Saints Row first released back in August 2006 and to remarkably high reviews. Initially, many people thought it was just going to be a Grand Theft Auto clone that was trying to steal the limelight.
However, the first two games might hold some close resemblance to the popular GTA, but its third and fourth installments we're nothing of the sort.
Volition took Saints Row in a completely different direction and made it basically into its own genre. And no one could say the similarity was still there. Now, here is a list of ten ways Saints Row has changed since it first began.
10 About Gangs
Saints Row was about getting into a gang, fighting other rival gangs in complete brutal street warfare. Then as you progressed, it was about taking over the gang as the leader and then wiping out all other rivals so yours could reign supreme. The entire premise and soul of the first two Saints Row titles were all about gangs.
That idea has now been totally ejected into space, as the latest titles in the series, in Saints Row 3 and 4, gangs aren't what they used to be and aren't ultimately what's important to the heart of those game.
9 The Craziness
Saints Row was once upon a time quite a serious game, but you had standard guns, ordinary vehicles, everything was pretty much normal. Who would have thought that in the third game of the series, you'd be beating people to death with a dildo bat called The Penetrator? And laughing as you do so to entire streets of people.
Some of the missions are bonkers, such as fighting a Godzilla sized can of carbonated soda named Paul and yourself having to enter a towering statue yourself to do battle with this weird monstrosity.
Also, now that Saints Row 4 has steam workshop support, it's now open to even more madness, the madness of fans, and what they can come up with to add to the game.
8 Customization
Customization has come a long way since the first Saints Row title. In that game, character creation wasn't overly important. So this meant that you looked more or less human in the first two games.
However, this ramped up massively in the third and fourth titles, where character creation was massive. If you wanted your character to look like Shrek, big massive and green, it was entirely possible to do so. If you wanted your character to look like a red shaped monstrosity, feel free to do so. It was always a laugh playing this co-op to see what abomination your friend had created.
7 The Mature Audience
The original Saints Row was all about gang violence, and it had a darker tone because of it. Having to commit atrocities to other rival gangs so that yours could be the last one standing. Murder, GTA, destruction, Saints Row had everything dealing with gang rivalry.
Now with the later renditions of Saints Row, the dial has been turned up to 'what the hell?!' and beyond. The mature aspect has been flung out the window repeatedly, and the games have gone over to the wacky and zany side. Which, albeit, isn't a bad thing.
6 Co-op
In the first Saints Row co-op was extremely limited. It was there, but only for a three missions Turbulence, Mob Rule, and for one of those missions named Heist, you needed the DLC The Gangster Pack to access.
However, in the next three games after, the entire game is playable in co-op. But if you do play the whole game through co-op, especially in Saints Row 2, some of the missions and activities are different from the single-player versions. And of course, some achievements/trophies are locked behind playing the complete game in co-op too
5 Stopped trying to Rival GTA
When Saints Row first started, it was trying to rival Grand Theft Auto. A lot of people would call it a clone, yes you could commit murder, steal cars, go on missions, but a rival is a more accurate representation. The story and how it presented itself was very different from GTA.
The GTA series has always been pretty serious, of course, it has its moments of goofy bits, but as a whole it's serious. Saints Row 1 and 2 were more or less along the same lines until Saints Row 3 came out, and the rivalry ended, because Saints Row 3/4 took the open-world concept and layered on the madness.
4 The Power/Fame/Progression
Players start as a gangbanger wannabe, trying to climb the ladder of gang hood to become someone of importance. And eventually becoming the boss of the gang that you joined, your dream coming into fruition. This is Saints Row 1 and 2 in its entirety.
Alas, this is where things start to change. Next, you become a gangbanging celebrity, well known throughout the city - a boss of the people. Then you take control of an internal mafia, and after that, you are the President of the United States. And then, last of all, becoming the boss of the entire world.
Each game after Saints Row 2, the progression escalates into insanity. If players would have thought that after becoming the boss of the 3rd Street Saints that they'd be on a list to become the President of the United States, then they have incredible foresight.
3 Not Taking Itself Seriously
The direction that Volition took after Saints Row 1 and 2 was one that no one expected in any shape or form. From being a game about gangs, and gang warfare, the series transformed into a game where you're the President of the United States fighting off waves and waves of aliens using a shark weapon while wearing a shark hat. And somewhere along the lines, you obtain superpowers and all sorts of other wacky abilities and weapons.
The latest Saints Row titles do not take itself seriously at all, and that's what makes these titles so much fun to play. And in all honesty, because of that players have no idea what to expect next, because it literally could be anything.
2 Diving Into Science
Once upon a time, Saints Row was pretty vanilla, everything was pretty standard until Saints Row 3 came out and changed the formula. That vanilla feeling that people loved was long gone, and in its place, was lunacy.
Science became more and more relevant later in the games, from wielding mechs, battling enemies wearing scientific gear, and also adding laser guns/vehicles into the mix. Oh, and clones, cloning was a massive thing about Saints Row 3. The next game that is released, the more they dive into the realm of science and fantasy.
1 Superpowers
In the latest title, Saints Row 4, the madness of it all is instantly dialed up to number 52. As you now have an abundance of superpowers at your disposal. Of course, there's the usual superhero fare of super speed and super jump.
But players also have access to more powers, such as Telekinesis and a Death From Above, which can be upgraded into a Nuclear Stomp more or less. The fourth game has gone a completely different path to what it once started as. There is more or less nothing left the same.