I can definitely see where you're coming from, but SRIV was the first/only SR I played and bought, and to me it still felt like it was living in GTA's shadow. A warped, twisted,MysticSlayer said:I'm not really sure I would call Saints Row IV a GTA clone. Saints Row: The Third was already showing signs of moving away from "GTA clone" status. By the time super powers were thrown in, it was a completely different game.
Saints Row II on the other hand...That is a great GTA clone!
Maybe it's more a matter of perception and sentiment. SRIV was just added to the BC list on XB1, and if I reinstall it and jump in, I'd still feel the kind of gameplay flow and loops that I did when first playing the 3D GTA's. And so calling it a 'GTA clone' isn't an insult at all, btw - it's more of a compliment, no matter how objectively/journalistically misleading it might be.
For me, Spec Ops, The Walking Dead S1 and Red Dead Redemption are three that always come to mind in terms of how hard they 'hit', and how much they made me think long after the credits rolled.tippy2k2 said:If I were to be an impartial reviewer like with my movie reviews, it wouldn't have gotten a 10/10 but for my own personal experience, I don't think a game hit me harder than Spec-Ops did.
I suppose my thoughts can be better summed up by saying Spec Ops is a very easy game to admire, given how well it sideswiped me and how damn brutal it was with its assault on pop-culture (which ran alongside its themes of player agency in gaming). But it's a tricky game to love, given how its gameplay is almost a secondary concern. A major part of the impact/mind-fuckery that Spec Ops pulled came courtesy of the loading screens, and 'damn! those loading screens were great!' isn't typically something I think of when I'm praising an interactive medium. ;-)