At first, Saints Row may have seemed like a Grand Theft Auto wannabe, hoping to tap into the huge success Rockstar had seen with the PS2 era trilogy. But as GTA 4 veered into grittier, more realistic territory, it became clear that Saints Row was heading in a very different direction.
By the end of the series, Saints Row fans had been given superpowers, massacred enemies to the epic sound of Bonnie Tyler's 'Holding out for a Hero,' thrown themselves in front of vehicles to claim on the insurance money, sprayed sewage over unsuspecting pedestrians, and wielded weaponry ranging from the dubstep gun to a fart in a jar – and, yes, those purple phallic melee weapons.
The rebooted Saints Row, which arrives on PC and consoles tomorrow, has a considerably different tone.