Date posted: December 29, 2008
Categories: All Systems, Featured
Comments: 15 comments | Leave a comment |
Categories: All Systems, Featured
Comments: 15 comments | Leave a comment |
Grand Theft Auto IV vs Saints Row 2: Gta is still the Sandbox King
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Although Grand Theft Auto IV failed to “wow” many long time fans of the series, some may think that the rival sandbox title Saints Row 2 instantly took the crown as the best criminal open world experience. Even leading up to Saints Row 2’s release I was preaching how they just might out do Grand Theft Auto and take the crown. However now that I got the chance to play Saints Row 2, I feel that anyone who thinks that Saints Row 2 did a better job than Grand Theft Auto 4 is just saying it because it’s a cliche thing to say. Grand Theft Auto IV to me remains the king of the open world sandbox genre and I will explain why I feel Saints Row 2 is no where near it’s level.
Graphics = Grand Theft Auto IV
The last generation Grand Theft Auto games kind of fell behind graphics wise, but Grand Theft Auto IV was absolutely stunning visually. On the other hand when I play Saints Row 2 I feel like i’m playing a cartoon, or something thats in between a 3d and a cell shaded art style.
Driving = Grand Theft Auto IV
Saints Row 2’s driving feels like a joke compared to Grand Theft Auto’s realistic driving mechanics. When I drive in Grand Theft Auto I feel like I need to drive with style. If I happen to mess up and cause a collision then every single crash, every hit feels remarkably legit.
Shooting = Grand Theft Auto IV
A shoot out in Saints Row 2 is a walk in the park, someone could literally be shooting me at point blank range with a shot gun yet I still live to tell the tail. Not to mention gunning everyone down is as easy as one two three. In Grand Theft Auto you have a cover system and the option to either lock on or free aim your targets, shoot outs feel realistic and in some cases you really feel like your time could be up courtesy of a goon wielding a shotgun whilst walking around that corner.
Law = Grand Theft Auto IV
Ok so even when the cops in Saints Row 2 do catch up to me (which hardly ever happens), why do I never get arrested? They seem more interested in tazing or beating the excrement out of me, in which case I can easily shoot them down and run to a next car. When you have heat in Grand Theft Auto IV, you KNOW the law is coming for your ass.
Side Activities = Saints Row 2
The one area Rockstar failed on producing for Grand Theft Auto, was giving us fun side activities to do while outside of missions. Taking your friends out gets annoying really quickly and once you complete the game theres nothing fun to do in the city besides killing. Saints Row has a whole list of side activities, some mindlessly exciting and some completely strange, but this is the one thing Saints Row 2 does really well as there is always something to take part in.
Multiplayer = Draw
Saints Row 2 includes Co-Op which is a fantastic edition to sandbox games. But what people don’t mention is that in certain Grand Theft Auto IV game modes like Bomb The Base and Deal Breaker, your required to work as a four man team, which is just like playing four player co-op as your given a mission to do.
Story = Grand Theft Auto IV
Saints Row 2 hold the stereotypical gang banging tone with its story, and although it is nice how it continued on from the last game, It fails to stand up against Grand Theft Auto IV’s dynamic stoy. This time Rockstar strayed away from the typical rags to riches tale and instead told a story about a forrigner coming to america seeking something more than just the American dream.
So there you have it, under these categories I feel that Grand Theft Auto IV is overall the better game. I struggled to see how many of my friends put Saints Row 2 on a higher scale than Grant Theft Auto IV when I feel that Grand Theft Auto 4 was a modern masterpiece. Many people thought Grand Theft Auto IV was a disapointment, but this is simply because people were expecting way too much. If you play Grand Theft Auto IV and take it for what it is then you’ll appreciate it more.
