Common Sense Media Review
Violent, Grand Theft Auto-type game.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
What's It About?
At the start of SAINTS ROW, you get to customize the look of your character, a man of few words who has joined the 3rd Street Saints, one of four local gangs who run the city of Stilwater. The Saints are being pushed back and killed off by the three other rival gangs, the Westside Rollerz, the Vice Kings, and Los Carnales. You take on missions to weaken the other gangs' strengths, ranging from hijacking a big rig to blowing up a recording studio. At any point in the game when you're not on a mission, the entire city is yours to explore.
Is It Any Good?
At a first glance, Saints Row seems like yet another Grand Theft Auto clone, with nonstop violence, sexual assaults, and other street crime. However, unlike so many games before it, Saints Row succeeds in almost every area, and is a blast to play.
Saints Row has strong appeal to players of this genre because it has both a story mode for traditional gamers, or free-roaming fun for players who like to pick up and play. The many side missions and collectibles will have you playing Saints Row for weeks, which is good because Saints Row makes being bad feel really good.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why this game is inappropriate for kids. Since this game offers an open world to explore, families might talk about why such an environment is so appealing. Families can also talk about why so much effort goes into making violent, sexed-up games. Is it because escapism and raunchiness sells? Why or why not? Do you think it's desensitizing people to violence or does it have no effect?
Game Details
- Platform : Xbox 360
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : THQ
- Release date : October 18, 2006
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : January 27, 2025
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