Saints Row

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Volition Inc.

I just never really got into Saints Row…certain aspects about it, I love…like throwing myself into oncoming traffic to sue the “reckless” drivers that hit me…however, there are more times that I felt like I'd rather quit and play a Grand Theft Auto game than instances where I was loving my time playing this. My biggest complaint is your reputation…in a sandbox game, half of the fun is just wandering around and goofing around. You're penalized for doing that in Saints Row. I failed a mission, moved on to mess around in game to clear my head a bit, then went back to attempt the very same mission only to find that since I was wandering around and doing nothing instead of completing side missions, my reputation dropped and I was no longer qualified to play the mission that I had been qualified for an hour beforehand. Add in the not cool "cool" characters and the very, very dumb humor (these jokes are edgy for what grade schoolers tell on the playground…they come across as dumb and hollow for a grown adult) and you've got a game that tries too much to be a Grand Theft Auto rip-off rather than a true Grand Theft Auto alternative. I wound up getting fed up with the game after realizing that to improve my reputation, I had to play a bunch of side missions that I didn't enjoy…and ultimately, that led to me deciding to move on to games that wouldn't make me shake my head in disappointment. I don't hate Saints Row…it's decent…but if given the choice, I'd rather play something else.

Review added: 12/14/2024

Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Firaxis Games

I never really got into the Civilization games, to be honest. I think I would if I sat down and put some time into them…but between work, trying to play a bunch of games for this list, and various other life activities, I've been kind of been timid to jump in and try to learn what seems like a potentially complex game series. I don't think I'm the only one, either, so Firaxis Games decided to create a simplified, streamlined version of the game for folks like me that like the concept, but want it to be easy to pick up and play without having any idea of what to do, and without having to strategize too awful much. The end result was Civilization Revolution, a basic version of Civilization, streamlined for casual players and/or for people new to the series. And if this was an introduction for Civilization for a lot of players, it was quite a good one. While it's easy to pick up and play for newcomers, you can ramp up the difficulty and find a nice, solid, challenging strategy game here as well. It's also one of those dangerous games where you feel like you've been playing for ten minutes, look at the clock, and realize that two hours have actually gone by. The downside is that while this game is very, very well done, people who enjoy a ton of depth to their strategy games may be a little disappointed here. There is definitely some depth here, mind you, but maybe not to a degree that Civilization purists would prefer. Anyway, if the concept of the Civilization games interests you, but you want something that's easy to just pick up and play, then give Civilization Revolution a shot. I bet you'll be glad you did.

Review added: 10/12/2024