Saint's Row (demo)

[JRMacumber]

I got my OXM in the mail today, and the 360 demo on the disk was for Saint's Row. Now, I should say, I'm not the biggest GTA fan on the planet. I have nothing against the series, and I enjoyed GTA 3 quite a bit, but Vice City really didn't do it for me, and San Andreas did even less. So, I booted up Saint's Row with little enthusiasm and expectation. Luckily, I came out of really impressed.

Yes, it is a huge ripoff of the GTA games. The control scheme is damn near identicle, even down to Y being the Jack The Car button. And, the way the map is laid out and the stores that are available to you are lifted straight from Rockstar's games. But, and perhaps it was just because this game had graphics that completely bitchslapped anything in the previous GTA games, but I thought this was the better game (for a demo, that is). I thought it was fluid, I was never left wondering what I should be doing, the voice acting was spot on (they even have Keith David doing the voice for your gang leader, and that man has one of the smoothest voices in Hollywood), and the combat was fun (though, unlike GTA, there is no lock-on feature).

Anyway, the game could end up being a mess, but I don't see how. It was incredibly polished, and I can't wait to get the full version.

[cohen205]

JRM, from the demo, would you say the game was any better than any of the GTA Ripoffs - True crime, Getaway, Driver? (if you have played them)

[JRMacumber]

JRM, from the demo, would you say the game was any better than any of the GTA Ripoffs - True crime, Getaway, Driver? (if you have played them)
Well, from the bit I played, I'd say much better. I'd say it is better than San Andreas, but I'll wait until the full version comes out before committing to that statement.

[Simmy]

Thanks for the info JRM, looking forward to trying the demo out next Tuesday now.

What sort of range of vehicles are in it ? I've only seen cars so far, do we have bikes, bmx's, choppers, planes etc alla GTA ? Can't play a sandbox game without me chopper :D

[Dezm0nd]

Wasn't really up for this game at first, because it looked like a GTA clone, but hearing from quite a few people it's actually GOOD with Live modes makes me want it more and more... Roll on Tuesday. Does it have an official release date? (the full game)

[Gavin]

Play have it down as the 1st September, whether that is right or not though....

[Simmy]

End August is being tauted for the States, a few days later in Europe.

I still find looking at this game a bit painfull, as it does seem such an absolute copy of all parts of GTA, but if it plays as well then who cares. No way I can wait until October next year for my next gen GTA fix, hopefully this will fill the gap until then.

Anyone able to confirm on vehicles. I'll stuggle if it is just cars tbh, will miss the bikes and aircraft to much - and BMX drivebys from San An are just to fun to ignore :D

[Rossco]

Yeh, hopefully there a great range like in GTA too. Can you swim in this?

[Myth]

I know that it's been confirmed that there's no Bikes or Aircrafts but they said something about them being in the sequal if I remember correctly.

[Jebus]

That's the thing, people complain about "GTA Clone" etc but then what could they do differently in that genre? I don't hear people complaining about every single FPS ever claiming "Wolf 3D clone".

At the end of the day its a different company taking a stab at that genre, good for the market I reckon. It seems people are raving about how good this is as well. I was never gonna buy it, but to be honest the demo could sell me on this!

Incidentally, I love xboxyde but I can only ever watch the streaming ones...the torrent downloads are always SO slow I give up...anyone else have that problem?

[Yoshimax]

The live sold it for me ages ago - the fact live is good is a bonus :)

Just think - 4 NTSC-er's cruising in an open top caddie with molotov's and AK's

Doesn't get much better for me :)

[Jebus]

The live sold it for me ages ago - the fact live is good is a bonus :)

Just think - 4 NTSC-er's cruising in an open top caddie with molotov's and AK's

Doesn't get much better for me :)Indeed! As I say, I thought the next spend for me would be Dead Rising (drool) but this is looking mightily appealing. The demo will definitely make or break it for me...

[Simmy]

That's the thing, people complain about "GTA Clone" etc but then what could they do differently in that genre? I don't hear people complaining about every single FPS ever claiming "Wolf 3D clone".

At the end of the day its a different company taking a stab at that genre, good for the market I reckon. It seems people are raving about how good this is as well. I was never gonna buy it, but to be honest the demo could sell me on this!

Incidentally, I love xboxyde but I can only ever watch the streaming ones...the torrent downloads are always SO slow I give up...anyone else have that problem?

Yeah I know what you are saying m8, but you have to admit they are copying everything to the letter, that's why I mentioned the kidnap, yeah fine put that in the game but don't set the exact same task to extract information from him, than they did with GTA - They're are ways to be the same but different is I guess what I'm saying, where as the brief for this was deffinately "Make GTA 4" - Well without the bikes, bmx's choppers planes etc.

Live sound great - not seen much on how it is implemented though !

xboxyde I just use the openxbox360 links at the bottom of the links page below the torrents !!!!!

[Concept]

Looks like hi-res San Andreas, and we've already had that for months on the PC. The thing with Saint's Row is that it's feature set looks nowhere near as in-depth, expansive or as interesting as SA.

[Simmy]

Yeah it deffinately looks a step back from GTA SA and even VC - but I still get enjoyment out of playing GTA 3, so I'm sure I will like this.

I do fear though that once you've had choppers you can't go back :D

[Ajay1986]

Ive said it countless times already. GTA Clone + Ragdolls + Lots of online modes = a fun game in my eyes.

[Concept]

Once you've had flying jets, swimming, parachuting, getting fat, getting slim, eating, drinking, danced at nightclubs, clothed yourself, tatooed yourself, become a train driver, courier, trained at the gym and played pool there's no going back. :P

[Soi]

In video game maths, I'd say GTA - (flying jets, swimming, parachuting, getting fat, getting slim, eating, drinking, danced at nightclubs, clothed yourself, tatooed yourself, become a train driver, courier, traning at the gym and playing pool) + Ragdoll + Lots of online modes > GTA:SA.

I guess it is about what you want from the game though. While flying jets and driving trains is pretty cool, the rest of the stuff in brackets is fluff imo. Fun, but ultimately just a mild diversion.

I wasn't expecting Saints Row to be any good at all, and the impressions I've read have been very positive so far. Looking forward to the demo.

[Jebus]

To be fair to this games developers though, there is no reason why Rockstar couldn't have beaten them to the punch on the first next-gen-gta-style game, so I think it's a little unfair to criticise them!

