In the words of Julius, “Hey playa”. Saints Row was one of the greatest console games I have ever played. The story and the gameplay are top notch and they really draw the ‘playa’ into the entire Row experience. Familiar to many as a “GTA ripoff” this game felt very familiar in style yet different enough to consider it a welcomed and flattering near-copy. For those who have never played Saints Row let me share with you a brief synopsis from Wikipedia. Warning! Spoilers.
Saints Row starts with the player (an unnamed character) entering the city of Stilwater 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, led by Julius, step in and save him. After proving himself to the Saints, he’s initiated into the gang and then asked to assist to take over the city from three rival gangs (Los Carnales, Westside Rollerz, and the Vice Kings). The player, over the course of the game, assists in several missions and stronghold 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. In the end, the player is able to defeat the boss and several of the lieutenants of each gang and brings all of Stilwater under the Saints’ control. The game apparently ends when the player receives a call from Julius, who tells the player that he is making him his new right hand man and implies he will be arrested by corrupt cops who were waiting for the gang wars to end before they made their move on the Saints. At this point, other members of the Saints ask the player for their orders, implying he has become a lieutenant for the Saints.
After the credits roll and the game appears to be completed, the player is allowed to engage in three “epilogue” missions. In order to free Julius, the player must kill a mayoral candidate, at the request of the corrupt police chief. The Saints, though, also decide to arrange hits on the cops and the police chief. Upon completion, the player is told to meet the mayor of Stilwater on his private yacht. There, the mayor congratulates the player on successfully taking over the city and eradicating the corrupt elements that would have made it difficult for the mayor to assert total control. The mayor then reveals that he will pin all of the city’s recent crime on the Saints in order to destroy their neighborhood. However, before the player has a chance to respond, the yacht explodes. The game then closes, leaving the fate of the player’s character in question.
It’s the ending that made so many of us shout out for a sequel. I’m happy to say that Volition has obliged. Head over to the official Saints Row 2 Website. The Row returns in 08. We’ll see you there!
