• Totally customizable thug
• Unlockable homies join your crew
• Take over the city one district at a time
The focus of the E3 demonstration of Saint's Row was a player starting out as a relatively insignificant gang member, and gradually taking over the entire city. As a member of the Third Street Saints--one of three enemy gangs in the city--players customize everything about their thug, including the face, clothes, bling, and their vehicles. You can approach taking over a neighborhood by partaking in several illegal activities, such as drug trafficking, robbery, street racing, or pimping. The developers showed off the game's pimping by first shooting an innocent driver out of a car, then driving off to find a rival pimp. Once the appropriately purple quarry was found, they proceeded to simultaneously end his pimping career and his life. You could almost hear shouts of,"There can be only one!" as the recently deceased's hoes were transferred over to the player's flock.
In a surprising move during the demo, these freshly acquired prostitutes fancied stealing cars for the player. The developers went on to explain that this is an example of the game's hired AI helpers, called homies. Players can obtain these computer-controlled gangmates throughout the game, unlocking additional homies as they progress through the missions.
In an effort to set Saint's Row apart from the rest of the pack, the developers created a sort of reputation system for the game. You can judge how well known you are with the various factions in the city by taking a look at the reputation meters in the corner of the screen; the higher these bars get, the more dangerous it becomes in that gang's turf. The Volition guys even showed us just how rough things can get for the player by cranking all the notoriety meters to the max, which caused an all-out war on the streets, with the player at the center.
After causing enough damage in a rival gang's neighborhood, players can take on so-called stronghold missions, where they storm the enemy's headquarters. The stronghold shown off in the demo was less of a fortress and more of a mansion, and seemed vaguely similar to Tony Montana's pad from Scarface. Mansion or not, this stronghold's inhabitants were armed to the teeth, and clearing the place out with a squad of homies has potential to be a real blast.
Volition promises around 150 songs on 12 radio stations, complete with commercials and newscasts that tie into recent gameplay events. One example that was given was an advertisement for a clothing sale at a specific time of the day, which the player could then take advantage of. You can also purchase an MP3 player to listen to your own music while you're on foot; music that you can stream from your real-life MP3 player attached to the Xbox 360, oddly enough. Little things like this should help make Saint's Row feel more like a living, breathing world rather than a simple shooting gallery.
Things are shaping up nicely in the visual department, as well. Environments look exactly as you'd expect a gang-ruled city to look--lots of adult-oriented establishments bearing neon signs, with a thick coating of graffiti, hobo campfires, and lowriders abound. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the environments is how they're streamed from the Xbox 360's hard disk, which translates to zero load times. Abundant use of ragdoll physics and realistic--albeit slightly exaggerated--car damage add plenty of flare to the urban carnage. Debris from car explosions can even cause damage to nearby pedestrians, so all the crap that flies everywhere isn't just for looks. In addition to blowing up nicely, the vehicles also sport nice reflections of the surroundings.
Bron: GameDaily
Klik om te vergroten...
