Saints Row is the new Grand Theft Auto, at least until the next GTA installment later next year. It is just not possible to talk about Saints Row without mentioning GTA, but that is not a bad thing. GTA is the gold standard, and comparisons have to be drawn.

While Saints exhibits many similarities to the GTA series, it is not merely a copycat. The experience and presentation have been refined, partly due to the Xbox 360, and Xbox Live. But where the "just like GTA" comparisons stop, Saints gives us a game that fixes what was wrong with GTA all along.

Saints Row is a third-person open-world action game from Volition and THQ. The game closely resembles GTA III, with cues from other games in that series.

Everything is here that you would expect from Rockstar's juggernaut, and more. This isn't the first time we have seen an unoriginal idea, blatantly copied, but it is almost criminal how well it has been pulled off. Thankfully the game has that "it" factor that makes it fun, so you will get over the unoriginal part easily.

Instead of playing someone else, you create your player character in Saints Row. This involves a very Tiger-like creation system. Once you have modified everything from eyebrow to chin width, the game starts. Oddly though, there is no preset for a female character.

Right from the get-go, the visuals are simply stunning. Texture detail, lighting, and weather systems are superb. Frame rate is hardly ever an issue. Regrettably, due to the game's streaming word, pop in, draw distance, and graphical glitches rear their ugly heads.

I have also noticed audio drop out from time to time — two to three seconds of silence is very noticeable. These are not showstoppers, but they kill the illusion of the otherwise hyper-realistic world.

As eyepoppingly beautiful as the visuals are, the ambient effects and audio of Saints Row trump the graphics. The game makes heavy use of all five channels, so those with a surround sound setup are in for a real treat.

Showing off how well sound in a three-dimensional space works, music on a radio station sounds muffled from a parked car. This mimics real life quite well.

Life in Stilwater

In grand fashion, you are heaved head first into a gang shoot-out between three gangs — this is how you begin Saints Row. The leader of the 3rd Street Saints, Julius, saves you.

You are told to meet up at the church, and thus you are inducted into the 3rd Street Saints. Your goal is to help your gang defeat the three rival gangs in the game. This makes for three very different story arcs, and a satisfying story overall.