Saints Row: 2022 Reboot

[Ivan1997GTA]

Two minor things that need to be brought back in the new Saints Row game are drugs, alcohol and improvised weapons.

 

In the first Saints Row game, you can purchase different types of booze and weed at liquor stores. If you drink booze, it will increase the power of your melee attacks, sorta like a superpower before getting superpowers in Saints Row IV, but your vision will become ripply and blurry the more you drink. If you smoke weed, your damage resistance will increase. The more you smoke, the more invincible you become, and, of course, your vision will be more distorted the more you smoke. Drugs and alcohol have become more common in Saints Row 2, but there's only one type of each available: a blunt and a 45 oz. Also, they will only distort the screen and you don't get any kind of powers from them.

 

And as for improvised weapons, they are featured in Saints Row 2. There are lots of objects that can be picked up and used as temporary melee weapons, like chairs, bottles, traffic signs, tires, fire hydrants, and lots of other stuff, which can also be thrown. In a way, booze bottles are kind of weapons, since when the protagonist throws it after drinking the contents, and if the bottle comes in contact with a pedestrian, they get hurt. It was kind of a missed opportunity to make the 45 oz. bottle into an improvised weapon, like a broken bottle that can be used like a knife. I know, it's not much, but I thought improvised weapons were kind of a neat feature. Improvised weapons did not return in Saints Row: The Third. They kind of did in Saints Row IV with the telekinesis superpower, but picking up an object with your mind and throwing it is not the same as picking up an object with your hands and beating someone up with it and/or throwing it.

Edited February 15, 2019 by Ivan1997GTA

[Hmmm nice bike]

I completely forgot about how drinking and getting high in 1 would give you some extra abilities. I'm surprised that never returned, and that would be another good replacement for superpowers. Just get high and you can take more damage.

 

Yes on bringing back improvised weapons. That was an awesome thing to have in 2 (as silly as it was to see your character something pulling out street signs and fire hydrants that are bolted to the ground), and I'm surprised that never returned in 3 except for that wrestling mission.

[Creed Bratton]

Don't forget that you could learn different fighting styles in SR2. Most people seem to have forgotten about that.

 

It's a flawed gem, but the emphasis is more on it being a gem.

[Hmmm nice bike]

And stuff like that is the reason why SR2 is a much more fondly remembered game. It wasn't a complete masterpiece and it definitely had its flaws, but it was still an amazing game for its time and a game that you could tell the developers didn't completely sink into laziness with (and before THQ's issues also helped drag things down with their laziness). They made a better game in 2 years than they did in the 3 years that it took to make SR3. And much like with Red Faction Guerilla (certainly what you could call the 'Saints Row 2' of that series) to RF Armageddon, Volition chose the easy and lazy way out with Saints Row and made lackluster sequels instead of improving even further on what they could and trying to keep things that made the previous games great. I think they just lost their focus back then.

[Mokrie Dela]

Defo feel like playing 1 and 2 again now. Was considering starting the gta series again but I think I'll play the saints rows first

[Creed Bratton]

Volition

They used to be amazing. To this day I think The Punisher from 2005 is one of the greatest comic book games ever made. It was kind of a movie tie-in, but not really. The only thing that carried over from the movie was Thomas Jane as Frank Castle and that level with the Russian assassin at his apartment. The rest of the stuff was directly from the old comic books, including Punisher's appearance. And Nick Fury, Black Widow, Iron Man and Daredevil made an appearance.

 

Everything about that game was well designed. Upgrades made sense, trying to get gold medals in every level was challenging but fun as f*ck and even the music was incredible. For a supposedly cheap movie tie-in it was a remarkable piece of work. Listen to this theme:

 

 

 

So yeah, Volition used to be truly amazing.

Edited April 4, 2018 by Darth Yokel

[Hmmm nice bike]

Defo feel like playing 1 and 2 again now. Was considering starting the gta series again but I think I'll play the saints rows first

This is why I'm still glad to have a 360, and my old copies of Saints Row 1 and 2. Once I have the time to, I think I'll play through those again, too.

