URBAN FREE-FOR-ALL ISN'T JUST A COPYCAT.

Byline: Redmond Carolipio Staff Writer

Playing ``Saints Row'' is like having the same mixed drink at different bars. You know what's in it, but there's a little added tweak here or a twist there to maintain a sense of uniqueness -- and you either like it or hate it.

When it comes to this free-roaming gangsta epic from THQ, the taste is mostly familiar: a large city that serves as a virtual violent playground where players can -- you guessed it -- do whatever they want to whomever they want. It would almost be too easy for the skeptic to look at this and say, ``I've played this game before. It was called `Grand Theft Auto.' ''

However, what makes ``Saints Row'' intriguing is that it doesn't try to run from the tenets set forth by the ``GTA'' series. Instead, it actually seems to embrace them, improve on them and add to them. Plenty of good stuff has come from this mindset, and thankfully, THQ has managed to pull it off.

One buzz-worthy aspect of the game is its create-a-player feature, which is where you start a new game. Much like the EA models, you can customize everything from ethnicity to eyebrow height, so the narcissist in all of us can literally put ``ourselves'' into the game.

After that, it's on to the fictional city of Stilwater, where you get caught in the crossfire of gunfight and end up getting saved (and recruited) into the 3rd Street Saints, one of the local gangs. From there, you work your way through the game's mission-based story, engaging in gobs of mini-games along the way.

This isn't an experience for the easily offended or overly righteous; you're in a gang, so you have to do gang stuff, which raises your income and ``respect'' meter. Your jobs range from recruiting prostitutes for local brothels (a quick pick-up-and-drive mission) to serving as a hired gun for a drug dealer. Other times, you'll serve as a hitman or chop-shop supplier -- there's literally never a dull moment in Stilwater.

Some of the missions are goofily inventive, such as ``insurance fraud,'' where the player has to dive in front of moving vehicles for cash. The nastier the hit, the more loot you get.

Sick, yes, but also oddly entertaining.

Where the game earns most of its points are in smaller elements, not massive features. For instance, the game's dummy-proof map system makes navigating Stilwater extremely easy. All the player needs to do is set a waypoint, and the game traces a colored line on the map that the player can follow to a destination. I also enjoyed the option to start over or replay any missions I fail, something that wasn't readily available in other open-world titles.

And as one should expect, the game is nice to look at on a big screen. It's nice to drive around and check out the richness of the city, where you can zero in on all the detail put into the buildings, city dwellers and even the lighting.

My favorite part of the game is the audio. The voice acting is outstanding, giving life to a stable of characters that made me want to venture further into the game's story and side missions. The radio stations play a tight array of music ranging from rock to reggae to hip-hop.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was one of those skeptics ready to write off ``Saints Row'' as another ``GTA'' clone, even after messing with it at the last big E3. After investing many hours in the single-player mode alone, it's clear that ``Saints Row'' is more than just an acquired taste.

SAINTS ROW - Three stars

Platform: Xbox 360.

Rated: M for Mature (Seriously, don't get this for your teen. I can't spell it out any more than that.)

In a nutshell: Few angels on the streets.