Behold beloved reader and Adrian. Today I am going to compare and review 2 games those being Saints Row 2 and Grand theft Auto 4, why you ask? Becuase they are two very similar games almost identical in fact and because its my blog and there is no democracy in my world. The two games shall be compared on a few key points which I believe are key to the success of games such as these. The points that follow will be Story/Plot, Aesthetics, Game World, Driving, Shooting/Action/Combat, the free-roaming involing side-jobbies, and most importantly how fun it is.
So let us dive head first into the pool of criticism and start with the plot. Both games have stories on different worlds but both share the same underlying theme, that being to take over the crime underworlds of liberty city and stillwater. However both go about it in a different way, GTA4 begins with the protaganist, Niko Bellic getting off gthe boat in liberty city and meeting his cousin, then by a cruel twist of events ends up killing, maiming and pillaging his way to the top, all the while trying to find the guy who betrayed make in the balkans getting his military unit wiped out, it is very complicated but is told in quite a compelling way keeping you enthralled and wanting to know more, kind of, there are bad points such as it does not really explain why Niko even came to liberty city just some vague reference to getting into some trouble back in bosnia which considering the detail rockstar try to give to the story is a pretty major loophole. But in all it is very well told and does a good job of moving the game along.
Saints row on the other goes for the mad gangster on a mission plotline which although trite and cliched is delivered in quite a good way. The story involved an unnamed gangster waking up in hospital after a number of years and after blasting his way out of prison finds out his gang has dissolved and the city belongs to some new gangs and so begins a bloody filled mission to get to the top. Although there is a definate sense of Dejavu in the plot its is delivered in a highly comic and surreal manner giving it an edge which GTA simply doesn't have since it went down the gritty and realistic route. Overall though GTA wins this point as its story actually has some depth and originality to it allowing for a much deeper gaming experience.
GTA 1 - 0 Saints row
Second then is the aesthitics of the two games not much can be said on this point. GTA4 goes for the gritty reralisitc look to the game, which makes it look very real and very cool but unfortuanetly it means the scenery is very dark and quite bland making it difficult know what is what and which car is which. Saints Row on the other hand goes for the less realistic and more graphic approach. Making the city very bright and colourful allowing for a much more varied and colourful gameplay experience. Next is the overall grpahic quality and simply GTA has better graphics than saints row, they are smoother denser and in all a better look to it. Saints row looks like something off of the PS2, a top end PS2 game but still a PS2 game. So again GTA takes the point.
GTA 2 - 0 Saints Row
Now one of the more important parts of the game, the map or game world. Again there ia not much to be said here. Excpet that saints row is going to take its first point. While GTA uses the standard islands scheme to make you play the game through to the end, but that system is kind of old and haggard now, also the map itself whilst a fictional city is almost a street for street copy of new york city with new jersey and brooklyn chucked the sides oh and coney island, which although cool is not very original seeing as noth true crime and prototype have done it. Saints row on the other hand designed a random city with great skill allowing for an interesting and varied gameworld. The world is then used to great affect as it is open from the beginning without having to unlock more of it meaning true imagination and creativity had to be used to use the map to its greatest affect and it most certainly is.
GTA 2 - 1 Saints Row
Next is the driving. both games present driving competently and interestingly, Saints row goes for the classic driving physics in games meaning handbraking round everyone corner jumping over random stuff and sliding everywhere possible. GTA on the other hand has done major u-turn on the physics attempting to make it more realistic, but in fact it makes it more difficult and less realistic, resulting in any mission involving a car chase for example most of them extremely difficult, and even when you have mastered the driving the physics will randomly flip out causing random flips or crashes. a great example of this is while writing this my brother is playing on it in the same room and while attempting to reverse around a corner his car flipped and exploded causing him to fail a mission and the fact that there are no checkpoints made this extremely irritating another point that can go to saints row is the checkpoints allowing for a death during mission and not having to start it from the very beginning. But im losing sight of the point. Overall the driving is better in GTA although is annoying and really poorly done it brings more enjoyment than the saints row driving physics and the changing is refreshing and brings and air of unpredictability to the game.
GTA 3 - 2 Saints Row
Finally Shooting/Combat, Again this is a close call. GTA has a good targeting system and a fantastic cover system allowing for combat to be easier more real and more fun. Saints row lacks both of these instead going for a cross hair moved with the right joystick which is great for psraying with dual SMGs but annoying for extended and reliable combat. Ultimately resulting in a much more difficult game as well as causing controller snapping rage when the camera decides to go AWOL. But overall both combat systems work well on a basic level, the targeting system in GTA really needs to be tightened up as currently it believes a civilian running away is more dangerous than a mobster armed with a shotgun, saints row needs a targeting system or at least should sort out the camera to not want to kill you, finally it should be said that despite their flaws they both work well enough to allow completion of the game but neither works well enough to deem one better than the other so the score stays the same.
GTA 3 - 2 Saints Row
Now to conclude, although I have only gone over a few small points of these vast games and there are those who would disagree with my opinion. But objectively speaking GTA 4 isw better than Saints Row, but allow to completely write off everything I have previously said, there are other features allowing for an increase in score on both sides, Saints Row has better side jobbie, GTA has nicer and more varied cars and weapons, Saints Row is funny and that character cutomisation is fantastic allowing me to create the joker, While GTA has lost its comic edge and the great character customisation from san andreas, GTA is more challenging as a game which I see as a good thing, also as it always happens cheating is easier and more accesible on Saints Row with some genuinely original and hilarious options while GTA goes for the standard weapons, money, health and weather. (GTA 5 - 6 Saints Row). In the end though it doesn't matter which you go for they are both extremely enjoyable to play and both appeal to different people, I have both and in a thousand words I came to a draw and hell I'm a professional of sorts.
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