 

They used to be amazing. To this day I think The Punisher from 2005 is one of the greatest comic book games ever made. It was kind of a movie tie-in, but not really. The only thing that carried over from the movie was Thomas Jane as Frank Castle and that level with the Russian assassin at his apartment. The rest of the stuff was directly from the old comic books, including Punisher's appearance. And Nick Fury, Black Widow, Iron Man and Daredevil made an appearance.

 

Everything about that game was well designed. Upgrades made sense, trying to get gold medals in every level was challenging but fun as f*ck and even the music was incredible. For a supposedly cheap movie tie-in it was a remarkable piece of work.

 

So yeah, Volition used to be truly amazing.

I never played The Punisher, but it doesn't look like a bad game for something that was probably seen at first as just a movie tie-in. You can tell they actually worked hard on the game, too. One classic Volition title that I love is Red Faction. The first game in the entire series, a first person shooter and something that was seen by many as just a cheap ripoff of Half Life, but they still managed to make it unique in its own way. The story of a revolution against a company that controls mining operations on Mars was interesting (the whole plot and feel that the game has reminds me of Paul Verhoeven's movies like Total Recall and Robocop), the levels throughout the game had a ton of variety and didn't all feel the same (mines, corporate offices, science labs, etc.), and the destruction that you could cause, while it looks kind of outdated now, was unparalleled for a game from 2001.

 

Pretty much anything could be blown apart, and this was expanded further by 2009's Red Faction Guerilla (even though you could no longer create caves or destroy the ground or rocks,

). And as I mentioned on another page, I always found it neat how they set Saints Row in the same timeline/universe as Red Faction. Ultor was the main antagonist in Red Faction 1 and SR2, we find out how the company started and how they expanded, Dane Vogel ended up getting a mountain on Mars named after him (as we found out by RFG, when the last mission took place there), there was nothing that made either game a direct sequel or prequel to each other, but plenty of references tied the two series nonetheless.

 

Of course, this all got thrown out the window eventually, and it's a reminder of how Volition could have still been making awesome games and improving on already-existing franchises instead of ruining them.

[Mokrie Dela]

 

Defo feel like playing 1 and 2 again now. Was considering starting the gta series again but I think I'll play the saints rows first

This is why I'm still glad to have a 360, and my old copies of Saints Row 1 and 2. Once I have the time to, I think I'll play through those again, too.

 

Hell yeah

 

The Punisher

The special kill animations too. Loved them. That game was good. I'd forgotten about that. No idea it was volition

[WELSH_BOI_99]

The Only hope I can see a new Saints Row game working is that they completely reboot the series. Start again since I don't think its worth salvaging the mess where Saints Row 4 left off. Bring it back to its roots with a new set of characters and a more cohesive story.

Be part of a street gang again, fighting other gangs and etc. I hope they go creative with the gangs like with SR2. 

Also It would be interesting to see Saints Row with proper RPG mechanics. 

 

I've literally got tons of ideas for a new Saints Row title if you guys want to hear it. 

 

On 4/4/2018 at 10:18 PM, Hmmm nice bike said:

This is why I'm still glad to have a 360, and my old copies of Saints Row 1 and 2. Once I have the time to, I think I'll play through those again, too.

 

I never played The Punisher, but it doesn't look like a bad game for something that was probably seen at first as just a movie tie-in. You can tell they actually worked hard on the game, too. One classic Volition title that I love is Red Faction. The first game in the entire series, a first person shooter and something that was seen by many as just a cheap ripoff of Half Life, but they still managed to make it unique in its own way. The story of a revolution against a company that controls mining operations on Mars was interesting (the whole plot and feel that the game has reminds me of Paul Verhoeven's movies like Total Recall and Robocop), the levels throughout the game had a ton of variety and didn't all feel the same (mines, corporate offices, science labs, etc.), and the destruction that you could cause, while it looks kind of outdated now, was unparalleled for a game from 2001.

 

Pretty much anything could be blown apart, and this was expanded further by 2009's Red Faction Guerilla (even though you could no longer create caves or destroy the ground or rocks,

). And as I mentioned on another page, I always found it neat how they set Saints Row in the same timeline/universe as Red Faction. Ultor was the main antagonist in Red Faction 1 and SR2, we find out how the company started and how they expanded, Dane Vogel ended up getting a mountain on Mars named after him (as we found out by RFG, when the last mission took place there), there was nothing that made either game a direct sequel or prequel to each other, but plenty of references tied the two series nonetheless.

