Saints Row then.....

[Qazimod]

It's the standard RRP for most 360 games. Knock a tenner off if you buy it online, more if you import. It's no more expensive than Prey, NNN, Oblivion etc. Doesn't mean it's not expensive, but it's nothing to do with this particular title.

Ah, oops. I thought most were around £40...

[Takizawa]

I spotted a post earlier that mentioned targets being highlighted on your map during the Hitman activity...I'm sure this didnt happen for me.

They show up as a crosshair on your map within a certain proximity, so a bit of looking around does need to be done. A word of warning though, DON'T take a homie along with you as if like me, you were about to take the target down with a knife as youre supposed to and he comes in all guns ablazing, the hit is ruined! Funny, but annoying!

I just did a stronghold storming and was god dam amazing fun, me and one of my crew took out about 30 rival gang members then blew the whole place up. Got my hands on some meaty weapons now too.

Lovin this!

[Rowan Morrison]

Though standing in the middle of the road waiting for a vehicle with more than two doors to drive past so you can fit everyone inside can take a while sometimes.

Yeah, that's a downside; the traffic is often few and far between. I was playing a mission yesterday where I had to escort a truck back to our neighbourhood, and my car blew up. The truck wouldn't move unless I was within a certain distance of it. I'd jumped out of the car and the truck had stopped, and there was no other traffic around except a rival car next to the truck, shooting at it. So I ran towards the truck, but every time I crossed the escort threshold the truck moved on a few metres, then stopped again as it got ahead of me. It was as if they were offering me a lift and then pulling away over and over again. I couldn't get to the enemy car because it moved on with the truck. Gah! And no other traffic came at all - I ran all the way back to the HQ behind the stop-starting truck.

Same with the insurance missions - great fun. but the traffic sometimes dries up. In other places there's a fair amount of cars, so it's a little odd - the game can obviously handle the traffic. It's not the next-gen car bonanza you might have hoped for, but it's no worse than GTA.

I've noticed a couple of cars vanishing in front of me, but I think that might happen when a new 'zone' is entered because two cars on the freeway did it at the same time, just ahead of me.

[twohe]

This is sounding so good I'm almost tempted to take a walk into town to pick it up so I can play it tonight.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

Quite amazing how this thread has turned around.

Indeed. I first thought this game looked shit and it sounded like shit judging by early screenshots and previews. I pretty much ignored it, didn't even bother to download the demo from marketplace as I was expecting another True Crime/Godfather. But then the reviews started appearing, and they were all remarkably mild. As a self-confessed GTA whore I decided to give it a shot, and I am not disappointed at all with this game. And that's from someone who considers GTA:SA as his best game ever.

When it comes to straight gameplay, this game beats GTA. Simple as that. GTA purely wins on the whole package with its vehicles, music, setting and gorgeous lighteffects.

By the way, I found a useful and funny glitch. When you jump on top of a car and then press 'Y', you're instantly teleported to the drivers seat, taking over control. This also works when the car is actually moving. Useful for quick getaways (you save the time of dragging the driver out and getting in), handy to jumpstart into a hostage mission and a good way to nick police cars without having to go head-to-head with The Man.

[Takizawa]

This is sounding so good I'm almost tempted to take a walk into town to pick it up so I can play it tonight.

Do it, get it from Game then if you like it order from somewhere a little cheaper... £33.99 on shopto.net for example...

It really is good fun, I had a MASSIVE shoot out earlier with the Vice Kings and the cops, me and one of my dudes trying to hold out while cops were piling in and gang members kept turning up in thier badass vehicles. All to the backdrop of downtown with trains passing overhead and pedestrians running around screaming. I eventually had to bail though, so I jumped in a police dispatch car and drove off along the railway line...

Ooh and I love the music player now i've figured it out, it stops for cut scenes then carries on from the same point, the volume even lowers slighty when someone who's on a mission with you talks so you dont miss anything vital they have to say.

Cant praise this game enough!

[Roboplegic Wrongcock]

I love the territory shootouts I had a massive 25 min one last night in the shipping district me and my homies vs. the Vice Kings who had tried to retake the area.

It's much more tactical than GTA: SA where reclaiming your territory could be done in about 2 mins tops. My guy’s were pinned down by a vice king with a Rocket launcher until I popped his head with a well-taken sniper shot.

I also love that you can run into shops and recharge while the battles still going on.

[Mercury]

And I can just mention the homie system? Taking guys along with you on missions is great fun and actually useful.

Though standing in the middle of the road waiting for a vehicle with more than two doors to drive past so you can fit everyone inside can take a while sometimes.

Yeah, I had some comedy moments trying to get my 3 ho's into a car on one of the Snatch missions last night. All I could find was an ambulance so all four of us are legging it down the road being chased by a gun-toting gang. I like the fact that you have 30 seconds to revive people during the missions too - another thing well thought out to remove some of the frustration when one of your NPC's does something suicidal.

