Saints Row V

Saints Row V is an upcoming Open-World Action-Shooter for the PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth numbered entry in the Saints Row series and takes place in an alternate version of the Restart Ending from Gat Outta Hell. It is notable that the game is set in the year 2021 although due to changes in the timeline characters and events from Saints Row 1 and Saints Row 2 appear closer to those counterparts of themselves. Due to the reset timeline, Stilwater doesn't exist in this timeline, instead, the player finds themselves in the city of Gleamhearth, a much larger city that unlike Stilwater was never ravaged by rampant crime in its early years and as such developed significantly.
==Plot==
As with previous Saints Row games, the Plot is divided up into sections with an introductory section and a finale section that are connected by a series of non-linear story plots involving the other gangs of Gleamhearth.
===Introduction===
The city of Gleamhearth is a large metropolis inhabited by several gangs that own and control large amounts of the city, their presence has damaged the city's image due to the influx of crime, drugs, gang violence, and other illegal activities. The rampant rise in crime is attributed to corruption in the Police Force due to greed and addiction. Many in the higher positions of power within Gleamhearth flourish from the crime, using the gangs to assure control of the city and gain vast wealth from the illegal activities, however, for the common man on the streets, Gleamhearth has degraded over the last two decades with areas of the city becoming dilapidated and the presence of the gangs means often the only choice for those in the city is to ally themselves with a gang or outright join a gang.
In the Saints Town District in the North-East of the city, where the rival gangs of the Basilisks and the Informers often fight over territory resides two men who would usher in a new age into the city, with the ambition to take back the city of Gleamhearth from the Gangs, removing what they saw as injustices and corruption. Julius Little and Benjamin King formed the Saints, a gang born out of the conflict brought about in their homes to reclaim back what had been taken from them.
Though their gang couldn't initially assert territorial control over their home, the Saints grew quickly gaining new members in the form of the resourceful and intelligent, Lin and the cunning and respected, Dex. It wouldn't be however until a rather unassuming individual, simply referred to by Julius and the others as The Player would join the Saints and help turn the tide allowing them to take Gleamhearth back from the gangs.
==Characters==
Many characters from the previous games in the series reappear in Saints Row V, and although many have their roles changed, due to the presence of the new gangs there are also a number of new characters mixed in. The player will find that as they progress through the game and the side missions they'll be able to unlock most major characters as Homies allowing them to roam around the city with the player.
===Gangs===
In Saints Row V there are eight major gangs including the Saints. Each of the rival gangs dominates a particular territorial area in Gleamhearth, over the course of the game, the player and the Saints gain control of these territories by completing the story missions although it is only through completing all side missions and the epilogue can the Saints control the entire city.
Basilisks
The Basilisks are a fierce gang located in the North of Gleamhearth, their businesses primarily focus on Gambling although it is discovered through the missions focused around them that they also dabble into Loan Sharking and Pyramid Schemes. The Basilisks are primarily made up of people looking to make a quick buck, many of its members are known to show little in the way of loyalty outside of those with direct ties to the gambling arm of the gang. Distinguished by their monstrous icon the Basilisks mainly can be found moving around in large groups and usually travel via large luxury vehicles, primarily Limos.
Bears of Wrath
Located in the North-West, the Bears of Wrath is a particularly brutal gang that exerts their power by extorting those that they control territory over for money and goods. One of the main aspects of this gang that make them such a threat is their ties to the rapidly growing homeless population, taking in those displaced by other gangs and the police force the Bears of Wrath to weaponize the homeless using them to exert pressure tanking the pricing of housing and causing general chaos to those that attempt to stand against them. Strangely they prefer to stick to their corner of the city separate from the other gangs, perhaps keeping their distance to prevent a gang war.
Informers
A rather devious gang located along the Portside of the city, the Informers are considered vile by most other gangs, even in spite of the crimes the other gangs commit, this is due to the front that the Informers put on, often dressing up in very formal attire and known for driving high-end vehicles. This however is only skin deep as beneath this the Informers are the head of a notorious international sex trafficking ring that accordingly has connections across the the ocean. The gang supposedly had origins in the European continent but moved out to the US to establish new ground, they're the most divisive of the gangs as many of the other gangs are untrustworthy towards them which isn't helped by the Informers often having a bit of a language barrier and just not caring in most cases.
Ink Dopplers
The oldest gang in Gleamhearth, when the Ink Dopplers started asserting their presence over Gleamhearth is generally regarded as when the fall of the city began. The Ink Dopplers are professionals when it comes to being hitmen, though the lower gang members mainly work in less direct illegal activities such as Forgery and Money Laundering, the higher echelon of this gang are known to keep close to themselves and are said to behave like a family, staying closely together through a mutual trust as well as both honor and fear.
Silver Fangs
Considered even by the other gangs to be one of the most dangerous gangs in the city, the Silver Fangs are rather unusual in that they publicly appear to the press quite a lot, this is due to the numerous dealings that the Silver Fangs have had with both the Downtown and University Districts, often weaseling their way into the pockets of others before asserting control. The Silver Fang is also difficult to determine just how far their reach is since they use fake businesses to start partnerships with real businesses that they get to submit to working on their behalf. They're one of the only Gangs to really capitalize on their corruption tactics.