 

Of course, this all got thrown out the window eventually, and it's a reminder of how Volition could have still been making awesome games and improving on already-existing franchises instead of ruining them.

 

God as a massive Half-Life nerd I loved Red Faction. And yeah I also loved the idea of 2 games sharing a same universe like that with Ultor being the link. Like Portal and Half-Life with Aperture/Black Mesa being the link between the two. Its a shame that this never happened.

[Zello]

Got my hopes up. Saw this thread got bumped hoping to see some news instead no news and disappointment.

[Hmmm nice bike]

4 hours ago, WELSH_BOI_99 said:

The Only hope I can see a new Saints Row game working is that they completely reboot the series. Start again since I don't think its worth salvaging the mess where Saints Row 4 left off. Bring it back to its roots with a new set of characters and a more cohesive story.

Be part of a street gang again, fighting other gangs and etc. I hope they go creative with the gangs like with SR2. 

Also It would be interesting to see Saints Row with proper RPG mechanics.  

 

I've literally got tons of ideas for a new Saints Row title if you guys want to hear it. 

 

I agree. As much as I loved Johnny Gat and Pierce as characters, they'd probably be better off just rebooting the entire franchise by now and starting on a clean slate and going back to an SR1 and SR2 style gameplay and story. Considering how many people go between asking for a new SR game to be more like SR2 and how many people were begging for an SR2 remaster, Volition has to realize that people want that more than the "ZOMG SAINTS IN SPACE FLYING DILDOZ LOLOLOLZ" type of game, or Agents of Mayhem (which was apparently supposed to be a Saints Row game except it isn't Saints Row except it is, or something).

 

I always thought a civil war within the Saints would have been an interesting thing to tackle. A set/faction within the gang starts clashing with the boss before going to war with your side and trying to take over the gang. Maybe that'd have been a way of explaining why the character is left with jack sh*t again at the start, because it all gets stolen from him by their rival during a power struggle. Of course, that's probably better for a sequel to SR2 rather than a new title. Where do you think a rebooted Saints Row should be set though? Stilwater, or someplace entirely new?

 

1 hour ago, Zello said:

Got my hopes up. Saw this thread got bumped hoping to see some news instead no news and disappointment.

This happened to me, too. Nonetheless, I wouldn't be surprised if Volition are working on something. SR3 is coming to the Switch sometime this year, even though that's probably the port that nobody asked for. I know an SR2 remaster is unfortunately a non-option at this point, but if it was I'd be just as happy with that as I'd be if they actually made another SR in the same style as 2.

 

Also, just to add a bit of news that may or may not be irrelevant, but Volition's original boss and founder, Mike Kulas, has returned to the studio after leaving in 2011. SR1, SR2, and Red Faction Guerrilla were all out under this guy, but clearly things began flopping around the time he was leaving (which was also around the time THQ was f*cking up and likely making sh*tty demands for the games). Maybe now they'll actually have some direction again.

Edited February 15, 2019 by Hmmm nice bike

[happygrowls]

The closest we have to any Saints Row news is Saints Row: The Third being ported to Nintendo Switch, which is the weirdest choice imo. Would've been perfect to port the first game, or for SR4 to be ported, but SR3 of all the games?

It's just quite odd, I hope this isn't what the article I put in the start of the thread was referencing

 

 

[Zello]

Volition lost the source code for SR2 and idk about SR1.

[Hmmm nice bike]

1 hour ago, Zello said:

Volition lost the source code for SR2 and idk about SR1.

Only the PC version's source code was lost since its development was outsourced to another company. They have the source codes for SR1 and 2, but they're evidently so messed up that it's easier to just rebuild the games from the ground up than work with a ton of sh*tty code

[WELSH_BOI_99]

16 hours ago, Hmmm nice bike said:

I agree. As much as I loved Johnny Gat and Pierce as characters, they'd probably be better off just rebooting the entire franchise by now and starting on a clean slate and going back to an SR1 and SR2 style gameplay and story. Considering how many people go between asking for a new SR game to be more like SR2 and how many people were begging for an SR2 remaster, Volition has to realize that people want that more than the "ZOMG SAINTS IN SPACE FLYING DILDOZ LOLOLOLZ" type of game, or Agents of Mayhem (which was apparently supposed to be a Saints Row game except it isn't Saints Row except it is, or something).

