Grand Theft Auto has some serious competition. Saint's Row. But it's gonna take more than just a solid entry to dethrone the reigning champ of the inner-city sandbox. For what it's worth, Saint's Row does a lot of things better than the GTA series.For one, destinations (missions, shops, cribs, etc.) can be selected on the map screen, upon which the on screen map will display the quickest possible (street) route to that destination -- it will auto-adjust if you go of course. Also, each mission is auto-saved at its beginning, so if you fail, you can quickly retry (or not).
The AI is smarter than in GTA too, which isn't saying much, but the (exaggerated) physics engine also trumps Rockstar's franchise's standard. We also enjoyed the ability to custom create our own character. Worth noting too, is the lack of load times upon entering a building.
However, as with GTA and its other clones, Saint's Row's combat is seriously flawed. In hand-to-hand it's wonky and reduced to button smashing, and the lack of auto-targeting can make gunplay a chore, especially when faced with a whole gang of rivals. But Saint's Row's biggest drawback is framerate. There have been marked improvements since we last saw the game just months ago, but it still chugs when more than a few vehicles or a pack of pedestrians are on screen.
Of course, the real question is if Saint's Row can rival GTA's colorful, if not stereotyped, stories and characters. In this regard, Saint's Row needs work. Upon bursting into an enemy stronghold we battled a pair of whitebread, sorority girls who were fighting alongside some gang bangin' homies. Now that's kinda wack.
