GameSpy Preview of Saints Row

In spite of its popularity among console owners, it is PC gamers who've reaped the most benefits from the Grand Theft Auto series. Besides the numerous skins and tweaks available, one of the most infamous mods for GTA is the one known as Multi Theft Auto. The modification allows players to get online and battle against other players for dominance. The idea has extended to other sandbox-style games, but like their single-player counterparts, the MTA cloning worked about as well as the GTA cloning. That is, no one's really come close to emulating it. Anyone involved in Saints Row who says that GTA had no influence on their title probably also has some beachfront property in Omaha to sell you.

With that out of the way, THQ sponsored an event in San Francisco to preview the multiplayer portion of Volition's next-gen title. We didn't go near the single-player portion of the game, instead opting to stay on the designated path of system link gameplay to see how Saints Row performs. What we saw was the concept of what would be known as another GTA clone extended to its next logical point on the 360: cloning Multi Theft Auto.


I'm not as cleared up on the single-player storyline of Saints Row, but it seems to involve lots of gangbanging, drive-bys, pimping, and other things bound to have some self-serving politician hopping all over it. One of the common threads between single player and multiplayer seems to be the ability to create a character. Players start out with four ethnicities and a variety of hairstyles, facial hair, and eye colors. I opted for an African-American albino with light blue eyes, silver Mr. T-style Fro-hawk with matching beard, and nothing but a grey blazer, his underwear, and sneakers. Mainly because it's a realistic depiction of myself. Okay, I'm being sarcastic.

Anyway, hopping onto system link against a variety of other reporters from other publications revealed a multiplayer lobby that's one part waiting room, one part shooting gallery. Players can run around a small map and try to exterminate as many other participants as they can while waiting for a game to load. Like EA Sports' playable menus, it's one of the more intelligent ways that we've seen next-gen developers find to keep players in the action instead of watching a loading screen. Kills aren't counted and ammo flows plentifully, with AKs, shotguns, Tec-9s, and pipe bombs being the order of the day.

The game modes all have over-the-top names, such as Protect tha Pimp, Big Ass Chains, Blinged Out Ride, and Gangsta Brawl. In some way or another, they're variations on the sorts of missions found in games like SOCOM and other popular shooters. Protect tha Pimp is an escort mission in which a gang of players must escort an unarmed crew member, who dons a large and outlandish purple hat, across a map. While the player designated as the Pimp has a one-hit killing backhanded slap, he is fairly vulnerable to gunfire, and therefore players must strategize to keep him alive in enemy territory and get him to a safe point. Although it feels like something you've seen before, but with a new coat of paint, it's quite fun, especially with a solid group of players to keep the action moving.

Blinged Out Ride, perhaps the most complicated of the multiplayer modes, puts gangs on two sides of a map. They must take their cars out into the pedestrian-unfriendly terrain, score kills to earn money, then, upon earning enough cash, take it to an auto detailer and trick it out to increase its value (aka level it up). They must also protect their valuable vehicle from enemies while exterminating them along the way until the clock runs out. It's pretty complex, and initially, it's not easy to wrap your brain around (or perhaps it's hard to wrap your brain around it with loud music and girls in skimpy outfits serving hamburgers to you). However, it's the one mode that, even more than Protect the Pimp, emphasizes teamwork to get through. In a five-on-five game, it seemed that a separation of the team into a single decoy player (to lure and attract enemies) and four go-getters (to collect cash and upgrade the car) was the best method to take down opponents.


The other modes we played were a little more like the usual features found in multiplayer games. Big Ass Chains is kind of like capture the flag, in a way. Participants must accumulate a certain number of gold chains, which they deposit at a drop-off point, should they not be killed along the way. Gangsta Brawl is a straight up deathmatch mode. Both modes feature team variations as well.

Saints Row multiplayer will host up to twelve players over Xbox Live. Gamers will also be able to continue customizing their online characters, adding more tattoos, jewelry, and clothing to their wardrobes, as well as the ability to form gangs online to compete with others. All around, the experience is fairly fun, but the content might put people off. There are those who might be bothered by the game's stereotypical content, and others who might be put off by "another ghetto game." We'll give our final say on it when the game releases in August and we can hop on Live and give it a shot. Still, there's plenty to be found in the multiplayer aspects of this title, and since, in the same vein of The Outfit, there will be a multiplayer demo slated to hit Xbox Live shortly, players will get to try it out for themselves and see if this title's hood is all good or not.

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