[Rev]

Is it worth the £49.99 tag I saw slapped onto boxes in Game? I thought those kind of prices went out with the SNES era... I mean, I'm no 360 owner so it doesn't matter to me, and I'm no cheapskate - I'd probably pay the same amount if it was something that I thought would be worth it. But isn't this just taking advantage of the kidz and screwing over everyone else?

All those KIDZZ that buy 18 rated games in game stores?

Oh. Yeah.

Well...y'know.

[Rowan Morrison]

Useful for quick getaways (you save the time of dragging the driver out and getting in), handy to jumpstart into a hostage mission and a good way to nick police cars without having to go head-to-head with The Man.

That reminds me, SR can look very nice at night when people are picked out in cars' headlights. It has some decent sunsets, too, though not as atmospheric as GTA:SA on the PS2.

Like others here, I'm looking forward to getting home and playing a few more missions and having a general lark about.

Roboplegic: I had a similar run-in with a rocket launcher guy, but when I turned and shot I noticed just too late that the green X was over him - he was on my side. Somehow one of my gang had got up on the roof and taken the launcher, bless him. He wasn't a bad shot missing me, he was aiming at the guys I was trying to kill. If only I hadn't been such a good shot.

I haven't tried any of the people you can phone for support yet, I must try that. I'd like to give each of the AI guys a name and some basic stats, like in Cannon Fodder, and try to get them through the whole game intact.

[Dude Ranch]

Stop making me want this .

[The Bag]

I haven't tried any of the people you can phone for support yet

I've only phoned the wheel woman, she does the driving - you tap the direction to turn at a junction. Don't know what it does with a waypoint set, will have to try that out.

[Rowan Morrison]

Stop making me want this .

I certainly won't go harping on about the mayhem missions, then, and how each one gives you a special bonus criteria like destroying sedans or using the uzi, and how you get different types of infinite ammo for each one, including pipe bombs and a wicked shotgun that blows an engine up in two blasts. And there's a combo system in it, and the damage goals keep getting higher and you can keep the combo going by shooting rival gang members (or civilians) in between cars. And how when you finish an activity you get the option to launch straight into the next level, and you usually do because it's a challenge and a hoot. No, none of that from me.

[twohe]

Enough already!

Right, off to Virgin it is then.

[therev]

I certainly won't go harping on about the mayhem missions, then, and how each one gives you a special bonus criteria like destroying sedans or using the uzi, and how you get different types of infinite ammo for each one, including pipe bombs and a wicked shotgun that blows an engine up in two blasts. And there's a combo system in it, and the damage goals keep getting higher and you can keep the combo going by shooting rival gang members (or civilians) in between cars. And how when you finish an activity you get the option to launch straight into the next level, and you usually do because it's a challenge and a hoot. No, none of that from me.

Freeway, infinite rocket launcher, lots of petrol tankers driving past.

Muhahahahaha.

I passed that Mayhem mission, funnily enough.

I've found at other times that it can be helpful to get up to 3 stars on the police meter before starting the Mayhem missions, so you don't get stuck in an area with no vehicles spawning.

Also, if you need a quick shot of respect, the Demolition Derby events don't take long to get through.

[Rowan Morrison]

Or how I threw a woman out of an SUV and as I drove off she shouted "at least give me my pills!"

[Dude Ranch]

I certainly won't go harping on about the mayhem missions, then, and how each one gives you a special bonus criteria like destroying sedans or using the uzi, and how you get different types of infinite ammo for each one, including pipe bombs and a wicked shotgun that blows an engine up in two blasts. And there's a combo system in it, and the damage goals keep getting higher and you can keep the combo going by shooting rival gang members (or civilians) in between cars. And how when you finish an activity you get the option to launch straight into the next level, and you usually do because it's a challenge and a hoot. No, none of that from me.

What's it like in terms of free form? Could I ignore missions and just have fun around the city?

[therev]

Maybe shouldn't mention the way you can kick in the back doors of shops at night and try to crack the safe before the alarm brings the police.

I died trying to crack the safe in the jewellery store last night. I was thinking I could just get it open before my health dropped to nothing...

What's it like in terms of free form? Could I ignore missions and just have fun around the city?

Yep.

The whole city is open from the beginning.

But the missions are fun with decent rewards, so you'll probably end up wanting to do them.

[The Bag]

The whole city is open from the beginning.

yeah, hope Rockstar are taking notes - I spent the first night in game driving round the entire map just so I could see what all the shops & activities are. I got a loan from the loan shark just to buy some clothes - white suit & fedora, black shirt - I look more like a gangster than a gangsta.

[Rowan Morrison]

What's it like in terms of free form? Could I ignore missions and just have fun around the city?