[Crisp_Rapper]

Just think - 4 NTSC-er's cruising in an open top caddie with molotov's and AK'sif this is actually possible then i require this game... gangbanging ftw! http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/images/smilie/ph34r.gif

[Rossco]

Yeh, that would be class, would be ace if you could make y our own 4 player gang or whatever and go against other gangs on Live. :D

[Ajay1986]

Im pretty sure you can create you own gangs the question is what are the NTSC colours gonna be.

[JRMacumber]

Also starting to wonder if it looks that much better than GTASA - although its been a long while since I've played that, and I've got thoroughly used to current next gen gfx now.
You obviously haven't played this for yourself on an HDTV, 'cause Saint's Row shits on GTA:SA's graphics from a height so great it might as well be asteroids from orbit.

[Concept]

In video game maths, I'd say GTA - (flying jets, swimming, parachuting, getting fat, getting slim, eating, drinking, danced at nightclubs, clothed yourself, tatooed yourself, become a train driver, courier, traning at the gym and playing pool) + Ragdoll + Lots of online modes > GTA:SA.

I guess it is about what you want from the game though. While flying jets and driving trains is pretty cool, the rest of the stuff in brackets is fluff imo. Fun, but ultimately just a mild diversion.

I wasn't expecting Saints Row to be any good at all, and the impressions I've read have been very positive so far. Looking forward to the demo.

I'm not saying Saint's Row is going to be bad (early word is that's going to be a sleeper), I'm just pointing out that I doubt the game will have anywhere near the depth of either San Andreas or Oblivion.

The above list is only skimming the surface out of what SA can offer. It's all about role-playing for me now with non-linear gaming - being allowed to customise and play about with the environment and the mechanics as much as possible.

I guess I'm just hoping Rockstar don't scum to SA's critics (a lot of them seem to be Vice City fans, wanting the series to go back to flat-plane and extremely dull level design with limited mechanics) when it finally comes for GTA to make its next-gen appearance. Subsequent evolutions in the non-linear genre should be built on than scrapped in terms of mechanics time and time again.

[DavidFallows]

You can create your own gangs? Excellent!

I reckon we should all be white, have skinheads, and travel around in the backs of transit vans.

'Combat 18' bomber jacket optional.

[Soi]

I'm not saying Saint's Row is going to be bad (early word is that's going to be a sleeper), I'm just pointing out that I doubt the game will have anywhere near the depth of either San Andreas or Oblivion.

The above list is only skimming the surface out of what SA can offer. It's all about role-playing for me now with non-linear gaming - being allowed to customise and play about with the environment and the mechanics as much as possible.

I guess I'm just hoping Rockstar don't scum to SA's critics (a lot of them seem to be Vice City fans, wanting the series to go back to flat-plane and extremely dull level design with limited mechanics) when it finally comes for GTA to make its next-gen appearance. Subsequent evolutions in the non-linear genre should be built on than scrapped in terms of mechanics time and time again.

I didn't think you were saying that it will be bad. I take your points about involvement and roleplaying. Clearly having the depth to enable the player to do all that is a good thing.

But a game doesn't have to be deep in that sense to be good. Driving around and causing mayhem is fun. Doing so with other people (teams of NTSC'ers, not randoms) sounds amazing.

[Yoshimax]

I want this game NOW.

I presume this is an offline only demo ? online would probably just be too much.......

[Silvergun X]

You can create your own gangs? Excellent!

I reckon we should all be white, have skinheads, and travel around in the backs of transit vans.

'Combat 18' bomber jacket optional.+1

I'm up for that.

Strangely..

[Yoshimax]

I was going to suggest going the darkest skin colour possible if only to take it to those dumb racists Yank-pigs online :) (decent USA'ers please note this is only aimed at your majority ;) )

[Silvergun X]

As racist as this conversation is starting to sway, I have to say that would be quite amusing if just to see their reaction.

[robrymond]

Handling is slighty odd, but then again GTA's wasn't great. I can't believe how like GTA it is. Seems good fun though.

[ItsThere]

Playing it now. Little bit of screen tearing through VGA noticed so far. Its GTA on 360 basically, not as good for causing mayhem from the off due to ever so slightly more regimented progression (buying guns etc) missions nice and simple and seems to be pretty good actually :)
Will report more on further plays. Oh yeah, before I go, handling on cars is more differentiated than in GTA as far as I can tell.

[spagmasterswift]

On-Line play?

[Myth]

From what I've heard it boots you off live completly when you go to play the demo.

[robrymond]

Yeah, it boots you off live to play.

[Silvergun X]

Why? :???:

[robrymond]

God knows, I thought I had connection problems or something. Just a weird thing it does.

[Akira]

can you sign back in once it's kicked you off? as i can see myself spending alot of time with this demo,and i'd like to know what my friends are up to.

[Myth]

Nope

[Yoraths mullet]

Played it for about half an hour now and it is just GTA on the 360. Seems a good laugh though, the character design is not all there on the demo so I haven't bothered messing with it. I always get annoyed with the lack of fitness of characters, run for 30 seconds and they're ****ed,

[Akira]

NopeThats pants! :dry:

[bignige]

Erm, isn't this a bit shit?
Tearing is horrendous.

[DavidFallows]

I never liked GTA apart from seeing who could rack up the most chaos between me and my mates.

Therefore I'm not expecting anything from this. I may be surprised.

[Myth]

Playing in 720p and think it looks pretty nice, framerate is a bit all over the place but for me its a must buy, especially if the online mode works as good as it sounds.

Just thought I'd let you know that you can swim. :)

[Simmy]

Thats pants! :dry:

Don't a few of the demo's do this ? Sure fight night does it as well !

[Garny]

The game seems ok to me so far. Just the screen tearing is a bit off puting at times. I think the game froze on me at the end of the demo (the cutscene in the church) screen just faded to black, and then nothing:blink:

[Yoraths mullet]

Just popped somebody in the back of the head, thats always a good thing in my book.

[robrymond]

Completed the demo now. Excellent stuff, nice little game THQ have created. It's a huge rip of GTA, but who cares!

Screen slowdown/tearing was slighty annoying, but I really enjoyed my time and can't wait for the full thing.

[wush]

I thought it was pretty funny when two guys flew through their windscreen and landed inside the moving convertible after a collision. :)

[Jebus]

Fairly enjoyable...if you loved Vice City you'll love this. I'm fairly indifferent to both. Shame they disabled the live play as that may have been a selling point for me.

The frame rate/slowdown/tearing was the worse I've seen in a game lately that I can recall, during the "intro" the tearing was HORRENDOUS...it actually made me notice it for the first time on a game really.

