Saints Row Demo Impressions

[f0rked]

Just finished the demo on my bro's 360. Downloaded it from xbox live. It's like 900 odd megs for ~15 mins of missions though =\

The graphics are really good for a GTA-esque game. Much, much better than any GTA or clone so far. And for the most part, the driving physics seem pretty tight. Car explosions are also reallllly cool. Especially when combined with ragdoll physics. Plus the way they've managed to blend ragdoll with animation is sweet. I like the option of shooting from your car with any gun, in any direction. Basically makes any car a mobile bunker. AI seems okay, I saw some ped's jumping over walls to avoid my murderous driving though, which was pretty cool.

Now for the negative points. First off is the FPS. There are times where the framerate becomes noticably jerky. I know its not the final game, but since the release is in about a month I can imagine its pretty close to release code. It would suck if the released version goes out without further performance improvements/optimisation. Also, maybe im just spoiled by HL2, but the lipsyncing and facial expressions also felt lacking. Like the characters are just really detailed puppets. But yeah I guess every engine can't have dynamic facial animation as good as source.

The map doesn't seem huge, maybe about as big as Vice City. Definitely no SA. This is just a guesstimate based on the overall city map and how big it is in comparison to the actual playable area in the demo. So I might be totally wrong.

Overall, I'd give the demo 7.5/10. Would've given it more, but it was just really short. That and the FPS issue. Which is really annoying when you're driving.

Edit: Should've clarified. This is more like 'first' impressions, considering all I really did was blast through the missions. Haven't really tried any exploring/general arseing about yet. I'm about to go do that though.

 

[Asknoone]

I'm still skeptical. But thanks for the impressions, I'll have to give it a whirl myself.

 

[Ren.182]

Just played the demo too. Was fun for a while but then i just got bored to be honest... Like i did with SA. GTA3 and Vice City forever!

They need to add something new to this "genre" to keep me entertained for a bit longer. Maybe that feature is the multiplayer mode, but i doubt i'll buy the game to find out what its like.

I'm more excited about Dead Rising though

 

[DeusExMachina]

Yeah, besides a few FPS problems, the demo was incredibly fun.

 

[Cormeh]

I'll download it tonight for definite. I can't see it doing much expanding on the GTA sandbox foundation though, but it could prove fun.

 

[Core407]

I've probably put in 10 hours worth of gameplay in the demo and I can assure you that from a gameplay standpoint, it does everything better than any previous GTA title has done before. Gunplay, cars, character customization, physics are all a major step up.

 

[destrukt]

I have 547MB free.. time to delete some things. :x

I hope MS comes out with a bigger HD soon, I'm thinking 120 or 300GB.

 

[Garfield_]

Still downloading 58% so far. Will let you know what I think soon =)

I have 547MB free.. time to delete some things. :x

I hope MS comes out with a bigger HD soon, I'm thinking 120 or 300GB.

Or you could just use an External HDD with USB 2, I'm not sure but I think it'll work :>

 

[Parlez]

I am plaining on getting a 360 in the next month or so. But when I do get the 360 I will download the demo, I am still purposing the idea of getting the game.

 

[destrukt]

Still downloading 58% so far. Will let you know what I think soon =)



Or you could just use an External HDD with USB 2, I'm not sure but I think it'll work :>

Can you rip music, download content and so on, onto third-party storage ? I was under the impression you couldn't, you could simply use things on there, like music.. or the few USB drives I had used weren't able to be used to download/move/copy XB360 data onto it.

I need to do some research on it.. anyway, 27%, time to go sleep.

 

[Axyon]

It's a fun demo. Lots to do, and rampages are a blast... I can't wait to get stuck into the real game and the other weapons it offers. The physics are fantastic, there's nothing better than smashing into someone and seeing them go flying through their windshield, heh. I also like the cop AI, it's aggressive, and much more so than any GTA game. They also take cover behind open doors and pop out to fire at you, which is really good.

