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OXM Mighty Seven's Game Of 2008

28-Dec-2008 The game that sounded dreadful but turned out to be the most impressive...

1 Comments

Thinking back over the last year there's only been one game that I've been properly addicted to, in that bleary eyed still-playing-at-3-am-five-nights-in-a-row way.

There have been games that have been better, worthier and more cerebral, but I've enjoyed them all at a less gluttonous pace. The strangest thing is, when I first heard about the game that really grabbed me by the cherries this year I thought it sounded dreadful.

And can you really blame me? Saints Row 2's first teasers just involved Gary Busey's enormous teeth shouting nonsense at you through the medium of internet video.

What a surprise, then, when Saints Row 2 turns out to be GTA IV but with the grittiness replaced with sherbet. I've rarely had more fun than running around in the nude with a rocket launcher and shooting helicopters out of the sky, and the fact that I had a mate playing co-op with me the whole way through made it all the sweeter.

There's simply so much to do in Stilwater, and even though I've finished the game, I'm tempted to create another freakish transvestite and start all over again with another friend, just so I can share the joy.

It's interesting, though, that I've had a revelation since I first played the game. Initially my thoughts were 'this is very cleverly designed as an alternative to GTA IV's seriousness'. But if you think about the length of development cycles these days, Saints Row 2 will have been designed and in production well before GTA IV was announced to the public.

Volition had no idea where Rockstar would go with its series and it was still trying to beat GTA at its own game. It's just that the game in question was San Andreas - a sandbox gangster shooter that was at times just as ludicrous as Saints Row 2. Whizzing around in jetpacks, flying planes, parachuting off buildings, it's all there in San Andreas.

THQ has announced that Saints Row 3 is already in development, and that it's taking a 'different direction' from my beloved SR2. I sincerely hope that doesn't just mean trying to emulate GTA IV because, looking at the forum posts celebrating Saints Row 2's irreverence, I can't think of a more foolish design decision.

Stilwater is the world without restriction that I had hoped Liberty City would be, and that's why even in the face of almighty competition from Fallout 3 and Far Cry 2, it's my favourite game of the year.

Ryan King