Enjoyable romp though. It's even more like GTA than I'd imagined, tempted to buy it but will wait to hear reviews of the live aspect.

Oh and I did really enjoy the shooting aspect, it just felt better than GTA for some strange reason!

[Myth]

I've still only done one of the missions, spent the rest of my time doing hold ups and just general pissing about.

Love it

[Ajay1986]

FANTASTIC. Yep the framerate isnt perfect and there is tearing but who cares when a game is this fun. Ok its a GTA Clone but i think it will be more enjoyable then any of the GTA games esspecially with online play, until the new GTA comes out of course.

This is a must buy for me cant wait to have some crazy online games.

[Ajay1986]

Also im so glad there is no weapon lock on, ive always hated lock on because it makes it far to easy. Having a normal aiming mode like other 3rd person shooters is far better.

edit. LOL i keep finding things i love about this, the explosions are the best ive seen in anygame along with the ragdolls they are just so fun. Hand to Hand combat has also been done really well so when you punch someone it looks and sounds like it hurts lol.

[Yoraths mullet]

Quality, just pulled a man from his car and he is juts about to give me some grief when another car ploughs him down then crashes into a water hydrant spraying water everywhere

[prinnysquad]

Tearing is very disappointing in a next gen game, and I laughed out loud on one bit where I was driving around aimlessly. At the bottom of a slight hill I came across a minor traffic jam, with about 7 cars all beeping and honking. As I muscled my way through them, the car at the front literally disappearedhttp://ntsc-uk.domino.org/images/smilie/wtf.gif.

Other than these (frankly ludicrous) techy issues, the game itself is very enjoyable. Ok, it's 'been-there, seen-that' missions, but they're still accomplished. The free-roaming is quality, especially with a buddy in the car moaning on about not getting any 'pussy'http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/images/smilie/biggrin.gif. The car handling is great - different for each car; maybe a little slippy but that's not a problem.

[Chain]

Tearing is a stalwart of current 360 games I'm afraid. Let's hope it's a short term problem.

Can the demo be played online?

[Myth]

Can the demo be played online?

Nope

[Jusatsushi]

Is the demo on a timer at all? I hate timed demo's...

[Myth]

No timer, get as long as you like to wreck havock.

[Jusatsushi]

Great stuff! Gonna have me some fun tearing up the streets Dukes of Hazard style this evening... Yeee-haw!

[prinnysquad]

Has anyone driven a Shogun yet? It's superb at doing a reverse-180 spin-accelerate manoeuvre. Poetry in motion!

[Yoshimax]

Liking this - Was a bit disappointed at first but as previously mentioned some of the situations that can arise are great - was having a shoot-out with my buddy and the cops (after robbing the gun store) and as the cop leaps out and starts firing some motorist gets spooked and floors it - I swear the cop ragdolled about 10 meters in the air :D

Physics FTW !!!!

I'm away for another shot.

[prinnysquad]

There's lots of little touches that I've enjoyed so far. In the middle of a gang/police firefight, and old tramp woman flings away her zimmer frame and starts running. Your mate in the car hangs out of the window spraying machine gun fire everywhere. The waypoint system is dynamic - it highlights a path for you to go towards your goal - if you miss it the route re-draws itself from your current location. The hold-ups are well implemented: in the mechanics, the cashier just flung the money on the desk; in the booze shop, the woman led you out the back to a safe full of cash (but you had to keep the crosshair fixed on her).

Its growing on me with every minute of play.

[GODZOOKI]

Im not too impressed with the demo, its not made me want to buy the full game unless its really cheap.

[Yoshimax]

Oh I'm sold - Just need to get that live on the go and we're in business :)

The combat is really nicely done - like the left/right swing being on different buttons and I love the free-aiming gunplay - much, much better than GTA's system.

[Ajay1986]

lol i cant wait for the live play, get the NTSC gang running round causing havok.

[wush]

I busted my way out of the demo barrier*, got up on to the train tracks and derailed a moving train with a pipe bomb. :D

*Park a car side on with a red demo barrier, with about a metre between the drivers side and the barrier. Double tap Y to jump out of the car and through the barrier. Beware of falling through the floor in outer areas!

[Myth]

I was waiting for someone to crack a way through, cheers :)

[Yoshimax]

Genius Wush - Christ it's been up a matter of hours and people are pushing at the edges of it already :D

[prinnysquad]

SUPERB! Just tried it, success!!http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/images/smilie/biggrin.gif

[canuhavebabies]

I busted my way out of the demo barrier*, got up on to the train tracks and derailed a moving train with a pipe bomb. :D

*Park a car side on with a red demo barrier, with about a metre between the drivers side and the barrier. Double tap Y to jump out of the car and through the barrier. Beware of falling through the floor in outer areas!
thanks so much! http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/images/smilie/biggrin.gif

[prinnysquad]

I broke through the red barrier that goes over the bridge to the North, got about halfway over it and a loading screen came up, next thing, my bloke is falling in slo-mo through the air towards the river below, and the car above me explodes. Currently swimming through floating tyres....


...and it wont let me back on land. You swim through the landhttp://ntsc-uk.domino.org/images/smilie/mad.gif. Warping back to shore (the start http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/images/smilie/mad.gif) i shoot a bloke in the head and the polygon shell of him drops to the ground out of empty space. http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/images/smilie/smile.gif This game will give plenty of amusement for those of us who laugh at glitches!

[angelx]

I had 10 mins on this and it really is fun, The African American leader has some dodgy lip sync going on though... Don't much care for another gang banging story but live could make it worth it. Looks fantastic though and I tried to shoot a car to stop it but just got mowed down, very funny!

[Dezm0nd]

Good demo this, really feels like the closest thing to GTA. I'd say it's just as fun, the demo needs a few bug fixes and the enviroment needs a tiny bit more atmoshpere.

Other than that i'm sold.

[Silvergun X]

Agreed, i'm loving it. The hold-ups are great!

[Jusatsushi]

I dunno... there's stuff it does really well, like the manual aiming and on-foot controls in general, but there doesn't seem a lot going on in this playground to actually play with apart from fun with physics.

I have been looking all over for a way to get on top of a building and look out over the game-world, but damned if I can find a way to get off ground level!

Don't get me started on the slowdown though. Whenever a fast car hits top speed it just chugs, which can be a hassle when you have half a police force chasing you.

Enjoyable, promising, but not without a few issues that could see it getting very old very quickly in my opinion. Multiplayer could save it though.