Well, that's where it's not as good as GTA, because it's just cars and streets - no quad bikes, BMXs and mountains. But the vastly superior combat system makes up for that, because you can get into some excellent sprawling street fights in which the cops won't simply decide to focus on shooting you. And in a way, the 'activities' (side missions, really) are how you have fun around the city - they're scattered all over and don't progress the main story (after a certain level they just generate money rather than respect). It's like having a good selection of minigames on tap, with more variety than GTA - Saint's Row's verison of GTA's pimp game is like a city-wide Pacman rather than a simple A>B drive mission.

The physics help make up for the lack of variety, too. But I would say that so far I've been doing structured mission and activity stuff rather than pissing around - and in general I much prefer pissing around. So the activities are doing something right.

There are CDs to find, like GTA's packages, and probably a lot of other stuff I haven't seen yet - there are a number of activities I haven't started at all.

Oh, and is there a combo system for fist fighting? Because last night I swear I did a hook and uppercut on a pimp, but I couldn't seem to replicate it afterwards.

I got a loan from the loan shark just to buy some clothes - white suit & fedora, black shirt - I look more like a gangster than a gangsta.

I look just like Burt Reynolds. It makes the cutscenes magical.

[Yewone]

Maybe shouldn't mention the way you can kick in the back doors of shops at night and try to crack the safe before the alarm brings the police.

I died trying to crack the safe in the jewellery store last night. I was thinking I could just get it open before my health dropped to nothing...

..and the fact that once youve cracked the safe, you then have to escape with a box of loot. Normally by putting it in the boot of the nearest available getaway car and hightail it to the drop off point with poilce in pursuit.

[Rowan Morrison]

..and the fact that once youve cracked the safe, you then have to escape with a box of loot. Normally by putting it in the boot of the nearest available getaway car and hightail it to the drop off point with poilce in pursuit.

Seriously, then, one thing I really won't mention is that I didn't know you could use the boot of the car and I ended up running all the way to the pawn shop with the police in pursuit. Except you can't run with the box, so I was just calmly walking and then putting the box down every so often and letting loose with the shotgun.

Still, at least I've only done one level of that activity.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

And to say the game has no humour, quotes like this crack me up and are all over the place:

'So you're the new guy, huh? You don't look like much. But then, I don't look like I've got an 8 inch cock, so I guess we're all full of surprises.'

Yes, it's very crude. I still like it though. Clothing stores called 'Sloppy Seconds' and 'On the Rag' (with the radio commercial: 'It's that time of the month again! Sale at On the Rag!'). Tattoo parlours called 'The Rusty Needle'. It's definitely not taking itself too seriously as some people seem(ed) to fear.

[Takizawa]

I didnt know you could put things in the boot either, thats genius!

Just done another pushback mission and they're so fun! Pilsen district I think, I was in the middle of doing something at the time but I found the nearest car, sped over to where the shootout was happening to see loads of my gang members under fire. From my vantage point on the railway line I took out 3 gang cars with a rocket launcher and picked out the survivors with my sniper!

For me this is GTA minus the frustrations...

[therev]

..and the fact that once youve cracked the safe, you then have to escape with a box of loot. Normally by putting it in the boot of the nearest available getaway car and hightail it to the drop off point with poilce in pursuit.

I've never got a box of stuff from a safe, only money. I just do it for fun.

It said when I first started cracking one that I could get stuff to pawn, but nothing ever appeared.

And do you really have to hammer the button at the end, or could I just hold it down?

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

I didnt know you could put things in the boot either, thats genius!

I put a package in the back of an open pickup truck, and during one nasty pile-up it actually was launched from the truck. I could go back and retrieve it, but I thought that wouldn't improve my chances of survival so I let it slide.

It's also godsend that you don't lose your weapons when you get smoked or busted.

[decider]

Or how I threw a woman out of an SUV and as I drove off she shouted "at least give me my pills!"

While a lot of the humour in the game misses the mark somewhat, there's some great pedestrian dialogue in there. I chuckled somewhat when I hit a car and heard "I've already got a shitty car, why you gotta make it worse?".

If you're low on health you can always hit start, scroll to the 'phone' tab and dial 911 for instant medical assistance. This is very handy for insurance fraud missions where you get a bonus for flying out of the window of an emergency vehicle in a head on collision.

It's also funny when you jack an ambulance and the driver says "are you gonna finish my shift at least?" while you drive off.

And do you really have to hammer the button at the end, or could I just hold it down?

Letting go of the thumbstick and pressing the button once works for me.

[hanzo]

WELL CHEERS.

Thanks to you lot I slapped down 40 smackers for this earlier today. Going to play it tonight. It actually sounds.. really fun. PEACE MON INNIT

[Dave White]

back to game for me I'm afraid.

[citation deducer]

Another vote for this game, its LOTSA fun, spent most of last night doing the drug-running mini-mission, watching the cops vs rival dealers vs me is excellent, and I love the way you can shoot the drivers.

Also using Scott Joplin is inspired !

And taking out the choppers with RPGS