SAINTS ROW 2 Hitting 360/PS3 in 2008

It would be nice to see original games for a change, but what can you expect from THQ? They basically only copy other game makers successful titles and turn them into sub-par games.

Let's see... Gang violence + 3rd person shooter = $$ profits for the company

What crap.

Then don't play them. Its amazing how simple that is to do.

I for one enjoyed Saints Row a helluva lot more than I have any of the Grand Theft Autos. What is mostly a copy? Yes it was, but it was fun as hell and I am looking forward to this game more than GTA IV or Halo 3

Saint's Row is good, but the story was pretty weak, so I'd be hard pressedto anticipate it's follow up more than GTA IV. I mean have you seen the trailers for the game? The days of GTA being an ugly duckling with great gameplay are over, GTA IV is going to be beautiful graphically, and considering that they've gone back to a numbered title, rather than the subtitles they've used for the last few games, I'd say odds are good that Rockstar is looking to break the mold again, like they did with GTA III.

That being said, I'm sure Saint's Row Deuce will be a fantastic way to kill an afternoon too, but don't try to take the crown away from the king until you've at least tried them both.

As for originality, come on, nothing is original anymore. Even some of the most innovative games over the last few years were variances on proven formulas. Okami is Zelda in wolfs clothing, but is it any worse for it? No. Was there anything particularly original about the story in Gears of War? Nope, but the game still kicks ass. Some times it just takes a fresh approach to an old idea, or some new gameplay mechanics to breath new life into a tired genre.

Seriously, name one game you think is truly and 100% original, and I'll give you 5 examples of how it's based on something else, inspired by something else or just a flat out rip-off.

Saint's Row may not have GTA's pedigree, but I've played quite a few open-world games, and other than Crackdown, Saint's Row and Mercenaries, I've felt let down, nearly every time.