[dvdmike]

glad im not the only one getting the really bad slowdown and the pop-up ? its ok but not worth £49.99 imho pop up i was not expecting in next gen its just another promising game released unfinished. rockstar will not be losing sleep they have a big weapon : charm saints is a good looking driver 4

[glazza]

Slowdow??..What slowdown ??

Ive drove all manner of veichles in this demo and not come across any slowdown as off yet and have been playing this for hours.

Top game and a must buy.

G.

[dvdmike]

Glazza what conection are you using 360 to tv ?

[Yoraths mullet]

I think I have now gone as far as I can with the demo, got a bit bored because of the limitations of what you can do. Still reckon I will but it, all depends on the Live play.

[Gavin]

Ross - mine paused at one point and didn't go any further, had to stop it and start it again....

Game seems ok, but how many ****ing times do we have to moan about tearing issues before devs will take notice??? It's just totally unacceptible on a console with this much horsepower!!

[Spatial101]

Comedy moment as I pelted around the streets full tilt in an open topped car, only to smash head on into an NPC in a similar vehicle.

Both of us smashed through the glass and sailed past one another, ending up with me in a crumpled heap in some rubbish bags :lol:

[Geezer]

Aparently this is an old build and the tearing and framerate issues have improved a lot since. I enjoyed the demo, so I've stuck in my preorder :)

[dvdmike]

Aparently this is an old build and the tearing and framerate issues have improved a lot since. I enjoyed the demo, so I've stuck in my preorder The demo's of late are turning me off the games i know its better to get a demo before release but i like the after retail finished demos al la table tennis

[Myth]

its ok but not worth £49.99 imho

Which is why you buy it online.

[dvdmike]

Which is why you buy it online.Not the point i was going for its not worth its rrp if the demo represents the final build

[MJR_UK]

I loved the demo, september is going to be an expensive month for games what with this, dead rising and test drive unlimited, but who cares!

[glazza]

Glazza what conection are you using 360 to tv ?

360 component lead m8ty :).

[dvdmike]

360 component lead m8tyim on vga this has made the frame rate slower in past games

[dc-arena]

I thought I'd really, really, really hate this, but I actually enjoyed the demo. Kinda in a sick way though as I just enjoyed stealing cars and shooting people while driving stolen car. Technically impressive, with detailed textures, lightning and a good amount of destructable stuff. But FFS the tearing is AWFUL. The cutscenes even did it lolz..

So, how varied are the missions going to be? I just don't know if I could play through it, and it would be a waste of money, I am not really into these types of games.

[Rossco]

Just completed the demo there and its bloody fun, cars are quite twitchy and the controls are a bit weird but thats just down to me not being used to them yet as I keep trying to press GTA buttons! :lol:

Still ace fun though, I'll have a proper play tomorrow just cruising around and seeing everything you can do.

Oh, and the explosions are class!! :D

[JRMacumber]

I'm glad so many of you are enjoying it as much as I did.

:)

[MartyG]

Folks - this is a FIRST PLAY thread - i.e. how the game plays, not how long it takes to d/l and they are no more relevant that shipping posts. Please don't post them, they will simply be removed.

For those unsure what first play entails, please read our guide (http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showthread.php?t=48654)

[capcom_suicide]

I've not really been a fan of the GTA series, as I just couldn't get on with the targeting system.

After an impressive 55minute download last night, (8mb DL) I fired up the demo. This really is a GTA rip off! :happy: The controls are just the same, but no "Lock On" was a pain. The missions were fun, and the visuals seem pretty crisp, yet somehow not "Next Gen" in my mind. It sort of feels like a smooth renderware game, but the textures seem bland to me, and the characters are lacking in fluidity.

I found myself unable to connect with this game in just the same way as the GTA games. Frustrating, as I know how much others have enjoyed that series.

I think GTA fans will be in for a treat though. The game seems to be well implemented, with a good overall "Feel". The cut scenes are in game engine which I like, and the voice acting was "Dope" The visuals are far better than the PS2 games, so I'm sure they will be good enough for most people. (I can be a graphics nazi at times, so take my negatives with a pinch of salt)

It may just be me, but I found the camera clumsey. If I reversed a car, I couldn't get the camera to turn back round fast enough, and ended up in a few pickles. It may need some time to get used to.

I'm glad we get to DL these demos. This won't get a purchase from me, but I'm sure will satisfy GTA fans whilst they wait for the next "Official" follow up. This is deffo a game that should be "Tried", as I'm sure it will appeal to a large number of gamers.

[oblivion_6]

Played this last nite, wasnt that impressed tbh. The gfx didnt strike me as being anything beyond xbox, and the gameplay, although at some points interesting, left a lot to be desired.

One thing I found strange was the ability of the NPCs to survive for so long, I was knocking them down in a 4x4 at full speed, which you wouldnt really expect anyone cept clark kent to get up from, but i had grannies and pimps dusting themselves off and walking away.

Finally the tearing on this was an absolute shocker, Ive never seen it so bad on a console game, its the kinda thing I would expect out of a PC game if I ran it beyond my rigs capabilities. The frame rate looked very sluggish especially during the cut scenes when it just looked as if they were walking in treacle. Im interested to know why this runs at 30fps instead of 60 as I cant for the life of me see where the increase in gfx quality at a cost to fps has occured.

Saying all this Im sure it will be a hit as people use it as a stop gap till GTAIV turns up

[ExtremePabs]

I quite liked this there was a bit a slowdown but I was pleasantly surprised as I didnt expect much from this game!!

[spagmasterswift]

Hmm, didn't float my boat - after playing this game so many times before via GTA its all a bit tired innit?! Loved the look of your character (I made him a fat white man), especially at times the colouring goes one-colour (often when you see him in the car) - not sure that makes sense as its hard to explain but the look of the game for me was the best thing about it. The lighting from the police car was pretty wicked.

Its the differences from GTA that stood out the most - getting out the car and not magically passing through the open door, but actually having to walk around it. Hitting people with the open door while driving along, etc.

Won't be buying this for single player but if the online is hype, as I imagine it will be, then I'll get involved.

[Kotatsu Neko]

Just played this now, and wow, what a staggeringly unoriginal, devastingly generic and soul-less GTA ripp-off. And with an added bonus of the same frame rate as Driller on the C64!

