Saints Row 1 through 4 and how it's changed

Reno Takamiya

Reno Takamiya

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Now I know Saints Row isn't trying to be a serious game but some people don't realize it. They think that Saints Row has left the concept of the first two games of you being a gangster and having to get turf. Then in the third game you're celebrities or sponsors and advertising drinks like "Saints Flow" still some people think it's turning out to be too outrageous for what it started out to be.

Personally I think it's supposed to be a parody of GTA. Other people think that the game should have stuck with the story of SR2 with how it was trying to be dark and have a serious tone. 

Was SR 1 and 2 better then SR 3 or 4 because they were darker or had a more serious tone and you were gangsters and grabbing turf or do you like the aspects of just a game that's meant to be fun and pretty much makes fun of itself in Saints Row 3 and probably 4?

What do you think? 

 
Saints Row 2 is the best because it wasn't slashed to the bone and rushed out the door. So much cut content in 3.

I also am beginning to tire of "LOL look how edgy and gross and offensive we are" humor

 
Saints Row 1 and 2 were pretty much pieces of shit. Only good thing about the series before the third game was Johnny Gat. 2 had a few fun parts here and there, but I really disliked it overall.

Saints the Third is pretty much a work of art.

 
In my opinion, Saints Row 1 and 2 had the better story. It wasn't the best of the best, but it was developed enough and the characters themselves were also more developed (Lin was such a badass!) I also liked building your character up from the bottom. Saints Row 3 felt so superficial to me. I still had fun with the game, but the story was garbage. It was easier to breeze through (you're the leader of the Saints, you're going to start from the top and still have power--no matter how much the plot strips you of it) and the characters weren't as memorable. 

 
ElwoodCuse said:
Saints Row 2 is the best because it wasn't slashed to the bone and rushed out the door. So much cut content in 3.

I also am beginning to tire of "LOL look how edgy and gross and offensive we are" humor
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I liked SR2 the most as well... the gameplay felt a lot more varied and was funnier. SR3 was much more polished (better graphics, better gameplay) but just didn't seem as fun. I loved the stupid customization options in the second game but in the third party, a lot of that was replaced with cookie cutter items (i.e., premade outfits instead of trying to make your own).

And to add to what Ironlocke said, I liked the "fighting to the top) structure of SR2 more as well rather than 3's do whatever you want method.

I was hoping SR4 would be more like SR3 but the more I see it, the more it seems like it's just SR3 again in a newer setting.

 
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The best thing about Saints Row was WMD KBOOM:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFp5X3kaxrs

Don't know why they took it out out of the sequels. It's better than every GTA talk station combined. It's that deadpan delivery and sounds more like talk radio than anything in the GTA series. It's a more subtle mocking of conservative talk that isn't just "omg wacky lol" crap.
 
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As far as story/characters/mood goes, I liked SR3 the most. SR1 felt like a bland knockoff of GTA, in both story and sense of humor. In SR2, the Saints were such unlikable douchebags that I just couldn't get appreciate anything that happened. SR3 is definitely alot more aimless with the story, and just sort of "aloof" in general, but I think it works better this way. Instead of another "rise to redemption" story, the entertainment comes from the banter between the characters: I think I enjoyed Pierce singing with you in the car more than anything SR2 had to offer.

Saints Row 2 is still my favorite gameplay-wise, however. The world was more unique, the minigames were fun, and when you were done with everything, the cheat codes added a whole new layer of entertainment. I would spend hours with angry cars and low gravity turned-on, seeing how far I could get across the big bridges in SR2.

I'm definitely looking forward to SR4 though. SR3 upped the crazy factor, but said craziness really didn't add much variety to the gameplay; the Super Powers in SR4 look to spice things up a bit.

 
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The Third pretty much took me by surprise and I completely fell in love with it. I'm playing 2 right now and it's kind of tough to go back because the graphics and gameplay are a lot rougher in the older game (not to mention the lack of Laura Bailey as gunnm mentioned :lol: ). I'm having fun with it but it's just not grabbing me the same way The Third did. SR4 looks amazing.

 
Spokker said:
The best thing about Saints Row was WMD KBOOM:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFp5X3kaxrsDon't know why they took it out out of the sequels. It's better than every GTA talk station combined. It's that deadpan delivery and sounds more like talk radio than anything in the GTA series. It's a more subtle mocking of conservative talk that isn't just "omg wacky lol" crap.
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Holy crap the beginning of that cracked me up
 
I've only played 3, but my impression is that it is highly overrated.  The city is pretty bland, the plot is too silly for the sake of being silly, the side missions are only worth doing the first couple of times before they get boring.  Controls are also not great on the PC version.

The game has its moments (mostly from three spots where the music and gameplay hit the mark), but for the most part it misses the mark for me and SR4 seems to be going even more in that direction.  Personally, I'm having more fun playing Just Cause 2.

 
This infograph, assuming it's fairly accurate and not just marketing BS, is pretty impressive. This game won't come close to the variety or size of GTAV but still, it sounds like this actually is a going to be a sizable experience. 

http://imgur.com/a/wR5xs

 
I have played Saints Row 1 and 2 throughout 100% including all side missions, hitman activities and what not. I agree with some of the statements above, after playing 3 a bit, I do think that SR 1 and 2 had a much stronger storyline. It was full in its detail, unlike Saints Row 3.  I will still give 4 a chance, but the older titles really do keep me hanging on my seat. 

