2006-08-01 15:53:24 Saints Row Demo

I just figured I would let you all know that the Saints Row Demo is now up on Live...Enjoy!

2006-08-01 17:25:31

I've been trying to download it here in China on my ADSL connection - - 3 hours into it, and only 28%!

Anyone played it yet?

2006-08-01 18:04:29

Yep, I liked it!

Bit easy but lots of fun :)

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2006-08-01 18:16:49

yeah i got it, cant say im impressed but its not a bad game. GTA is still a lot better if you ask me.

2006-08-01 19:04:41

Yea this game is in major trouble against gta.

I'm interested, but at the same time I've yet to really be impressed by the game and I'm not even talking in terms of graphics. It just doesn't seem to have that gta feel at all. No offense to anyone intending to get this game (i was thinking about it at one point) but it just gives off a cheap settle for second best type deal.

It has nothing to do with graphics (it beats gta there) it even does a lot more things than gta, but I think this game's BIGGEST fault and why it ultimately wont even come close to touching gta? You create your own character... it should be a character that the devs themselves create for you. You should have a preset identity of who you are and what you are about. Thats what made gta successful you could hear your character talk and interact, but in this game your character doesn't speak at all.

Yep its something very simple but this games biggest weakness is the main character has no character. I didn't play the demo, but I was really thinking about the whole thing. San Andreas there was a whole background a story to keep you enticed something you wanted to find out more about you could listen to your character talk and interact with others is the character in this game mute?

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Blue Dragon Blue Dragon 青いドラゴン

2006-08-01 19:16:40 In reply to Optimusv2 (2006-08-01 19:04:41)

i thought that the point of the game character was that its "you" thats the character

rather than have a pre concieved game character...its "you" ?

2006-08-01 19:18:32

does anybody know if you can tune your car, i know there is a car mechanic but he only repairs my car??

2006-08-01 19:23:54

You can "PimP Yo Ride" in the full version of the game.

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Games sure are fun.

2006-08-01 19:25:13

I don't think you cna customize your car in the demo, as far as engine tuning or anything like that, I doubt it's in the game.


as far as complaining over being able to create your own character and seeing that character i the ingame cutscenes, that seems like a wierd complaint to me. I would much prefer being able to create my own guy. I don't need the dots all connected for me.

2006-08-01 19:27:03

I'm downloading the demo right now, but one thing Optimus said I didn't like. Who's idea was it to make your character not be able to talk??????? There are some TERRIBLE decisions made for SR is not even funny, another one would be not including bikes and planes--and I don't care what excuse they come up with.

BTW: Who was the guy saying the demo was going to be multi-gig? YOU LIAR!

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2006-08-01 19:33:27

Yea I know what you mean primer I guess I'll just wait and see how it works out.


Just a huge part of gta's appeal was seeing where the character came from if he was some bigshot before he was locked up or something then came out to a lot of people that knew of his reputation or maybe didn't know about him and he'd build his rep, but I think the best way these games can be done is for the developers to give your character the ability to talk make him more involved with the story and not just some guy going around taking orders and not properly interacting with people.

For example in san andreas with numerous run ins with those 2 cops that always mess with ya what will a situation like that be in Saints Row? The cops just talking and pushing you around and you not saying anything? A great deal is lost when your character can't properly interact. It has to be about more than just becoming the number 1 gang. GTA always managed to feel like a movie being told saints row just feels different very hard to explain.

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Blue Dragon Blue Dragon 青いドラゴン

2006-08-01 19:37:04

Yeah the point is that you yourself are the main character, hence the customisation. The demo is only a tiny part of the customisation as the advanced sliders are locked and many things are not selectable. It seems to be at least as in depth as wrestling game create-a-wrestler modes.

2006-08-01 19:48:47 In reply to roxwell (2006-08-01 18:04:29)

I think that's partially because the wanted/noteriety levels are limited by the demo. Pretty nice demo all in all though--I'm impressed--I wasn't expecting much of anything out of this title. To me, what makes GTA is good writing, humor, and voice acting--the sandbox gameplay is great, but it's GTA's humor that sets it apart from its clones, imo.

2006-08-01 20:09:21

I liked the demo, and I'm buying the game. The shooting is much better than GTA. Sure there's no lock on, but it's alot easier to take cover and hit your enemy from long distance. The reticle turns red no matter how far away you are and it registers as a hit.

It's not as humorous as GTA, but its got its own style to it. One thing I didn't like was how the camera seems to not follow the car when you turn. It always takes it a few secs to catch up. I was hoping the shoulder buttons would be used to look from left to right and shoot just like in GTA. Vsync was an issue as well. So much tearing....Only noticed this in the cut-scenes though. Overall, looks to be a solid game.

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2006-08-01 21:01:41

I'd rather have him not talk than be stuck with a shitty "gangstah" attitude. The one redeeming factor about this dreadful gangbanger setting is that at least YOU can be a sensible, cool guy with an un-blingy look if you want.

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2006-08-01 21:10:40

Yeah, the atmosphere in this game is wrong, to me. In the GTA series on the ps2, each one had a certain vibe. This seems to have none.