And as a game, absolute dross of the highest order. Why aren't the car controls on the triggers like EVERY Xbox driving game ever made... unless.. they're using PS2 GTA controls as even to change those would be too daringly different. Where is the lock-on system for the aiming? Or am I supposed to be forced to stand still just so I can hit someone? Why does the rag doll look like moon gravity? Why is the AI so, well, non existant?

Truly abysmal in every way, and I am so sick and tired of this retarded gangsta hip-hop crap. It's lame, very lame.

Can I have Dead Rising now please? Thanks.

[Yoshimax]

I had a feeling you might feel that way about it :)

On a plus side I like how we don't have to suffer the pop-in-o-vision when driving medium to fast anymore - by biggest hate with GTA (crashing into walls that haven't been loaded/drawn yet).

I still like this - had a good laugh with it last night.

I'd imagine the buttons are editable ;)

[Simmy]

Really enjoyed the demo, it is the blatent GTA copy that we were all expecting, but fun all the same, and a definate buy.

Graphically I think it stands up quite well, more of a high res GTA than a next gen GTA, but purty all the same. The game world also feels quite solid, more so than GTA SA I would say, and that adds allot to the reality of the mayhem which you can cause.

Had the usual "first time you get your hands on a new GTA" fun, just exploring the map, stealing cars and discovering the best ways to kill tramps on benches (I'm sick). Combat system seems good, but unlike others I think I will miss the lock on, only time will tell though. Car control again seems good, but not up their with GTA, mainly because of the below. Physics are the main addition to me, was a great moment when I first kicked a tyre and it started bouncing off down the street.

Agreee with what Neko is saying about the controls, it seems quite an odd layout especially in the cars, as they have just copied the PS2 inputs, but in doing this lost any analogue control. You can switch to have accel / brake on the left stick, but that just feels wrong as you have to steer on the same stick as well. Hoping they allow you to use the triggers in the main game, but I some how doubt it.

I'm also a little worried on how much there is to do in the game world. Tried to do a bit of exploring but there was not allot to find. I'm hoping it is just a cut down demo, and the main game will be full of hidden secrets and hard to reach locations, as at the moment it seems quite limited when compared to GTA3 let alone GTA SA. From the map it looks like the demo map is a tiny part of the whole, and therefore hopefully the exploration side will be there, as well as the toys to find and mess around with. Did see there is a airport on the main map, maybe there will be aircraft after all.

Also where the hell are the trucks, lots of trailers all over the place, but nothing to pull them with. I realised we were not getting bikes, but the range of vehicles seems very limited with only cars about.

And I'm not quite understanding the wanted system in the game, I can go on a cop killing rampage but not really attract much police attention at all, and what little I may have disapears in seconds. Worried that the game may be a little easy, without having hords of cops, feds and soldiers on your ass when you've been a bad boy :D

Any way looking forward to getting the main game, not quite GTA, but enough to keep me happy for a couple of months it would seem.

[capcom_suicide]

I had a feeling you might feel that way about it :)

On a plus side I like how we don't have to suffer the pop-in-o-vision when driving medium to fast anymore - by biggest hate with GTA (crashing into walls that haven't been loaded/drawn yet).

I still like this - had a good laugh with it last night.

I'd imagine the buttons are editable ;)
Yeah. The game's not for me, but like I (and a few others have said) it's well worth a go, as the GTA style game clearly appeals to a large segment.

Saying that, the online side may be very fun!

We will see.

[Simmy]

Oh and I got no slowdown, and did not notice any tearing (never do but from some of the screen shots I've seen it would be hard to miss) through component in 720P.

And I'd just like to say as someone thats had a 360 fail with a checkerbox effect on screen, THQ are evil to put up a demo wall that looks exactly like it. I thought my 2nd machine had gone, until I calmed down and saw demo in the wall :dry:

[Kotatsu Neko]

I also found rather amusingly I was able to crash straight through one of the 'demo' red walls. Couldn't get much further though before it crashed.

[Concept]

What's the humour like? Is it one of them deadly serious po-faced GTA clones with all the charm of a Tony Blair parallel universe gin-soaked tramp?

[spagmasterswift]

Nothing that I saw or heard made me laugh tbh. Infact there was a huge lack of people chattin at all compared with GTA:SA

[prinnysquad]

Some of the comments people make when they're reading newspapers are quite amusing. Can't think of any off the top of my head though.

[AlonzoUK]

Played the demo yesterday and it exceeded my expectations (didn't have much hope for it :). It takes itself a little too seriously however the gang system that's been implemented works well and the crash physics are a lot of fun. Also enjoyed the radio station on the demo as well - decent hip hop/rap for once! Another nice feature is how you can hear the radio stations playing from passing cars etc. Some nice touches like that.

The camera in the car works similiar to GTA for me (PC versions) - to correct it press both shoulder buttons to point camera in right direction :)

My money is going to be spent on Dead Rising rather than this though.

[Simmy]

What's the humour like? Is it one of them deadly serious po-faced GTA clones with all the charm of a Tony Blair parallel universe gin-soaked tramp?

Quite a few folks making amusing comments, however to me they are more specific to what you are doing rather than just the random comments/jibes that pedestrains in GTA make. Some of the quotes when you steal cars are funny !

[capcom_suicide]

Some of the comments people make when they're reading newspapers are quite amusing. Can't think of any off the top of my head though.
An NPC saying "Nice Titties" to a femal NPC made me smile.

[Ajay1986]

lol someone from one of the other gangs was trying to kill me and shouted "Im gonna **** you like your my friends sister"

[Simmy]

There's allot of "b*tches" and "n*gers" in the game I have to say :o

edit : From a language point of view :happy:

[spagmasterswift]

There's allot of "b*tches" and "n*gers" in the game I have to say :o

edit : From a language point of view :happy:

Whats the deal with Demo's not being rated? The was no warning that this was gonna have profanity and violence before I played it. OK, so theres no blood but some of the swearing is a little harsh. :hmm:

[.A.Perfect.Kiss.Goodbye.]

If you have the family settings on you wouldnt be able to download it.

[prinnysquad]

NPC reading newspaper: "Alderman Hughes Says Crime Is Dead", just before she gets a good knifing.

[spagmasterswift]

But what if I dont have kids but had one of my 'black' friends round for tea. I fire up the demo and next thing you know we are both looking uncomfortably at our shoes - well me at my shoes and him at his phat trainers!!

Sorry, I'd not thought about the lack of warnings on Demos before is all...

