the face then sprinting down the street away from the cops thinking that they're going to be right on your tail only to look back and see that 250lb Al Powell looking motherfucker way off in the distance waddling uselessly after you.

Also, going out with the other game characters never gets dull for me, because it's all about savouring the conversation ("I don't want to touch your balls, Brucie.")

Those are all great points about what makes GTA 4 great. Though I gotta say that for my money San Andreas is the still the pinnacle game in the series thus far.

Assuming that they know what "penultimate" means, I think just about everyone can disagree with you. I'm pretty confident Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (originally released on the PSP) is the penultimate game.

How is anyone "bashing" it? It has legitimate flaws.

Sacred cows, and all that. You know how it is.

The only real problems I have with GTA 4 is the fact that shooting still isn't as good as it could be and the fact that money is essentially worthless once you get enough of it.

I think all of this bleating about shitty missions is just due to a lack of context. To me I've never been bored by any of the missions, every car chase is set up so well by the cutscenes, dialogue and even the internet that they each seem unique enough.

The idea that some of you are prepared to declare loyalty to a game, forsaking all others like it, is more than a little frightening. This is like saying that you're never going to watch any Lethal Weapon movies, because you love Die Hard so much. I'm pretty sure that the guys at Rockstar won't have their feelings hurt too bad if you play both.

It is somewhat mind boggling.

Good call there Overlord. I was waiting how long it would take somebody to catch that snafu and you did in short order. It was actually what I was thinking about as I drove to my buddy's place. Yeah I know. I still maintain that San Andreas is the pinnacle for the series, especially in mission variety.

I really missed the empire building of San Andreas and Vice City. And frankly sometimes I just want to play some black jack or bet on horse races instead of play frigging darts.

And the Lethal Weapon and Die Hard comparison is actually quite good. Although Saints Row wasn't quite good enough to be the LW or DH in the comparison.

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that missed San Andreas more than a little bit. I still think GTA IV is the best of the series, but only by a very narrow margin, and I do miss just hopping into a helicopter and hitting the Vegas Strip (literally sometimes, flying was kind of hard) when I was bored.

I feel ya. And as minor a complaint as it is I wish they would have let you parachute like in SA, and the talk radio is not nearly as amusing as in prior editions.

Hopping out of a chopper and floating down into Middle Park or Star Junction would have been really sweet.

So by a wee bit I still rank San Andreas ahead of GTA 4. Though I can only salivate at what may be in store if in fact they do return to Vice City or San Andreas and refine some things.

Which, it seems to me, is the contention that at least a few folks disagree with.