A few weeks ago, I picked up Saint's Row 2, due to the numerous, though somewhat underground, recommendations from my more trusted sites. If there is one thing that stands out about SR2, it is that the game is fun. It knows what it is, knows what it wants to do, and it goes about doing it in a very straightforward, no nonsense, almost in-your-face (haven't seen that term since the 90's, have you? Poochie's dead!) manner. Could it be better, maybe bigger, and with more radio stations? Of course. Better graphics? Sure. And does it do anything you haven't seen before? Nope. In fact, it felt like I was playing GTA III all over again. And that's where the problems begin...

Another overly long chat with Bill, on some of the aspects of the latest GTA iteration:

Dib
i guess claptrap posters have to pick a game of the year

Bill
my played library is pretty weak
for my money it'd have to be LBP

Dib
not sure what i'll go with
buy fewer games this year than before
gta didn't live up to hype
fable 2 was fun
mass effect
need to play fallout 3

Bill
GTA does make a strong contribution to the literature on how gameplay control should work for a hybrid third/first person game

Dib
true
but that doesn't put it in game of teh year land

Bill
true.
that puts it on a "most influential" list, several years hence.
if it turns out to be.

Dib
doesn't that apply to every game?

Bill
as worded, yes.

Dib
you didn't have to think about the control much
but the game was lacking

Bill
i still haven't finished it
but i agree, it was lacking something.

Dib
i want to try saints row 2
it sounds like they went for the over the top fun style
instead to the realistic world of gta 4

Bill
maybe that's what it was... lacked some of the levity
had plenty of comedy, just not enough levity.

Dib
posted about one of my issues with gta at some site:

Most of you have probably reached this point in GTA IV, but if you haven't and you don't want any spoilers, PLEASE STOP READING, AND GO HERE!

Bill and I ended up having a long IM about who we killed, Playboy X or Dwayne. While the conversation isn't a bad read, what is really interesting is that the game could produce such a dialog. For a game that most of the world thinks is a murder simulator (thanks Jack and Fox!), there is a lot of depth to the characters, and their actions, here. This was true of San Andreas as well. Nico and CJ both come off as "good" people in bad situations. Claude and Tommy Vercetti really had few, if any, redeeming qualities. As a player, I didn't feel anything when I made them run over and kill innocents in their games. That's different for Nico and CJ, if only on occasion. Funny to feel bad about doing something like that when the character does little else but kill. Maybe the missions feel different because you have to complete them to finish the game. Or maybe as a player, I think that the people I'm killing in a mission deserve it "more" because they are "bad", where the people walking down the street are just folk. Whatever the reasons, it shows how well Rockstar has crafted both their game, and their game world.

Guess I'm about 6 hours in, and so far it's a nice little jaunt. I'm rooting for Nico, and find it almost surprising when he does something bad, even though I'm controlling him. He seems like his heart is in the right place, but his past is very much a part of who he is. To even things out, I'll drive down the sidewalk once in a while, just to get that old GTA feeling back.

And that feeling is the one big thing that is missing. Remember when you played your first GTA III version? How new and exciting it was to do pretty much whatever you wanted, and the only consequences were a fun filled police chase, and the loss of a few of your hard-earned dollars? For those of us that have gone that would way though, that shine is off the game (just as it is missing from the city, intentionally), and it's loss brings a touch of disappointment. That's what makes Nico's story stand out even more. The fact that you get wrapped up in it fairly quickly provides a wonderful substitute for the missing new-found freedom of the game. How much did Rockstar take the returning player into account when designing their world? Of course, if this is your first go-around with a GTA game, you get the best of both worlds!