[prinnysquad]

On the map, about 2cm North of Brown Baggers Liqour store, theres a courtyard to a block of flats. Standing completely on its own, away from the rubbish bags, is an old rusty cooker. If you kick it the oven door bounces open. THIS is where some kind of side mission item should be hidden! A hidden package, a side mission as a binman, anything! I hope Volition have put extra things into the final build.

[DavidFallows]

This is fun. :lol:

Nice ragdoll. I hit someone and they flew head-first into a lamp post at 40mph making a horrible 'KRLUNK!!' noise. His legs and arms flayed awkwardly as he surely suffered a broken neck and spine.

Also, I noticed a piece of car debris hit someone in the mid-section knocking them for six. :lol:

I never liked GTA, I'd go as far as saying it's shit... this is just the same but has nice ragdoll and a satisfying melee system... I think I may pur-chase. :D

ALSO!! - the character creation is ASTOUNDING!!! Even in its limited demo form... My mate spent under ten minutes creating Philip Lynott and it looked spot-on. :lol:

[Brats]

I'm amazed at how much this copies GTA. Even small things that would be easy to change, like the trigger points being columns of light and the way the screen fades out when you enter one. Or the way you enter vehicles and close the door after driving off.

However there are several things it does better than GTA. The on foot sections are much better and the gun play for me is a vast improvement. I hated the lock on system in the GTA games and could never understand why they didn't just steal the two analogue stick set up from a game like Metal Arms. Saints Row is the first game to do this (AFAIK) and the on foot sections are much better for it.

I also prefer the map and waypoint system. I disliked the GTA map which is so tiny unless you expand it, but then it becomes useless. The way the route on the map changes if you take short cuts is a nice touch.

The game world feels more solid too. My main criticism of the GTA engine is that it feels like a rubber city, especially on foot when it just didn't feel that your character connected 'right' with the world. Saints Row just 'feels' better to me, even though the demo level is fairly basic and flat, kind of like the first section of Vice City.

And the game is one massive piss-take of gang culture. Anyone who can't see that needs their irony glands replaced. The characters are great, just the right side of being parody to be interesting. It hasn't got the obvious film references of GTA, but I like it all the same.

[DavidFallows]

I like the driving better as well. I like it how you can spin the back wheels with the hand-brake on and then let go for a boost start. :)

Here's looking forward to online mayhem. Who's with me in 'Combat 18' then?

[prinnysquad]

It's quite amusing in the church with the boarded up windows, where in the vestry you can see pics of semi-naked women plastered on the wall. There's also some big guns on the wall that you can't pick up http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/images/smilie/dry.gif

[Concept]

And the game is one massive piss-take of gang culture. Anyone who can't see that needs their irony glands replaced. The characters are great, just the right side of being parody to be interesting. It hasn't got the obvious film references of GTA, but I like it all the same.

I was asking because I haven't had chance to play this yet and I've seen no media other than a few screens, therefore I didn't know.

Good to see Saint's Row has some life to it.

One of the things why GTA stands out for me is that it's got a very openly mix of British and American humour going on all over the show in art design, level design, music, scripting, everything.

[Simmy]

Have to say the waypoint system is great, and has been needed in GTA from the start. The ability to navigate around a new city is so much easier with this, which is basically basic sat nav.

Looks like there is quite allot to be done with communications, in the menu there is a phone with contacts and a few other options. Maybe you can call for back up in the full game.

Biggest disapointment so far, is that Vanilla Ice is not voicing his look a like :lol: he's not got allot else to do nowadays !

[spagmasterswift]

Biggest disapointment so far, is that Vanilla Ice is not voicing his look a like :lol: he's not got allot else to do nowadays !

Whose the brer who does the man gang leaders voice? Its soooo familiar >_< Great voice acting from him tbh!!

[Simmy]

Whose the brer who does the man gang leaders voice? Its soooo familiar >_< Great voice acting from him tbh!!

Its the guy that played the crazy guy in Men at Work Keith David
- or for all you guys who have not seen that classic, the arbitor in Halo 2 !

[spagmasterswift]

Its the guy that played the crazy guy in Men at Work Keith David
- or for all you guys who have not seen that classic, the arbitor in Halo 2 !

Ah, from John Cussack classic 'Hot Pursuit' fame :)

Also got him saying "Is it the frank or the beans?" in my head for some reason...:lol:

Ta, was tortured all last night :D

[prinnysquad]

In the north east of the map, you can use a shotgun to blow up the petrol pumps (where a cop was hiding, taking shots at me). A nice meaty explosion followed by half a dozen little blue jets coming out of the ground, burning continuously. A neat touch. :)

[Simmy]

Also got him saying "Is it the frank or the beans?" in my head for some reason...:lol:

That's the more recent film I was trying to think of :happy: He's one of the bit part comedy greats tbh !

The commie bastard gets no food!

[Yoshimax]

Aye the character customisation will be awesome online :)

Amazing how physics can bring a game to life - I laughed out loud several times yesterday as somebody was propelled miles through the air.

Another one I hit a guy who kind of clung to the front of the car before rolling over the windscreen, onto my lap and then out the door :D quality

[Brats]

I was asking because I haven't had chance to play this yet and I've seen no media other than a few screens, therefore I didn't know.

That comment wasn't aimed at you dude :).

[PeteJ]

Just finished the demo - I'm very surprised it hasn't completed crashed and burned! It looked so very average in the videos! Shame it is so blantently GTA but there is obviously a market for it.

Like others have said the controls need sorting - triggers for driving is a must. Even after half an hour with the demo I was still trying to drive away using right trigger. Also you can't kick people when holding a gun. Bleh.

Didn't experience any technical problems like others have, 720p. In fact, I was quite surprised at how solid it was. And I entered two buildings without any loading - result!

The Live side is the selling point now, the demo has put the game in my sights. Just hope the missions are quite varied.

[Jebus]

Like others have said the controls need sorting - triggers for driving is a must.
I hate triggers for driving, I much prefer the buttons!

[PeteJ]

I hate triggers for driving, I much prefer the buttons!Fair enough, but at least give the option :p

[Jebus]

Maybe controls will be customise-able in the full game? Most games are aren't they?

[HaHaUK]

Aye the character customisation will be awesome online


Was worried that once you created a character, you couldn't change him, but stumbled upon a plastic surgeon yesterday which is a cool feature.

In the north east of the map, you can use a shotgun to blow up the petrol pumps (where a cop was hiding, taking shots at me). A nice meaty explosion followed by half a dozen little blue jets coming out of the ground, burning continuously. A neat touch. :)

And you can drive a car straight into it too!!