 

I always thought a civil war within the Saints would have been an interesting thing to tackle. A set/faction within the gang starts clashing with the boss before going to war with your side and trying to take over the gang. Maybe that'd have been a way of explaining why the character is left with jack sh*t again at the start, because it all gets stolen from him by their rival during a power struggle. Of course, that's probably better for a sequel to SR2 rather than a new title. Where do you think a rebooted Saints Row should be set though? Stilwater, or someplace entirely new?

 

This happened to me, too. Nonetheless, I wouldn't be surprised if Volition are working on something. SR3 is coming to the Switch sometime this year, even though that's probably the port that nobody asked for. I know an SR2 remaster is unfortunately a non-option at this point, but if it was I'd be just as happy with that as I'd be if they actually made another SR in the same style as 2.

 

Also, just to add a bit of news that may or may not be irrelevant, but Volition's original boss and founder, Mike Kulas, has returned to the studio after leaving in 2011. SR1, SR2, and Red Faction Guerrilla were all out under this guy, but clearly things began flopping around the time he was leaving (which was also around the time THQ was f*cking up and likely making sh*tty demands for the games). Maybe now they'll actually have some direction again.

Here's my idea for a Saints Row game I don’t know if you will like it or not but I think its worth sharing

 

Firstly the setting. I can imagine a Cyberpunk setting being a good fit for a Saints Row game. Especially if its going in Saints Row 2’s direction. You can have the goofy elements within the setting while still having a gritty crime fest story. Plus a Cyberpunk setting would definitely fit with the take of “The Underclasses revolting against a big corporation” You’re still part of a street gang revolting against Ultor.

 

I can see Stilwater returning but like with GTA 3 and 4 and GTA San Andreas and 5 I figured it would be completely redesigned to fit the Cyberpunk Aesthetic. You can have the slums like Saint’s Row, Shivington, Sunnyvale and the lavish futuristic districts like downtown. I can imagine Stilwater in the 2020’s or 2030’s looking like this https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/saintsrow/images/a/a1/Early_concept_art_of_Stilwater.png/revision/latest?cb=20150720142413

 

Also regarding the story. It could be a retelling of SR2. Your character would play a similar role to Julius. You start out in the Row recruiting members to clean the row. I don’t have much ideas for the story department unfortunately but I’ll think of something soon.

 

I want the customisation to be in depth. Like Saints Row 2 on steroids. Not only you can customise your character in the same vein as in SR2 you could also set with nationality you are, more voices to select from, the ability to create your own tag and tattoos, you could also choose your own affliction. The way this works is that I’m thinking of incorporating RPG elements. Like you can be an undercover cop, a pimp, a thug, hustler, driver and even a prostitute. You can also level up in those skill areas like shooting, driving, resilience, stamina, tagging, hustling  respect (respect allowing you to gain more trust in your homies allowing for more homies to join you like you can go from 3 followers to 6) I think SR1 and 2 were touching upon those elements and I think if SR3 got its sh*t together we would’ve seen them in some form.

 

Now most importantly the gangs. What I love about the gangs in SR2 is that they all had their own unique taste and theme. The Ronin was Honour, The Brotherhood was Vengeance and the Sons of Samedi was Voodoo and Occultism. I would love to see this further expanded upon. Here is my ideas for a 6 gang system in my Saints Row

 

You would have the realistic gangs like

 

-The Vice Kings

 

-A biker like gang like The Lost or the Angels of Death

 

-An italian Mafia like gang

 

For the creative gangs this is what I would put in

 

-The Deckers (They had so much potential in SR3 which was wasted plus they would be perfect for the setting)

 

-A Hipster Gang

 

-A Goth or Punk like militia gang.

 

-Also Ultor as a Corporate military like gang. Playing a role similar to SR2

 

Also I figured Stilwater should be redesigned around with this 6 gang (Or 7 counting Ultor) around this. Maybe add new islands or hell they go go the Hengsha route in Deus Ex with the Cyberpunk setting by adding an island above the city like this https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/deusex/images/9/96/Hengsha_Concept_DEUS-EX-CityScape.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180830040414&path-prefix=en

 

But this may be too excessive. Although Stilwater would be expanded upon with adding more gangs

 

This is all I got so far if you guys want I’ll try and figure how the story would play out with this framework in mind.

