Saints Row makes use of regenerative health, but this process can be accelerated by eating fast food items. Players may only carry one of each type of weapon at a time. Each of the eight slots on the wheel corresponds to different types of weapons, such as submachine guns and pistols. Weapons are accessed by a "weapon wheel" inventory system that appears on the screen as players hold down a button.
A free aiming reticule appears on the screen while players have weapons equipped. Players use hand-to-hand combat, melee weapons, firearms, and explosives to fight rival gangs and the police. Ī player fires at traffic with an RPG Launcher Cinemas scattered throughout the game world allow players to replay missions an unlimited number of times. Should players fail a mission, they may instantly reattempt it without incurring a loss of their Respect points. Missions and activities also accrue a player's cash income, which can be spent on goods and services such as weapons and clothes. Respect is a currency earned by completing activities, which are mini-games that are scattered across the world and have increasing levels of difficulty. Players engage in these missions at their leisure, but a prerequisite to instigate a mission is that they have filled up a bar on their Respect meter to allow them to unlock and play it. In the bar introductory and epilogue mission sequences, missions in Saints Row are divided between three linear story arcs which can be progressed through simultaneously or one by one, each with the objective of extinguishing a rival gang. A personal garage can be used to store customized vehicles, and vehicles that have been destroyed or lost can be redeemed for a cash fee.
They can further alter the appearance of their character at clothing stores, tattoo parlors, barbers and jewelers, and tune vehicles at chop shops. They may also access the character customization system again at a plastic surgeon to apply cosmetic changes to their character. Players can run, jump, swim or utilize cars to navigate the world. The game makes use of third-person view, which allows players to freely rotate the camera around their character. After completing the first mission, players are then given free roam over the game's open world, the fictional city of Stilwater, which is modeled after Baltimore, Detroit, and Chicago. The game's success launched the Saints Row franchise, starting with Saints Row 2 in October 2008.Īt the beginning of the game, players create their character through a system that allows them to customize his ethnicity, fitness, face and hairstyle. It also did well financially, selling over 1 million copies by the end of 2006. Saints Row received generally positive reviews upon release, with many critics favorably comparing it to the Grand Theft Auto series.
An online multiplayer mode allows multiple players to engage in a variety of cooperative and competitive game modes. Players can fight enemies using a variety of firearms, and call in non-playable gang members to assist them. The game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on-foot or by vehicle. Outside of the main story, players can freely roam Stilwater, consisting of two main islands. Story missions are unlocked by trading in "Respect" points, currency earned by completing minigames and side-missions. The storyline is non-linear, and divided into three separate story arcs for each rival gang that the player must defeat. Set within the fictional city of Stilwater (modeled after Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and Baltimore), the single-player story follows a player-created character who joins the 3rd Street Saints gang after they rescue his life, and helps them rise to prominence by undermining enemy criminal syndicates, while slowly building up his own reputation within the gang. It was released in North America on August 29, 2006, followed by an Australian release two days later and a European release on Septem(the same day the mobile version was also released). Saints Row is a 2006 action-adventure game developed by Volition and published by THQ for the Xbox 360.