Hector says Buenos noches.

For the past two years, Saints Row has looked like big, hairy ass. The visuals were disgusting, the frame rate was slower than Snuffaluffagus, and the game crashed every time I looked at it crooked. It was an abysmal mess, but I can't say the same thing about the retail copy sitting on my desk. Someone at THQ must've really believed in this project or smacked Volition upside its collective head, because this game, this wildly entertaining crime simulator is one of the best things to happen to the Xbox 360.

At its core (hell, in general), Saints Row is a straight up GTA clone. You can jack any vehicle you want, kill anyone you wish, and like in San Andreas, get your hair cut, try on some new threads, and score some really mean looking tattoos. You'll also go on a lot of familiar missions providing you've actually played a Grand Theft Auto game. These include, but are not limited to, escort and hit man missions, though the game does set itself apart from the competition because of its gang focus. You're not some down on his luck loser or an Italian mobster. You're just some random guy that's been given a second lease on life, or more importantly, the opportunity to join one of Stilwater's (the game's fictitious city) most prestigious gangs, the 3rd Street Saints. You and your new friends will take control of the city one section at a time by going to war with rival gangs the Westside Rollerz, The Carnales, and the Vice Kings, and more often than not, all hell breaks loose. Gang fights can erupt at any time and you'll have to jet to that specific location and kill a certain amount of lieutenants to clear the area, and what's especially cool about this is how everyone works as a team. The AI isn't the sharpest, but it knows who the enemy is, whether it's another gang or even the police. In fact, if you so much as punch someone in the face (pedestrian or enemy) while in the company of your new "brothers and sisters", your newfound compatriots will beat the crap out of them for you. Plus, as you meet new people you have the option of calling them for help, so the game has a really great sense of community. Not that being in a gang is a good thing, but in Saints Row's case, it makes me proud to be a part of something.

That's not to say that you can't go your separate ways. You'll always be a member of the Saints, but you can also go off on your own and complete missions that'll actually advance the story and there are a decent number of them. Some task you with chauffeuring a call girl and her John around town while avoiding the press, another has you working with a crooked lawyer and intentionally getting run over, while another just requires you to cause a certain amount of property damage before time runs out. Again, all of this stuff is very similar to the GTA titles, but the game's so good that none of that matters, particularly since missions can be completed out of order and you can unlock several at a time by earning respect. I'm also quite fond of the in game map, which lets me set waypoints instead of having to stop and start because I forgot where XYZ place is located.