[Hmmm nice bike]

Interesting ideas. While I think that the whole floating city thing is a little too out-there, I like the idea of traditional gangs and creative gangs. I think at one point in SR2's development, they mentioned that there would have been a punk rock terrorist militia or something. I think it was on a video about how they wanted to add an amusement park to Stilwater and a developer that the video's creator contacted brought it up.

 

As for Stilwater itself, they should definitely find ways of expanding it if they brought it back. Include the old map, but have new areas added onto it. They could probably expand further west and give us more land. One idea I always had was to have the game set in a county that would include Stilwater, but also some other places that exist outside of the city (a smaller independent city, a depressed former industrial center, an amusement park like they had planned, etc.). At this point, I think that they really should just bring back Stilwater. It'll be nostalgic for those who loved the first two, and it was such a better-designed place than Steelport that half the work of designing the map would basically be done.

Edited February 16, 2019 by Hmmm nice bike

[WELSH_BOI_99]

59 minutes ago, Hmmm nice bike said:

Interesting ideas. While I think that the whole floating city thing is a little too out-there, I like the idea of traditional gangs and creative gangs. I think at one point in SR2's development, they mentioned that there would have been a punk rock terrorist militia or something. I think it was on a video about how they wanted to add an amusement park to Stilwater and a developer that the video's creator contacted brought it up.

 

As for Stilwater itself, they should definitely find ways of expanding it if they brought it back. Include the old map, but have new areas added onto it. They could probably expand further west and give us more land. One idea I always had was to have the game set in a county that would include Stilwater, but also some other places that exist outside of the city (a smaller independent city, a depressed former industrial center, an amusement park like they had planned, etc.). At this point, I think that they really should just bring back Stilwater. It'll be nostalgic for those who loved the first two, and it was such a better-designed place than Steelport that half the work of designing the map would basically be done.

Agreed. Also regarding the gangs I was thinking of a Dynamic Gang system. Maybe you don't have to destroy the other gang. Maybe it’s possible to have a respect system for each gang. If you have full respect the gang would be able to merge with your gang. If you have negative respect the gang would be your arch enemy and you would take them out traditionally. To gain respect like this you could take part in gang wars that could benefit the other gangs. Like you see 2 gangs fighting it out and you could take part in their war. Also imagine there were sub gangs. Like small groups forming in certain areas. You could have the option to take them out or recruit them.

 

 

 

If you could manage to keep the peace with all gangs I’d imagine the final battle with Ultor would be easier. Gangs vs a Mega Corporation. Also having Ultor again would actually properly link it up with the Red Faction series. Maybe one mission you infiltrate the Pyramid to discover plans to Mine Mars or hell Axel Capek could appear as a Cameo.

 

 

Also regarding Stilwater I agree there does need to be more islands and districts. Also imagine a full on countryside with smaller towns outside. Like you said. There is so much potential for Stilwater to be expanded upon.
 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2019 by WELSH_BOI_99

[Hmmm nice bike]

9 minutes ago, WELSH_BOI_99 said:

If you could manage to keep the peace with all gangs I’d imagine the final battle with Ultor would be easier. Gangs vs a Mega Corporation. Also having Ultor again would actually properly link it up with the Red Faction series. Maybe one mission you infiltrate the Pyramid to discover plans to Mine Mars or hell Axel Capek could appear as a Cameo. 

Funny enough, the ideas about linking the series a little more to Red Faction were ones I thought of a while ago. I thought it would be cool to infiltrate the Pyramid again (this time much more heavily guarded and much more difficult to sneak into) and finding stuff like "prototype weapons" that would turn out to be weapons from Red Faction. And Capek in 2075 was so old that it wouldn't be out of reach to see him or hear about him in Saints Row if it's set now or in the near-future (2030s).

