Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Saint's Row and the Thug Life

Saint's Row deserves the excellent reviews it's been getting. While it's highly derivative of Grand Theft Auto, it's derivative in a successful way, improving on every GTA weakness while retaining the "big adult playground" concept. The controls are refined and responsive, driving is fun, there's a nice streak of humor, and its level of polish absolutely distinguishes it from the ragged, uneven nature of the GTA series.

So why aren't I playing it?

Saint's Row is absolutely the kind of game I always wanted to play--at a time when I don't want to play that game anymore.

I'm tired of the thug life.

I'm tired of pimps. I'm tired of hos. I'm tired of drug dealers. I'm tired of getting cursed out on the street. I'm tired of shootouts. I'm tired of earning respect.

I guess I'm just tired.

Saint's Row does all kinds of things right. The navigational system is just fantastic--a GPS system that dynamically recalculates your course if you make a wrong turn. The freeway system is brilliant. There's a huge assortment of cars, many of them in the "fine" category, and they're fun to drive. Some of the mini-games (like insurance fraud) are truly ingenious. And it has a wicked sense of humor at times--I tried to run over a pimp and he shouted "I was Pimp of the Year! You can't run over me!"

It's only failing, to me, is the radio stations. They're flat and stale compared to the absolutely inspired radio stations in GTA (which has always been my favorite part of the game). That's a small failing, though, compared to all the things it does right.

Somehow, though, this kind of game just isn't fun to play anymore. The exaggerated racial stereotypes, the earning of "respect" through more destruction, the mindless turf wars--it all leaves me with an empty feeling. There's no noble purpose here, no higher ground.

That's a criticism of the genre, not the game, because the game is damned good. If you're a fan of the GTA series, you should rush out and buy Saint's Row immediately. For me, though, there was a moment when this genre went from exhilarating to depressing.

I didn't notice that moment. I just know it's come and gone.

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