2006-08-01 21:19:53 In reply to Eddy186 (2006-08-01 21:10:40)

There we go thats basically what I was trying to say. It just doesn't sink in really, but we'll see how good a game the final product is.

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Blue Dragon Blue Dragon 青いドラゴン

2006-08-01 21:42:38

Ok downloaded and played.

Like Optimus and Eddy said, the characters are weak, and the most important one of all--yours--is even weaker. Who's idea was it for him not to talk? They could very well come up with a few different voices and that would do. If that's the price to pay for customization, I'd rather have him voiced than customized.

The framerate is just unnaceptable, and I doubt the final game will be much better, but we'll see. The most fun to have is when there's lots of things going on, like explosions, crashes, shootings, etc, and that's when the framerate kills it. I'm sure I was in single digits at times. And not only that, the game NEVER feels smooth and I think that's a huge mistake on volition's part. I think the game NEVER reaches 30fps, it's just horrible. So basically everything is dragged down because of the crappy framerate, and I won't buy/rent this if the final game is the same thing.

The hand to hand combat is not the best, some punches just don't register. The cars handle from average to horrible, and not because of the controls, but because they don't feel "right" whatever that means for a game like this. And then the overall graphics aren't very good at all, making the framerate almost inexplicable.

I hate it how you CAN'T hit a car with your bare hands, you need to have an object at hand to actually hit the car.

Now on to the good stuff.

You can customize your character, and there seems to be alot of stuff the demo won't let us do for customization, so that's really good.

Physics all around. I don't think it ever gets old seeing people fly when you run them over with a car, even though it looks floaty, it's fun. Or when you get run over, it's really nice to have ragdolls for every person on the street. As we all knew the explosions look great too. And basically, there's lots of objects in the street with physics.

The police is way smarter and more of a pain--which I like--than that in GTA. The shooting, like someone mentioned, is better than GTA's. Overall AI is also better than GTA's. Drivers would do things you don't see in GTA. The missions were alright, the last one being the best, but I guess it's because we are just starting the game.

And I also like all the detail on the cars.

So it's not a bad game, it's a really good game dragged down by horrible framerate.

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2006-08-01 23:03:28 In reply to LEBATO (2006-08-01 19:27:03)

Haha, the demo I saw was a shade under 6GB which is the size of the full game (unoptimized it has to be said). It was obviously submitted to us before the devs stripped out all of the assets not required. I did think they would reduce it, but they repeatedly said in interviews the demo was going to be BIG

Obviously they found a way round it in the interim and got it to 900Mb. Well played Violition in that case.

2006-08-01 23:10:22

I think this could be usefull for some of you ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K16N8F2JaRs&search=...

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http://www.xboxygen.com

2006-08-02 00:46:15 In reply to tomchoucrew (2006-08-01 23:10:22)

The question is, how far can you go past the barrier? I'm betting not much

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Did you agree with me? Yes, No? Visit http://www.lebato.blogspot.com and see if we agree on something.

2006-08-02 00:48:58

Yes not very far...

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2006-08-02 01:11:11

I'm still having fun with this. Derail the train..it's pretty cool.

This isn't going to win any awards, but it does everything it does fairly well--the framerate could be better..that's really my only complaint, atleast from the standpoint of this demo.

Looks like a fun sandboxy experience and in this summer game drought I think Dead Rising and Saints Row within weeks of eachother are sounding pretty damn nice.

2006-08-02 01:46:22

I'm a pretty harsh critic, but you guys are ridiculous. While the game falls behind GTA in some respects, it surpasses it in many others. To start, the shooting is SOOO much better. None of that crappy lock-on stuff. The aiming is nicely done, and killing stuff is more satisfying overall than in the GTA games.

The physics in the game are pretty impressive. Everything seems to react realistically. The thing I like the most is how the people don't collapse like cardboard cutouts when they die, like in GTA. When you kill someone, they fall to their death in a realistic manner. It adds to the overall satisfaction. Running people over and seeing them fly over your wind shield is especially satisfying.

We just have to see how the dialogue and humor aspect of the game hold up. I've been pretty impressed by the voice acting so far. The less important gang members are forgetable, but more important members like Julius, Troy, and Johnny are strong characters, and are nicely voiced. The animations are also pretty good, and it makes the character more belivable.

Now, on to the character customization. I find this so much better than being stuck with another CJ from GTA. If I have to be some stupid hip hop loving, slang talking, ho slapping, blood thirsty thug, I atleast want to customize him to my own tastes. The lack of dialogue may dissapoint some of you guys, but I find it a fair trade.

Overall I am very impressed with the demo. The lack of bikes and airplanes is a shame, and the framerate could definately use some improvements, but it's still a really fun game. I have played all of the GTA games, and I think this one manages to holds its own. GTAIV will probably be better, but I'm more than happy with Saint's Row for the time being.

2006-08-02 03:46:07

It looks ok, but this is ultra violent game. LA riot style.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g-n_PhOFLw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZFSZkid4mA