Well … I’ve almost completed all 36 missions in Saints Row but I don’t think I can make the last stretch. I could try to complete the activities but … meh, is really all I can say. Maybe it’s because I’m tired so I just can’t finish this game completely in the next foreseeable future. Or maybe it’s just stupidly difficult in the same way as Grand Theft Auto 4 and I don’t give a s*”%t. Lets see shall we…
After playing Saints Row 2 I decided to pick up the first game and see what it was likely. I knew going in to it that it wasn’t going to be as good, sequels are always better, but jeez this game as some issues. I found some of the activities in SR 2 hard to complete and the level going to 6 resentful but now it seems like a freakin’ stroll in the park! There are 2 different sets of each activity going up to level six but in SR 1 there are 3 sets and 8 levels! Yes! 8! That does not make this bunny happy…
The the game play is the same except for there is no cruise control >:( and everything is ridiculously expensive. I went to Impressions over in the High End Retail District of Nob Hill and a Fedora hat cost me $3000! Same price for trousers and for a shirt! One shirt damn it! The ammo is obviously a little cheaper but when you’re starting out and you have about the same amount of cash as a near-by hobo whom you run over every time you take a left, it’s really inconvenient.
Speaking of guns and killing people, hitman is back (or should I say introduced) and is more unique but vague at the same time. You still have lists of people who need removing, 3 to be exact, but they have to be killed with a certain weapon. You can’t go running down a road with an RPG and blitz every target you see because they will die but not be crossed off your lists. I also found it harder this time round to actually find the people because although the list would give you a district , it wouldn’t be specific enough to make it easy to find the dude you’re after. On top of that, you cannot guarantee the person is going to be in that district; I drove around certain areas for so many in-game hours only to not see even the slightest bit of the hitman symbol on my mini-map and then decide to go to the other side of the map, and there they are! What is the point in giving me a location if you’re not even gonna put the person there, Volition?!
This is a post full of grumbles, evidently, which is unusual considering there is snow outside which, as we all know, makes me very happy and so I’m not really in a grumbly mood. However, this game really gets under my skin sometimes and so I shall procede…
Missions. Every games got ‘em. Saints Row has 36 -.-’. Just like the next game they are split up into 4 sections; 3 rival gangs and a handful of missions at the beginning and the end which are to do with your character and the story. Our gangs are; Los Carnales in red, the Vice Kings in yellow, and the Westside Rollerz in blue. Very fetching. As with the sequel you will get a 3rd Street Saint character who organises the takes overs of each gang whom you must go to to get your mission. There are strongholds that require you to basically kill and/or destroy everything that is not yours and take over the neighbourhood and so get a certain amount of money each day from it. All nice and dandy so far. However, and there’s always an ‘however’ so don’t look so shocked, some of the missions are difficult to the point where you may have to re-try them a 
few times and still fail but persevere, or do what I did where you try it a couple of times, get annoyed, try again and get mad, try again and bust a cap in some people to relieve stress and try again. The moremissions you do, the more story you get and the more rewards and money you earn etc etc. As stated above I have not finished all the missions yet; I have 3 to go and they are a little tricky for me. I have a feeling that there is a higher difficulty in this game compared to the next in the series so it’s not just that I suck or anything, I’m just a little slower than you, ok? Speaking of difficult things that you could probably beat me at…
Activities. Oh Lordy do I hate these… there’s is 10 different activities; racing – you … race cars, snatch – you take ho’s, escort – you drive a ho (probably one you stole) around with a ‘client’ in the back until they are … er … finished, drug trafficking – you ride shotgun with a drug dealer while they make their rounds, hitman – killing named people (yay!), insurance fraud – you jump in front of cars to earn money (my least favourite cos I just can’t do it!), demolition derby – you smash your car into other people’s cars and hope they exploded before you do, chop shop – you have 3 lists of cars which you have to find (and hijack) and bring back to the garage (some need modifications), mayhem – blowin’ s£&* up to earn money, and hijacking – you are given a target and you chase after them and take their car then bring it to a location. Now, these may seem easy and simple to you, and granted, some of them are. But I just can’t do some of them! All it takes is perseverance, tactics and probably some skill but I don’t have those. I just wanna shoot stuff 
…
Anyway … erm … what else? Oh! Customization! So, if you’ve read my Grand Theft Auto 4 blog post you will know that I didn’t really enjoy being forced to be a man with a set face, voice, personality etc and was quite glad when I could choose who I wanted to be in Saints Row. However, I had to be a man, no personality changes, no voice changes; I could only change his face, his hair and his body. I was a little grumpy over it but at least it’s something right? I proceeded to do as I always do; make an attractive man and then make him as ugly and fat as possible! Then combine the two to make an attractive fat man. I styled him with the most expensive and yellow clothes I could find and had him strutting around Stilwater with an RPG. The fatties do win 