[Vib Gibbon]

Wow, this game looks a whole lot better than GTA, no mean feat considering that so much more work has to go into creating so much content in a sandbox game. It adds custom character creation, physics and some quality ragdoll to anim work that makes throwing yourself through your windscreen fun, better shooting from cars and really useful map to find objectives. Yet the game still keeps much of GTA's humour and has some well-written and acted cutscenes. Its also incredible that this is just the demo. I haven't read much about it but the promise of Live extras looks more than appealing.

OK, so there are similarities to GTA (just as with any game there are similarities to others in the genre), but it works so hard to improve on GTA while not dropping any features that GTA has got right. However you feel about it Saints' Row will also force Rockstar to up their game with GTA Next-Gen.

[Kotatsu Neko]

I hate triggers for driving, I much prefer the buttons!That's just nuts, sorry, but it is! The triggers were specifically designed by SEGA for driving games. Lots of analogue, bringing real control to acceleration and braking for the first time in pad controlled driving games.

One of the best pad innovations well, since Nintendo stuck an analogue stick on there.

I find playing driving games on the PS2 near impossible due to the crappy flat face button controls... and the abysmal analogue stick.

[Jebus]

That's just nuts, sorry, but it is! The triggers were specifically designed by SEGA for driving games. Lots of analogue, bringing real control to acceleration and braking for the first time in pad controlled driving games.

One of the best pad innovations well, since Nintendo stuck an analogue stick on there.

I find playing driving games on the PS2 near impossible due to the crappy flat face button controls... and the abysmal analogue stick.Well I'm not apologising, that's my opinion. http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/images/smilie/smile.gif

I'm used to the buttons for accelerating, I like it that way. Are the triggers touch sensitive? I've noticed that because the buttons are you get the effect of slamming the gas down, or slowly accelerating.

Surely if you want real control you'll buy a steering wheel and pedals combo if one becomes available?

[Freddo]

The triggers allow a far far greater degree of analog sensitivity than face buttons ever could, you can floor it hard or lightly stroke the throttle, or anything inbetween.

[vanpeebles]

i play a lot of driving games and triggers dont matter on a game like this, you drive the cars flat out anyway

[PeteJ]

It's what your used to innit!

I had a cool moment at the end of the demo during the shootout - the rival gang boss came driving into the 'battle' at high speed, at which point I shot the generic red exploding barrel sending vehicle and him flying waaaaaaaaay across the river :D It looked so comical!

I really enjoyed the intro to this game, thought it was actually quite intense! But then I'm knee-deep in The Wire at the moment, and this kind of thing just feels right :p

[Daithi]

There's been a THQ rep floating around forums yesterday and today answering questions about the demo/full game. He has confirmed you can map driving to the triggers.

[Rossco]

Nicely, that will make a big difference. :) As I just couldnt get used it it the other way for some reason, even though I'm used to it in GTA, it just didnt feel right for some reason this time.

Gonna stick it on now and not do the missions, just arse about and see what mayhem I can cause. :D

[Chain]

Not particularly impressed. It really is so similar to GTA in too many ways.

The rag doll physics don't really amount to a whole lot to me, and they're not helped by a low frame frate [not smooth enough]. Oh, I do like the map with the dots showing you the way, and the ai seems OK, one my gang ducking and taking cover behind a car. Other than that, I really have a "Been there done that ALL before" feeling.

If this was the next-gen GTA4 I'd feel let down to be honest. It's just a higher res update. It even has pop-up!

Someone at Rockstar needs to call their lawyers....

[Rossco]

I'm loving this now. Just spent a good hour or so on it there. Great fun until it froze after finishing the big shootout mission near the end of it.

Kitted my guy out in some cool gear, then started just running over randoms, shooting some gang members and then a police guy came along who I promptly kicked to death and stole his shotgun! :D

Then a trip to the gun shop was in order to stock up a bit more for some mayhem, and pipe bomb's were the order of the day. Man, I love these things, so much fun, chuck one at a car and it instantly explodes in a ball of fire, taking out anyone else near them and there's also the slight chance that you'll knock someone else out with some debris.

When I had 2-3 cop cars on me, I chucked one in the middle of them and they exploded as usual but the bumper of the front car came flying off smacking my guy in the gut and throwing him into the water! Genius! :lol:

One thing I cant get to work though is the smashing yourself through the windscreen of the car when crashing head on with something else.. :( How does it work?



All in all, I'm really enjoying this, Its identical to GTA when you think about it but the physics thing is quite fun to play with and I really do prefer the combat in this game, its such a great step forward in my opinion.

[stormbreak]

I was hoping that they would of given the option to switch around the triggers and the buttons for driving instead of the left stick thing...

The buttons aren't even analog, they really need to put the triggers as acceleration/brakes =(
To be honest, it is good that they aren't analog, on the PS2 I would sometimes hold down the button a bit looser, which would make me slow so eveery 5 minutes I had to keep forcing the button down...

[Fireproofradiator]

I thought next gen would mean an end to juddery frame rates? It kind of destroys the (juvenile) gangsta-style, pop-pop-pop, drive-by, be-atch attitude if you're getting 15 fps when you walk round the inside of a cathedral...

[marcus]

Never played a game which is such a direct copy of another game before as this, but strangely I find myself wishing I could do ALL the things I could do in GTA because of it, by making the game so similar the omission of certain things makes the game feel more lightweight in comparison. Little things, like the lack of blood, why cant I kick cars, why dont cars blow up, why couldnt I climb various ladders or run up stairs without having to press jump - minor really I guess but its all about immersion with games like this. That said, I did want a GTA for the 360 and it looks swanky in HD, its a certain purchase for me even if it does at this stage feel like GTA-Lite to me.

[Paleface]

(cars do blow up, it just takes a *lot* of effort. Go buy some pipebombs, and make sure the bomb lands in the middle of the car. It's pretty impressive when it works, tbh).

Moderately impressed - it's fun, feels a lot like GTA without feeling <i>noticeably</i> poorer. I also really, really like the map, and the fact that you get directions to any waypoint you've set. That's neat.

[Dezm0nd]

Anyone else by about 8 bongs, some cognac and a few spliffs and got him absolutely mashed? pretty funky. I do like this game alot, and the more i play it, the better it gets.

