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There have been better games this year. There have been more ambitious ones. In terms of scale, Grand Theft Auto 5 throws Saints Row 4's production budget onto the screen between 30-60 frames per second. None of them have made me grin so much from start to finish though, or made me so sad to hit the final mission and know the good times were about to end. Quite an achievement for a series that started out actually offending me for how much it ripped off GTA to finish by making me wish GTA 5's cash had bought it even 1/10th of its sense of fun.While the superpowers and general craziness are what got most of the attention at launch, they're only part of what made it so great. A big part, yes; there's nothing quite like being able to leap across a whole city in a single bound while being reminded you have both the TOUCH! and the POOOOWER! Volition's decision to not give even the tiniest hint of a scrap of the lingering scent of a s*** about things like 'balance' and 'what we'll do in the sequel' may have led to a lot of the best abilities being front-loaded, but damn, if it wasn't fun to just cut loose and be awesome without having to wait for a modder to come along and lift the normal restraints. Bombing around with super-speed and jumps just didn't get old, with the lack of challenge being part of the fun rather than something to be annoyed by. After all, you're the Boss. The Boss failing at anything is practically a plot hole.
Saints Row 4's biggest strength though was something far more surprising and unusual for open worlds; its sense of warmth. Somehow, The Boss especially became that rare example of a power not corrupting, having completed an arc from mere thug to staggeringly vindictive bastard to supervillain to someone genuinely likeable - still the worst enemy you could ever make, but now also the best friend you could ever have; a force of nature who will have your back to the end of the goddamn world. Literally. Around that newfound sense of puckish roguedom, the Saints finally became more than just another gang. They became a family, and temporarily being part of that family in all its Paula Abdul wrecking glory became joyful.
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