William Dunn – Google

The gang aspect was handled better than in San Andreas (and even later SR games) and I wish more open world games went in that direction. Graphics are best in the series for me, they are naturally bright and not dim and muted brown like in SR2. Also this is the only game in the series to have wearable chain physics. Loads of detail in this game, radio news reports on the current weather in-game. Music is full of mid-2000s tracks that are very nostalgic. The gangs feel like actual street gangs and not power fantasy. You don't start as the leader of the Saints but instead work your way up to the top, earning respect along the way. It feels very rewarding to take down the enemy gangs and the story is really good until the ending (no spoilers). It's not perfect though. Character customization is primitive and doesn't let you choose gender or voice. The vehicles are way too weak to damage and some missions and activities are downright hard because of that in particular. Also no checkpoints during missions. Hitman is a difficult activity because you'll only find your target when you aren't actively looking around the map for them. Also I can confirm this game is very laggy at times, possibly due to being a launch era 360 title. Shame we will never see a remake of this or the sequel. The reboot was a franchise killer. I'd say alongside Halo and Crackdown, Saints Row 2006 is worth buying an Xbox for.

Believe me, I wanted to like this more than I did. The combat is garbage, and nothing like the previous SR games. The combat executions go on for far too long and oftentimes interfere with trying to get into vehicles. The animations are horridly stiff as well and the whole thing feels way more dated than even the original Saints Row. It's baffling how an almost 20-year old game looks, feels and plays better than a "current gen" game Graphics are mixed, sometimes they look better than SR3 but other times they look worse. The gangs are okay, but I really didn't like the Idols. They look more like a gang from Blade Runner or Watchdogs. Panteros and Marshall are more akin to actual Saints Row gangs. The main cast are awkwardly cringy. I wouldn't describe them as woke, but they are definitely pandering to an audience that would never play these sorts of games. The story is all about friendship and hating capitalist societies which is very out of place for what is supposed to be a crime game. The LARPing missions are also very telling of how bad the story is. The ony positives I can give are to the character customization and map. Although not perfect, the character creator is on-par with SR2 but is still missing things that would otherwise make it great. The criminal ventures is a good idea, very reminiscent of Vice City Stories, but executed poorly. If you are new to this series, I advise you save your money and go buy Saints Row on Xbox 360 and Saints Row 2. I guarantee those games are both way more fun and the stories are better than this dumpster fire bargain bin game. It's sad that the original game is locked behind the 360 and not everyone has played it, but it's worth buying an Xbox for.

Absolute classic from Valve (the same people who brought us Half-Life and Portal). For my money, I would say that this game is way better than other similar zombie games. The atmosphere is broodingly mysterious and dark, the survivors are each really likeable and the story is not explicity given out to you - keep a look out for writing in the safehouse walls! The special infected are iconic to the whole franchise (other than the main four survivors): The Boomer spits bile at you which attracts hordes of zombies, the Smoker's long tongue can be used to drag you towards them, the Hunter is a quiet infected who lunges at you from the shadows. When each of these infected are in range, a unique jingle will play denoting which is nearby. Another special infected I forgot to mention was the Tank, a large beast which will require co-operation and a lot of bullets to take down. No jingle will be played but a horrifying medley will inform you of his presence. In essence, a very fun co-op FPS which is never the same exact experience twice thanks to the AI Director. Plenty of fun to be had here as with all Valve games.

A very strong game all these years later, and it brought mainstream popularity to online multiplayer games on the console. Most everything about this game is awesome: the satisfying combat in gameplay, the level setpieces, the orchestral / rock-style soundtrack and intricate story which fleshes out more of the Covenant's backstory and the major battle on Earth (not a spoiler, since it was heavily marketed in pre-release footage for H2) Biggest point of criticism for me is that the difficulty curve is a bit drastic compared to other Halo series games - it's not just about skill, but often luck too. Expect a hard time on Legendary difficulty!