The main difference between SR and GTA, is that the first, even with lower production values, is actually fun.

Unbelievable these scores! Saints Row The Third is one of the worst games I've played this gen and this new game looks just as bad. Maybe it's the anti-GTA everyone is looking for. Odd that they've strayed so far away from what made the genre good in the first place. The franchise seems like it's a parody of itself (similar to the new Miley Cyrus video).

this, oh so this, I don't care what critics say, I'll play SRIV and enjoy the crap out of it.

Flying naked alien-fighting presidents = copy of GTA

Sounds legit.

Saints Row 4 seems to be more like Crackdown and InFamous than Gran Theft Auto.  Even has orb/Shard collecting like Crackdown and InFamous but its called Clusters (I think).

Just to clarify, this is a great thing.  Crackdown and InFamous are great and personally I think this looks better than both XD

Given its origin as a DLC for SR3 I was skeptical about the game, but so far every review I've read says that it lasts about 15-20 just for the main story, without the side missions and extra stuff, as well as saying that the story is better than the one in SR3.

And on top of that it's fun! What's not to like about it?

saints row should honestly be compared to dragon ball z or marvel, more off a super hero game, then a grand theft auto clone now

I'm surprised Saints Row IV scored so well when it basically the same as Saints Row the Third except you now have super powers (it's even set in the same city). I don't think we should even compare with GTA, just because all that matters in Saints row is ridiculous fun but in GTA the story and gameplay are more important. They are good in their own right and i look forward to playing both but GTA is still king of sandbox games.

I'm pretty sure GTA IV wasn't really worthy of that 98 metacritic. And something tells me that V is going to be a lot better than that boring real life simulator, but still won't reach 98. I don't really know what the reviewers were thinking when this game got 98. There are so many better games than GTA IV that don't even reach 90.

That's awesome. The time it took me to completely finish SR3 was about 35 to 40 hours, but I felt like the story itself had very few missions. Probably 5 hours just for the main story.

I assume they gave it such a high score due to its scale and detail for a sandbox game in 2008.  Comparing to other games of the time, most of them don't have the living world like GTA4. In fact, it basically gave the foundation to the sandbox trend that started with it.  Most sandbox games that followed had hijacking, guns, and the main character joining a gang/ rogue cop and missions in  same format