So let’s be really clear here. As far as writing goes, and an interesting story, I prefer the GTA games over any other sandbox game. But for replayability, for massive fun, for an overworld that is brimming with personality just begging to be fucked around in, I always prefer the Saints Row games, and none of them is more insane and fun to play than Saints Row IV
So the game is far different from the past games, which was about a small street gang becoming a massive criminal empire. Now said street gang’s leader has become president of the United States. And there’s aliens, espionage, a Predator reference in the first five minutes, a Dubstep gun, and singing to songs from the 80s, including that one song from the animated Transformers movie. It’s fucking insane, and stupid, and makes no sense. I love it. Saints Row: The Third had a very uninteresting world to explore, in my opinion. And in Saints Row IV, it’s the same world with a few added towers in it. But for IV, it fits much better. And that is because Saints Row IV introduces super powers, which is some of the most fun things I’ve seen in a video game. I know it’s inspired by Infamous, but I never played the Infamous games, so fuck it. Saints Row IV is the best version of this. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I just spent running, jumping, and gliding around the world of the game before being reminded, “Oh yeah, there’s story missions to go through”. And then there are the weapons, which just get more and more fun. Especially the special weapons, like the Abduction Rifle, which is so busted and OP and really helps you complete the challenges. And my personal favorite, the Dubstep Gun, a gun that plays loud dubstep, causing everyone to dance to death. It’s so damn fun to use, and with different varieties of music to play on it, more if you got the DLC pack. The game really has a lot of fun moments to it as well, like doing side missions for other characters, doing all of the challenges on the phone, completing all of the Activities, even some new added ones specifically made for Saints Row IV. What fun ones were in Saints Row: The Third are made even more fun here just because the developers decided to go nucking futs with the game and just do whatever they wanted, and I really appreciate that. This game is insane and addictive to play. There probably exist crazier games out there with more polish, like I hear Just Cause 2 is perfect for that, but Saints Row IV is the best kind of crazy I’ve played.
I know that Saints Row IV isn’t for everyone, especially fans of the original games, but if you are looking for an addictive sandbox game to just destroy and screw around in, and with more polish than Mercenaries 2, than Saints Row IV is the game I would highly recommend.