I’m planning to pick up Saint’s Row when it drops next week. I really enjoyed the demo released on the XBL marketplace. However, in contrast, my best friend Toby played it and wasn’t too impressed. The difference between us is that I never really gorged on GTA: San Andreas. I think I played for maybe 5-10 hours, tops. Toby, however, lived on it for a time. I’m sure he easily clocked 20-30+ hours in the game.

So as Saint’s Row is very similar to GTA, and while it polishes a lot of things, it doesn’t really innovate on any of them. If you’ve played GTA:SA to death, Saints Row may not seem very appetizing, understandably. However if you haven’t played or spent a lot of time with GTA, I think Saint’s Row is a solid next-gen iteration of the genre.

I do have my fingers crossed that the multiplayer will be as fresh and fun as it sounds. GTA:SA never had a versus mode, so if Saint’s Row does it well, it may be enough of a reason alone to pick up the game.

I’ve also got my sights set on Bomberman Zero. We saw it at E3, and though they ditched the cutesie cartoony look to the game in favor of a darker and more serious atmosphere, all of the classic fun gameplay was there.