[Rossco]

Never played a game which is such a direct copy of another game before as this, but strangely I find myself wishing I could do ALL the things I could do in GTA because of it, by making the game so similar the omission of certain things makes the game feel more lightweight in comparison. Little things, like the lack of blood, why cant I kick cars, why dont cars blow up, why couldnt I climb various ladders or run up stairs without having to press jump - minor really I guess but its all about immersion with games like this. That said, I did want a GTA for the 360 and it looks swanky in HD, its a certain purchase for me even if it does at this stage feel like GTA-Lite to me.Marcus pretty much sums it up well here the same I would. GTA Lite.

The blowing cars up is weird, in GTA you riddle a car with bullets and eventually it'll blow up, just didnt happen for me with this, had to trash it to ****, or just use pipe bombs, which are great fun anyway. But its always handy to pop a few shots into the car when there 2 or 3 cops behind it and it explodes taking out all the enemies. Hopefully, they'll fix that a bit.

The stairs thing is weird though, there was a set of 2 or 3 stairs when I was driving about and I needed to go over them, In GTA this would be no problem, drive up to them and thats it, but in this, my car just stopped dead and no matter how many times I tried, it didnt do it, just registered them as an invisible wall which you couldnt get through. Very poor that was! :(

I'm going to play it again now though and see what other goodies I can find. :)

[supersmithy]

Played it for about an hour last night, and nothing struck me as being particuarly special about it. For me, all the cars seemed like they were driving with butter coated tyres.. I dunno.

Also, the graphics.. I thought this was next gen - looked like a slightly beefed up xbox 1 game to me - and to get a noticably low FPS at times - come on man ¬_¬.

Really like the ragdoll peds though, and holdups are fun.

All the physics seem a bit mishmashed to me - cars flying all over the place, cars randomly stopping when you land on your bumper after a jump.. Cars randomly bouncing back up into the air after hitting the floor.. But then again, it is just a demo, so I can't hold that against it!

Seems like another GTA clone that will have some things better, and some things worse. I'll buy it anyway, just so i can run over pedestrians at high speed. :D

[Tobal]

I think the high 'HP' of the cars in the game would be useful for multiplayer as it going to be taking punishment from 4-5 people shooting at it, if it had a GTA style hit point no body would use the cars.

I found it slightly disappointing; frame-rate was unstable when driving around, there no FPS mode for accurate shooting (I was looking for a GTA style 1 shot gas tank explosion with skill). So far isn’t ‘a must have title’ for me, it really does depend on how good the multiplayer if I’m to buy it.

[revisedgenocide]

I love getting the odd NPC stuck in the front seats of your car when your mowing a load of them down. The ragdoll when theyre stuck in the front portion of your car is just funny. Every time i swerved the body would slide across and the legs would bob casually upside down.

[Yoshimax]

The demo seems like it might be from slightly older code - hopefully the finished article will be a bit more optimised.

Regarding shootin the cars I found aiming at the area where the gas tank is tends to satisfy :D

[Ajay1986]

Got the Ak-47 yesterday and that just cuts thru the cars and blows them up in no time, Also got molotov cocktails which were rather disappointing although they did look nice.

[Fat_Bob]

got into the demo a bit last night, just wondered how you could hold up a store. I like the lack of lock on but is there the ability to aim using a cross hair? It makes it all the more satisfying when going for those head shots.

Also how did you find an AK47. Guuess i need to spend a bit more time with the demo.

FB

[Rossco]

Got the Ak-47 yesterday and that just cuts thru the cars and blows them up in no time, Also got molotov cocktails which were rather disappointing although they did look nice.How the hell did you get molotovs? Only thing like that I seen in the demo is pipe bombs which pale in comparision. :(

Ak's are good, got them off of one of the rival gang members if I remember correctly.

[EvilBoris]

They've done a neat job of cloning GTA, they've got it spot on, even right down to the shit framerate.

Ragdoll death is always worth my money though

[stormbreak]

(cars do blow up, it just takes a *lot* of effort. Go buy some pipebombs, and make sure the bomb lands in the middle of the car. It's pretty impressive when it works, tbh).

Moderately impressed - it's fun, feels a lot like GTA without feeling <i>noticeably</i> poorer. I also really, really like the map, and the fact that you get directions to any waypoint you've set. That's neat.I guess I am the only one who found it easy to get a car to explode?
It only takes around 2 magazines with the Pistol shooting at the bonnet.

Oh and some gang members hold molotovs, you can find one by beating them to death.

[Soi]

They've done a neat job of cloning GTA, they've got it spot on, even right down to the shit framerate.

Ragdoll death is always worth my money though

The physics is great. Made a car fly like 50 feet with a pipe bomb.

[EvilBoris]

The physics is great. Made a car fly like 50 feet with a pipe bomb.

yeah I had a comedy moment where I car popped into the air, I ran away and it landed on my head.

[Silvergun X]

I'm playing it now, not awfully hard to destroy a car!

It takes a few more shotgun shells than I would've thought, but a few pops at the bonnet and boom, up it goes, all in flames.

[Ajay1986]

Well the cocktails where random as fook. I was getting chased by police near the forgive and forget where loads of the Saints tend to be, so i got out of my car to kill the police and one of the fellow gang members threw one at the cop. So i killed him and picked them up, they look really nice but damage wise were disappointing.

The AK you have to leave the demo area for, basically outside the demo area is a basketball court with an AK in the middle that respawns every 15 seconds or so so you can get plenty of ammo. I'll try take a pic of the map to show where it is if anyone wants that.

[dcmk]

really dislike this game..

wrong on so many levels... developers must have just thought 'right we can get GTA style sales figures if we just take everything they did, beef up the graphics a lil' and slap a next-gen tag on it before they do ! easy money.

they aint even tried to do anything different on the first 20 min i played:pft:

[Yoshimax]

Forget about the SP - online is where I've got my fingers crossed this will shine !

Turning out to be a very marmite title though 'innit

[Concept]

Meh. There's being inspired, and then there's being 'inspired' verging on the level of plagurism. I have more to say on this but I'm too lazy to type it right now.

Needless to say you know a game is taking the piss when it can't even be bothered to go so far as to change the various typefonts used on screen to differentiate itself from its 'source material'.

Script is hilarious too (not in a good way).

Perhaps I'm being a little harsh. It's current-gen GTA gameplay with tarted up graphics for the console market (if you ignore the diabolical frame rate, and don't expect - bar the increase in texture resolution - anything in terms of next-gen polygonal complexity).

[erhgiez]

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/6923/cimg1264xh8.jpghttp://www.kipaddotta.com/images/john-travolta.jpg

[dvdmike]

Its still missing rockstar's charm but i had fun on it today still prefer driver 4 to this