[WELSH_BOI_99]

3 minutes ago, Hmmm nice bike said:

Funny enough, the ideas about linking the series a little more to Red Faction were ones I thought of a while ago. I thought it would be cool to infiltrate the Pyramid again (this time much more heavily guarded and much more difficult to sneak into) and finding stuff like "prototype weapons" that would turn out to be weapons from Red Faction. And Capek in 2075 was so old that it wouldn't be out of reach to see him or hear about him in Saints Row if it's set now or in the near-future (2030s).

Exactly he could be a young lab assistant. Plus I figured the Masako would be advanced by the 2030's with more high end type of tech. Not the STAG type but something realistic enough that its possible for a real life mercenary group could have. Stuff like Human enhancement, camouflage technology,drones and etc We could see the Masako use early prototypes of Red Faction weapons.

 

Not too Sci Fi though still grounded but with more of an gameplay edge if you get my drift.

[hal210]

Saints Row 2 remastered will come first then a new Saints Row after a few months.

[Zello]

8 hours ago, Hmmm nice bike said:

Interesting ideas. While I think that the whole floating city thing is a little too out-there, I like the idea of traditional gangs and creative gangs. I think at one point in SR2's development, they mentioned that there would have been a punk rock terrorist militia or something. I think it was on a video about how they wanted to add an amusement park to Stilwater and a developer that the video's creator contacted brought it up.

 

As for Stilwater itself, they should definitely find ways of expanding it if they brought it back. Include the old map, but have new areas added onto it. They could probably expand further west and give us more land. One idea I always had was to have the game set in a county that would include Stilwater, but also some other places that exist outside of the city (a smaller independent city, a depressed former industrial center, an amusement park like they had planned, etc.). At this point, I think that they really should just bring back Stilwater. It'll be nostalgic for those who loved the first two, and it was such a better-designed place than Steelport that half the work of designing the map would basically be done.

Really hard to add more to Stillwater it has pretty much everything. Now I wouldn't mind like another city close to it.

[WELSH_BOI_99]

7 hours ago, hal210 said:

Saints Row 2 remastered will come first then a new Saints Row after a few months.

I wouldn't bank on a remaster unfortunately

[Tao Cheng]

This is probably Volition in a nutshell when they made Saints Row 1 and 2:

 

[Zello]

7 hours ago, Tao Cheng said:

This is probably Volition in a nutshell when they made Saints Row 1 and 2:

 

-snip-

 

I mean pretty much lol

[SinZer0s]

On 2/17/2019 at 2:59 PM, Tao Cheng said:

This is probably Volition in a nutshell when they made Saints Row 1 and 2:

Early 00's B, it was the cool sh*t holmes

 

(Whites look so funny with that style, I don't think I'll ever get over it)

[KingAJ032304]

Unfortunately all the people hoping for saints row to returned to it's roots are dreaming. compare the 1st 2 to sr3 and 4 in sales and you will see that the crazy sh*t is what the mainstream want. It doesn't help how in total Volition only made 20 M from all their games IN TOTAL! Sorry but the 3rd Street Saints Row ain't coming back. "The Row ain't safe no more son." - Julius Little

[Lock n' Stock]

I'm wondering the same thing as well. What the hell happened to Volition? They were moving their way up the open-world ladder back in the day but somewhere along the line they just completely dropped off. I blame the alienating decisions they made on the SR series and THQ going bankrupt more than anything.

 

In regards to a new installment, the timeline for the series is a bit f*cked up at this rate, so if anything they should make it a complete timeline reboot much like GTA IV did.

Edited March 4, 2019 by Lock n' Stock

[Jason]

Agents of Mayhem happened I think. Guess they wanted a change of scenery after years of making SR games. It could have worked if they hadn't forgotten why people loved the SR games.

[Lock n' Stock]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

Agents of Mayhem happened I think. Guess they wanted a change of scenery after years of making SR games. It could have worked if they hadn't forgotten why people loved the SR games.

The thing that turned me away from AoM more than anything was it's lack of customisation and it's confused identity over whenever it was a SR game or not.

Edited March 4, 2019 by Lock n' Stock

[Ivan1997GTA]

10 minutes ago, Lock n' Stock said:

The thing that turned me away from AoM more than anything was it's lack of customisation and it's confused identity over whenever it was a SR game or not.

Maybe Saints Row has infinite timelines, like Rick and Morty.