Tapputi
Not much is initially known about the Tapputi Gang, from an outsider's perspective they appear to just be a chaotic group that doesn't have any structure, instead just madly asserting their dominance through criminal and often violent acts. They're the only gang that hasn't attempted a form of bribery and appear to lack a leader. Digging a bit deeper however reveals that the Tapputi is actually an extremely large group of cultists that establish themselves in cities and although almost never successful found success in the turbulent nature of Gleamhearth, their leaders are extremely xenophobic and zealots, some regular gangs members can also be heard referring to the player, the police and rival gangs as "unclean".
Whitehorns
Believed to have been born from a group of corrupt cops the Whitehorns primarily work in trafficking illegal goods including various animal-based materials as well as illegal drugs. The Whitehorns have a rather strange control over their territory, often getting their targets indebted to them either through being hooked on their drugs or by buying their furniture unaware of its origins. There is also suspicion that the Police are corrupted most directly by the Whitehorns with some believing the Whitehorns have members in high-ranking positions within the force.
==Gameplay==
The Gameplay has been changed up since Gat Outta Hell, more focus was put towards gunplay and driving, due to the removal of much of what was introduced in Saints Row the Third and onwards there was instead a focus on refining the core elements of the series.
===Gunplay===
The main change with Gunplay was to add more elements to it to make it easier for the player to evade damage and also dish out damage. On foot a cover system was introduced as well as a parkour system, the player is able to fire their gun while undercover although has reduced accuracy as a result, the player will automatically take cover as long as they're crouching and the player can peek from their cover by using the Iron Sights button. The player can also move from cover to cover if they're close enough or make a dive for more distant cover by using the Sprint button.
Parkour appears in Saints Row V as a mechanic that the player can use in combat, the player can vault over walls and other surfaces as long as they're below a certain height, and the player can also with upgrades briefly jump against a wall to get a position advantage against their enemies, this comes in the form of jumping directly into a wall which causes the player to do a flip or jumping into a wall at an angle causing them to jump at the parallel angle, these are both done by pressing the Jump Button while Sprinting as the player approaches the wall.
Weapons also have been tweaked with new elements of information provided including the recommended range of each weapon as well as variant ammo types which mix up the gameplay. The weapons are again divided into a Weapon Wheel which like the previous games is split into eight options; Fists, Melee, Pistols, SMGs, Shotguns, Rifles, Explosives & Special.
===Driving===
Driving has been somewhat altered, vehicles each have their own weight values which impacts how much they can slow down or be slowed when in a collision as well as how floaty they are when making jumps, the probability of two-wheeling, and how much they spin when drifting. There are a large variety of vehicles, many from previous games making their return as well as new ones mixed in.
One of the major changes to driving was how shooting works, by pressing the Iron Sights button while driving the firing reticle will lock onto the closest target within the player's view within a certain distance, this allows the player to focus more on driving although does mean the player is unlikely to be able to shoot specific parts of target vehicles such as their driver, tires or motor. The player also has the option of driving a passenger by tapping the Call Homies Button once, this will also cause a Homie to take over driving as long as the player has one, when not given a destination Homies will drive around evading any enemy vehicles, however, if the player sets a personal waypoint then they will drive to that location. It should be noted that Homies cannot drive while the player is in a mission as some missions have Homies driving or require the player to drive.
For the first time since Saints Row the Third, Boats also make their return allowing the player to choose between land-based, water-based, and air-based vehicles again. In addition, some new options that allow a mixture between the three are introduced including Seaplanes, Car-Planes and Amphibious Vehicles.
==Locations==
The City of Gleamhearth like with Stilwater and Steelport before is split up into Districts, each then further divided into Neighbourhoods. Each District provides a distinct visual style that varies from its surrounding districts, some having landmarks as well that define that district. Districts also feature locations of interest which include; Gang Hideouts, Shops and City Landmarks. As the player traverses through the different Districts they'll see the gang that controls the specific neighborhoods patrolling around, gangs from neighboring locations can also appear in districts not owned by their gang which can on occasion lead to a gang war, the only exception to this is the Bears of Wrath who are the only gang that appear in the North-West Districts and never appear elsewhere, reflecting their gang's non-direct nature.
==Side Objectives==
As with previous Saints Row games, there are side objectives the player can complete that aren't defined as missions, these are split up into three categories; Activities, Gang Events and Diversions. Activities are the most significant of the three and have the player completing tasks for a character in-universe, completing the tasks will often reward the player with cash, and also after completing a certain number of each Activity levels weapons, bonuses, and even unlocking the character as a Homie.
Gang Events are a new side objective added that mixes some elements from the earlier Saints Row Games with Saints Row IV's Flashpoints. These are events that are located across the map and must be found by the player, they generally involve either committing crimes or dealing with another gang in some fashion, they're often quite short usually taking no more than a minute although can also easily result in the player being attacked by the Police or the relevant Gang.
Lastly are Diversions, returning from previous games in the series, these are objectives that only appear when the player is meeting certain criteria, some include being in a specific vehicle while others require the player to perform a certain action. Diversions are able to be repeated instantly and are an easy way for the player to earn cash quickly although their payouts are lower than Activities or Gang Events.
==Trivia==
*It is implied in the game that Johnny Gat is aware of the events that happened in Saints Row 1 through to Gat Outta Hell
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