 
Saints row 2 has the best customization ever. Playing with a friend is so much fun. The possibilities were endless I put in 200+ hours. All the unrealistic crazy stuff was there but you had to dig deep underneath the serious story

The customization in saints row 3 was awful. It was wayyyy too over the top. Repetitive. No challenge. The juvenile shit got old fast.

Saints row 2>eating dog shit>saints row 3
 
I enjoyed Saints Row, I didn't play much of 2. 3 was okay, but very very different. I plan on playing 4 later this week but I assume from what I've read it's much in the same.

 
I haven't played 2 yet, barely started 1 like a year ago.  I'm going to complete both to flesh out the backstory for Third and IV eventually.

I just really don't understand how anyone can not like Third/IV.  Both games are built entirely around you having fun in the world, instead of trying to shoehorn in some weaksauce modern-GTA-styled bullshit.  Third was only held back a little because it retained the GTA structure; IV gets rid of all that and is designed to let you do literally whatever the fuck you want.  If you can't find any entertainment in running down a busy freeway creating a tornado of cars/light posts/people, then jumping ten stories into the air, flying a mile to another section of the metropolis and creating a panic with plungers that explode into fart clouds, all to the tune of The Touch...you just have no soul.  I'm as jaded as a gamer could possibly get and every single thing about Third/IV left a smile on my face.

For me there's a major nostalgia factor since Third is basically the spiritual sequel to GTA 1/2.

 
SR3 took out the poop spraying side missions, which was my favorite thing in SR2.  I know it was easy but it was also hilarious.

Does SR4 have poop spraying again?

 
waldo21212 said:
SR3 took out the poop spraying side missions, which was my favorite thing in SR2. I know it was easy but it was also hilarious.

Does SR4 have poop spraying again?
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No, but they do reference it IIRC. If you buy the Grass Roots Pack for IV you can get the plunger gun, the ammo of which explodes into farts like the FIAJ from Third. Once I 100% everything I am totally going on a fart spree.

 
MetalSlugger said:
No, but they do reference it IIRC. If you buy the Grass Roots Pack for IV you can get the plunger gun, the ammo of which explodes into farts like the FIAJ from Third. Once I 100% everything I am totally going on a fart spree.
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Hmm, sexy cowgirl outfit, don't mind if I do.

 
Saints Row 2 had the better story, the better world and imo way better than GTA IV.

I enjoyed Saints Row 3 because it was lets make this as crazy as possible which was fun. I like how it did not care what it did. Although it missed out on some content that was in two but I got a good 35-40 hours out of it so I am not complaining. Saints Row IV though in my opinion was very meh at best. I mean yeah they ramped up the craziness but I felt that it kinda took away from the game. I mean when I look at it, while you can do crazy superhero stuff, I feel like it's too easy to do it. I mean one of the things with GTA (in the PS2 era) is yeah you can do crazy shit but a lot of times you have to find creative ways to cause mayhem (and it me felt rewarding). This is just oh press a button and instant mayhem. It kinda lost it's shock value/fun if all I have to do is just press a button to cause massive carnage.

 
Sir_Fragalot said:
Saints Row 2 had the better story, the better world and imo way better than GTA IV.

I enjoyed Saints Row 3 because it was lets make this as crazy as possible which was fun. I like how it did not care what it did. Although it missed out on some content that was in two but I got a good 35-40 hours out of it so I am not complaining. Saints Row IV though in my opinion was very meh at best. I mean yeah they ramped up the craziness but I felt that it kinda took away from the game. I mean when I look at it, while you can do crazy superhero stuff, I feel like it's too easy to do it. I mean one of the things with GTA (in the PS2 era) is yeah you can do crazy shit but a lot of times you have to find creative ways to cause mayhem (and it me felt rewarding). This is just oh press a button and instant mayhem. It kinda lost it's shock value/fun if all I have to do is just press a button to cause massive carnage.
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So you prefer to have to do a bunch of work to make the game fun versus having it be fun right out of the box?

I get maybe 2 solid hours of gaming a night on my two days off a week, if I'm lucky. I don't want to spend three quarters of that setting up a fun half hour; I want to blow shit up and have fun for the whole time. This game removes almost every roadblock that other sandbox games, including the Third, set up to keep you from getting to the fun shit. Been there, done that, now give me my glowing blue dildo bat kthnxbai.

 
I have only played SR3rd and I had a blast with it. I do sometimes have the urge to go play the first two but I like to outlandish nature of the Third and look forward to getting 4 eventually as it looks even crazier. 

 
I really enjoyed the first 2, loved 3, and after finishing 4 (well...almost...game locked up during the final mission & I said screw it) - it's ok.  I know it's been said a million times, but it feels like an expansion pack.  But not for the reasons I've heard others give - there's a TON of content, and it being in the same city didn't bother me.  But it feels like something a dev does just to screw around with their game & go all-out - like the zombie dlc for Red Dead.  Yes, SR3 (and 2, to a certain degree) were both ridiculous.  But this one is way beyond that.  It's become a parody of a parody.  There's absolutely nothing to ground the story, and therefore what you're doing, anymore.  You understood what you were doing in SR3 and why, and even tho the details were often insane that was ok, it all fit with the world they had built.  This one just says "screw it" and throws everything it can at you without even trying to give a rhyme or reason.  I know some will love it for that very reason, but it lost me.  Here's hoping whatever they do next is a little more down to earth.  

 
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