To address the framerate issues, the developers have confirmed that the code is months old, and will be much more stable at release.

 

[DeusExMachina]

Saint's Row may become my first purchase for the 360 instead of Mass Effect after playing the demo.

 

[Ennui]

I'll download it while I'm at work tonight, and if it's good I'll bother my manager so we buy it when it comes out and I can play it all day.

 

[lePobz]

I got it at dinner time today - For some reason it downloaded in under half an hour (very quick for a big popular demo from XBLM) - anyway, my opinion: -

Based on the fact it's a demo (so allowing for poorly optimised code / glitches) it's pretty complete. The graphics aren't as next-gen as you'd expect, the character models are particularly current-gen. This aside, there are some very nice effects (such as explosions/water/etc) and the texture details are very high. The missions are almost identical clones of those in GTA3, as are the shops/food/weapons/radio/cops systems. The only major difference is the lack of in-game time. There's no clock, there's no day/night cycle (maybe there is in the full game, I dont know)...

I'll have to sample the full game to see if the framerate issues and glitches have been ironed out before I commit to buying, but hopefully Saints Row will be a great game to fill in the (rather large) gap until GTA4 gets here.

I reccommend everyone gets this demo though, it's great fun for atleast an hour.

 

[Core407]

I got it at dinner time today - For some reason it downloaded in under half an hour (very quick for a big popular demo from XBLM) - anyway, my opinion: -

Based on the fact it's a demo (so allowing for poorly optimised code / glitches) it's pretty complete. The graphics aren't as next-gen as you'd expect, the character models are particularly current-gen. This aside, there are some very nice effects (such as explosions/water/etc) and the texture details are very high. The missions are almost identical clones of those in GTA3, as are the shops/food/weapons/radio/cops systems. The only major difference is the lack of in-game time. There's no clock, there's no day/night cycle (maybe there is in the full game, I dont know)...

I'll have to sample the full game to see if the framerate issues and glitches have been ironed out before I commit to buying, but hopefully Saints Row will be a great game to fill in the (rather large) gap until GTA4 gets here.

I reccommend everyone gets this demo though, it's great fun for atleast an hour.

Did you play on an a standard TV? The character and car models are probably what shines most in the game.

 

[Gargantou]

I played it for a while, it's ok, as someone said, I'd probably rate it a 7.5 if the demo is anything to go by, I have rather high hopes for JC when it comes to GTA 'clones' on the 360.

 

[lePobz]

Did you play on an a standard TV? The character and car models are probably what shines most in the game.

No, 32" flatscreen - I was referring to the low polycount of the models. The texture resolutions are sweet, as are the reflections etc on the cars. High detailed models are nowhere to be seen though.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Just got this offa XBL. Good dumb fun, but nothing too special.

Some of the AI's a bit odd... has anyone tried standing on the roof of someone's car while they're in it? They go totally apeshit and start screaming and driving all over the place, it's funny as hell

Think I remember seeing someone using a rocket launcher in some demo footage... anyone know about this if it's in somewhere? Pipe bombs are hella fun but the buggers always get away before they detonate.

 

[DeusExMachina]

Demo's only got 3 or so weapons. Full game has about...12 I think?

 

[TCfromBN]

I'm gonna go download soon.

 

[DarkStar]

Best GTA clone I've played yet, but still not quite as good at Rockstar's baby.

I have to say that the aiming system is literally 1000x better than GTA though.

Graphically it looks pretty good, and the framerate really didn't bother me, but Volition seriously needs to consider some V-Sync. That shit was tearing more than my kid sister unwrapping her birthday presents.

I may just purchase this one. Second best demo on Xbox 360 yet methinks. Lost Planet felt more solid.

 

[Stigmata]

Pipe bombs are hella fun but the buggers always get away before they detonate.

