Well, I purchased saints row 2 today, and I have to tell you that my initial reaction is mixed. Saints row is definately going for the fun factor that i missed in gta.

In Gta, i spent the first 10 minutes without a pistol or a decent firefight, In saints row I was messing about in my carefree way as soon as I got out of jail. It just seems more like a game than a frustrating gang sim. While rockstar may have created a technical masterpiece, they seemed to have lost a certain degree of the carefree killing spree that epitomized san andreas and its predecessors.

While it's easy to bash GTA now I do think that Rockstar have made a stellar effort with the game. And the multiplayer is FAR superior frim what i can tell. GTA just doesn't capitalise on it's own strenghts, the gunplay is solid and fun, yet you frequently find yourself in huge fights with the police on one side and a gang on the other. Additionally, I find myself doing escort missions relentlessly to appease my friends.

Saints row takes the F*** realism approach to sandbox, I worked for crackdown and it worked here, while the gunplay on display here is somewhat weak in comparison, it's never frustrating thanks to the inordinate amount of damage your character can sustain. While I admire GTA for what it's done, it's grown tiresome. The feds have a lot to do with it and they bug me in stilwater as much as in Liberty city. GtA has by far the better system for evading the cops at low levels, but they're damn near impossible to shake off after 3 stars, andthey're so bloody relentless. Saints row is rather more fun when things all go into moshtastic mayhem, where it's all a big old as we nail people left right and center.

I'm tired, but i will continue this at some point soon