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i agree…gta 4 def did upset…but saints row 2 didnt even come close. people thought it could be more fun simply because it was on next gen first and they had an online mode before gta did….so they were looking for growth like joe budden fans…but ended up disappointed
I have to disagree with you here. GTAIV did a lot of things amazingly, and I agree that graphics driving and story were far better although I have to say the Saints Row story is no push over. However I dont see how the shooting in GTAIV is so much better. Yes you can target someone but targeting is a pain in the butt. Way to many times have I tried to target one guy and get someone else instead, especially if they were close to each other. And as for free aim mode, in multiplayer it was good, but in singleplayer it was horrid. Why is it that in mp you can have the option to turn off targeting and only free aim and the free aiming in mp you could run and turn fast while in sp you took forever to turn and you walked you moved far to slow. If the mp shooting controls were in sp I would agree with you on shooting. Then we have multiplayer and sorry but no, deal break and bomd da base missions are not the same as full scale open world, story driven co-op with missions. Nowhere near the same. Then there is side missions and side activites which i feel are 2 seperate things and saints row owns in them both. for Side missions yes GTAIV get boring rather quickly, I eventually couldn’t stand going on dates, which felt the same for both guy and girl characters, and the mini games like pool and darts were pretty bad. Yes pool was fun, if the conrtols didn’t screw up on ya. Then we have saints row and all I need to say is designing your crib, pimping, insurance fraud, Obama Palin and McCain characters, and robbing banks, and stores. Oh and dont forget your mp3 player. IN the end it is almost a draw but saints row 2 wins in over all gameplay as there is jsut more to do. Sorry but this time better story and graphics is beaten by better gameplay and series progression which honestly GTAIV was more like Vice City with better graphics. So many things were taken out of GTAIV like planes, some sports and several weapons and vehicles. What happened to the jetpack? WHile all this changed in GTAIV for the worse Saints Row only got better with more vehicles, more activities, and a continued story. Sorry folks but for me Saints Row 2 wins.
You forgot to add the ‘fun’ category. GTAIV definitely would have lost out in that one. I gave up on GTAIV forever after only 4 hours of playing. There just aren’t that many fun things to do in the city and the main campaign quickly gets tedious. Multiplayer is decent, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Crackdown and Saints Row, which both offer full co-op.
I don’t think you can compare the two games based on those set of criterion since they are aimed at two different demographics, where saints row 2 has the edge in causal gaming with a multitude of things to do it can often get too causal almost where i feel there are no consequenses to my actions.
In GTA IV on the other hand the story intertwined witht the realism was the big draw with a kick as multiplayer on the side.
As a closing comment i played the shit out of these games and they own i just dont think you can labell one better than the other since they cater to such different people.
Tdog – all those categories make up to the overall fun. i agree saints row is more fun in the aspect of having more things to do outside of missions. but the overall game does not compete to the overall produc of gtaIV
LH_SWE – Although the games have two different themes they are the same kind of game technology wise. for example, uncharted and gears of war are completly different themes but the mechanics of the game can be compared.
Man you don’t know what you are talking about.Saints Row 2 is way better than Grand theft auto 4. That aint even no compition son.
What the fuck is wrong with these n i g g e r s? Games should not include those apes and that is for a good reason. They cause enough trouble as it is. I believe that GTA 4 is a better game because of all the stuff you get to do in the game, Saints Row 2 lost out because they focused on quantity instead of quality. If you say I am racist, look around you and see that you, like many others, have been brainwashed into believing that only prejudice towards blacks counts and all other races are ignored. That is the truth. I don’t want you to believe what I say with out looking it up for yourself.
lol…wow go figure…we just had a conversation about idiots like u. ignorant as fuck…u couldn’t argue or comment without calling somebody a nigger. whats does that have to do with anything? the sad part is your a coward and wouldn’t call nobody that to there face.
yo greg you a clown, no where in my article mentioned the urban factor. and im a black guy, so stereotypically im suposed to like saints row 2 better right?
your argument of quantity over quality doesnt present any reason for you to bring any race into the reason of why you dont like the game
what a clown. Yo A.B smash these clowns.
Hey Greg, go fuck yourself. I’m a whitey and I think Saints Row 2 is leaps and bounds better than GTA IV.
Greg, Racism is racism no matter what race you insult, retard.
Man screw graphics and physics. SR2 has fun. FUN!!! That should be the most important thing in a GAME. FUN. I own both games and bought both at launch. I was in love with GTA4….. for 1 week!!! Got old real fast. Shooting people in the leg and watching them fall in a realistic way was fun for a week. What was there to do after that? Oh yeah, go around and shoot pigeons *yawn*…… One thing that SR2 has that definitely beats GTA4 is the MUSIC.
and Greg Smith stfu stupid fuckn lil bitch. I’ll fuck yo ass up…. And I’m white
the only gta that i like a lot is SA because its a gangsta game
thats why i think SR2 is way better than gtaiv.
ok saints row is more for wanna be gangsters (greg not all black people are gangsters and white ppl can be wannabes too) gta is more for wannabe gangsters and gamers, both are fun but gta4 is more of a “real game” if you will
I think what is being missed completely is the fact that only one of the factors listed have any impact on the replayability of a sandbox game… Don’t get me wrong, I like both GTA 4 and SR2, but SR2 multiplayer is just a bigger sandbox with more to do in it (side missions), where as GTA 4 is explored with nothing else to do but cause mayhem.