A strategy that often works for me is to go to the northwest bridge and wait on the road for two cars to stop in front of you. Roll a grenade just in front of the first one, wait one second, then sprint away. The first driver will notice the bomb and drive off, while the second one slowly pulls up to the bomb. And just as he/she notices, it detonates

I also like jumping into the way of cars just to watch the ragdolls when you get hit. Great fun.

My impressions so far: This game is a lot of fun.

Pros: Very, very nice textures. Havok3 ragdolls and animation blending is just great. The AI is much better than in any GTA game. I like how you can shoot in any direction with almost any weapon while driving, and how every weapon has a melee attack. The city is nicely detailed, and some of the civilian dialogue is on-par with GTA ("Hey honey, ever been with a girl without a gag reflex?").

Cons: CONTROLS. I really hope there are alternate control schemes, because I can't stand using A/X or Forward/Backward (joystick) to control vehicle acceleration. The character models are relatively low-poly as Pobz mentioned (One thing to consider, what was "next-gen" is essentially "current-gen" now), and the voice acting is spotty. Also, it's far too difficult to flip your vehicle. The vehicles seem to suffer from whatever plagues the ragdolls in CS Source; that is, any rotation they start with in mid-air quickly disappears, until they become a static object careening through the air. It's quite irritating.

Overall: Very fun game. Assuming the control issues and physics quirks get ironed out, this could be my first 360 purchase in months. 8/10.

 

[DarkStar]

I've been playing this more and more and I have to say that Saint's Row might just be the first game to out-GTA GTA.

It's got the kind of fine polish and small details that make GTA so great. For instance, I was just walking around taking in the sights and I saw an old man walking with a cane. I wondered what the old dude would do if I fired off a warning shot past his ear. Took out my shotgun and whized a bullet into a stop sign next to the cane weilding man. Dude drops his cane (which has full havok physics applied) and takes off shambling down the street. Runs to a group of other fellow seniors and they all TURN on me! I start getting a beat down from a group of old people.

Awesome.

 

[Gargantou]

Yeah, too bad it's lacking both in the size and the vehicle department, iirc, it's about the size of Vice City, it has no motorcycles and deff. no airplanes, atleast according to interviews I remember reading, although those were fairly old and they might've added stuff to the final build..

 

[Axyon]

Yeah, too bad it's lacking both in the size and the vehicle department, iirc, it's about the size of Vice City, it has no motorcycles and deff. no airplanes, atleast according to interviews I remember reading, although those were fairly old and they might've added stuff to the final build..

Yeah, there's no motorcycles or planes, but it's bigger than Vice City. It's somewhere between VC and San Andreas.

 

[Gargantou]

Still, that makes it feel a bit underwhelming to me compared to Just Cause, that not only has a more original setting, but is 1,024 square kilometers big, with mountains, jungles, beaches, cities, villages and several other things and sea, ground and air vehicles, not to mention youc an actually explore underwater in it and there're underwater things to control..
Oh, and for comparison on the size thing, San Andreas is approx. 44 square kilometers.

 

[Axyon]

Still, that makes it feel a bit underwhelming to me compared to Just Cause, that not only has a more original setting, but is 1,024 square kilometers big, with mountains, jungles, beaches, cities, villages and several other things and sea, ground and air vehicles, not to mention youc an actually explore underwater in it and there're underwater things to control..
Oh, and for comparison on the size thing, San Andreas is approx. 44 square kilometers.

They're doing entirely different things. Just Cause may be huge, but I imagine there's be little to do in the vast rural areas. It's spread out, while Saint's Row has a lot packed into a smaller area.

 

[Gargantou]

That's a valid point, though it feels that Just Cause is being quite a bit more original.
If I had to choose between the two I'd go for Just Cause. I might get Saint's Row if it gets good reviews, I'm just hoping it's better than this demo which felt pretty meh.. Besides, some things detract for me, in particular I'm tired of the whole gangbanging theme, which is why Just Cause's a plus for me with it's beautiful tropical setting.