Overview

Considered THQ's answer to Grand Theft Auto, Saints Row immersed gamers with its open-ended gameplay and gangland storyline. The game's soundtrack featured a library of over 130 tracks — covering the classical, easy listening, electronica, metal, reggae, rock, and hip hop genres — which could be heard through the title's radio stations and in-game music players. While most of them were licensed, a few original tracks were specifically created for the game. A free promotional soundtrack was made available in 2006 that featured them.

Body

Headlining the soundtrack release are three tracks by Sy Smith. Her offerings, the imaginatively titled "Bounce Like My Chick", "Leave The Ho" and "DFM Like I'm Your Wife", are all slow and R&B focused. In addition to complementing the sleazy city setting of the game, they are also interesting tie-ins — after all, the game's character Aisha was voiced by the artist.

Rapper David Banner also has a significant role in the game's soundtrack as his contribution "Saints Row" — featured on the disc — serves as the main theme song. The lyrics are stereotyped even for gangsta rap — filled with cussing, misogyny, and gun references — but they at least fit the tone of the game. But the persuasive performance, combined with a tongue-in-cheek feel, ensure the song will still hold considerable appeal.

Contributions from Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, Daz Dillinger, and Rhymefest round off the release. It's impressive that Volition managed to hire such well-known hip-hop artists for the soundtrack and they largely bring the goods. The lyrics fit the life in the mean streets of America, while the backing tracks can be compelling.

Summary

Overall, the original tracks created for Saints Row definitely fit the image of the game. On a stand-alone level, though, these tracks are bound to be divisive though — too clichéd to appeal to major hip-hop fans, yet too offensive to appeal to many mainstream listeners. More enjoyable is the diverse selection of licensed music for the game, but unlike the Grand Theft Auto series, no music albums have been released the compile these. I wouldn't recommend tracking down this sampler.