There's plenty to deny. GTA has always had a subpar story combined with an open world.
That's about it.
Saints Row came into the scene with a truckload of activities, a more interesting story (lets face it, Rockstar can't tell a story for shit). Do you know how many people complete the story for GTA?
Of my friends and highschoolmates, I remember exactly 1 person who completed GTAIV out of around 12 people. The reason? Because paying hookers and then blowing them away with a shotgun was more satisfying than the dogshit story where Nico just yells "don't fuck with my family!" for 5 hours in his best Borat voice while you kill a bunch of people. I admit I never finished it, however I was very close. I'd say 90% through. 0 incentive to finish it I just did some online with a friend (which was fun) and then got rid of it because I knew i'd never play it again.
So with Saints Row you have the exact same concept, employed in a grander fashion. Its like choosing a plain doughnut over the creme filled chocolate doughnut with sprinkles of pure awesome.
Oh and story aside you could date Roman or shoot pigeons.
Holy shit the intrigue. It didn't even have any interesting vehicles. Only thing I prefer on GTAIV was the online mode. Free Roam was DAMN fun with a friend. If SR had free-roam it'd win out in every aspect though.
Well I wouldn't say always. I still remember Vice City and GTA SA story quite well, even though it's been 5 years or more since I last completed those games. If that isn't a good gaming story, I don't know what is. Many characters were just so well made and voiced, so funny too, they make a really solid memory.
I barely finished GTA IV too, the main game that is. Didn't enjoy it that much, but the expansions really learned a lot of the critique and put out a better game. Ballad of Gay Tony especially, the whole game just felt different, more fun, more colour, more weird weapons, more vehicles, .... If you haven't played that expansion, pick it up and give it a chance. It adds so much off the more fun GTA SA , and it does it so well.
I find there's just way more work put into GTA games than in SR. More budget, better voice casting, the world is just MUCH more refined in GTA than in SR. Those TV channels, the ingame internet, the overall world, the people walking in it, the buildings, EVERYTHING has more work in it than SR.
When GTA V was released, it was all over the news in Belgium, even on the radio, people were talking about it. NO other games are as hyped/famous/notorious/known as the GTA games, just none. Everyone of my age knows GTA, because the games are excellent, everyone wants to play them, and they aren't being milked like CoD/FIFA and other games are.
I played it for about an hour yesterday, and I can't believe they didn't keep the way you get rid of the cops like you did in Chinatown Wars... to me that was very disappointing. In CTW being chased by the cops was so much fun I used to see to it happening if I had a long drive; just to have something to do on my way there. But now it seems to be back to being the most annoying thing that can happen to you in the game. Please tell me you can crash the cops to get rid of them and I just didn't try hard enough, please!
QFT, I liked that system too, and I bet they were considering it, but they haven't. Too bad, but okay.