Saints Row

Saints Row came out in 2006 as one of the Xbox 360's launch titles, and from the start it was clear what it had its eye on - the open-world gang genre that Grand Theft Auto dominated at the time. In the fictional city of Stilwater, the player joins the Third Street Saints crew and gradually helps them seize territory held by the rival gangs Los Carnales, Vice Kings, and Westside Rollerz, taking over street businesses, weapon deals, and entire neighborhoods along the way.

What set the game apart from its competition was mainly its emphasis on the player's own character - the editor let you set the playable character's gender, build, tattoos, clothing, and even walk with a level of detail unusual for its time, letting the player go through the whole story as, quite literally, their own gangster. The game also offered a full two-player online co-op mode, a wide selection of radio stations, and a darker, grittier tone for its street-gang story than the series' later entries adopted, as they gradually leaned into parodic exaggeration.

The story is also guided by mentor Julius Little, who brought the main character into the Saints and advises them early in the game on how to navigate the world of street wars, while in the background the powerful Ultor corporation operates, its interests in the city reaching far beyond the fighting between individual gangs. Alongside the main storyline, the game offers a range of side activities typical of the genre - chases, insurance fraud, and races - which in 2006 counted among the best-executed the genre had to offer outside of GTA itself.

Why play: Saints Row makes sense for open-world fans who want to see the series' roots before it slid into the exaggerated absurdity of its later entries, and who will appreciate a darker, more grounded story about gang wars over a city. It's also an interesting stop for players who want to experience an Xbox 360 launch title from a time when the generational leap in graphics still felt like a striking novelty.