How To Build An Empire With Saints Row’s Criminal Ventures

As the Saints begin to establish their core, it is vital that they expand their reach in different parts of the city. Not only will it increase their influence, but it also provides them with the opportunity for more money. Establishing side hustles, or as Volition calls them, Criminal Ventures, around town will be a key activity in the rebooted Saints Row, which will reward players with all kinds of customization and items. This allows the Saints to start various businesses all around Santo Ileso. Although they may look legitimate, the side hustles that appear are actually core components of their illicit activities.
Criminal Ventures come in various styles and business types, and each has a unique kind of mission to complete. You’ll initially access Criminal Ventures in the Saints HQ, a huge church the gang has taken over and started to make their own. The inside of the Saints HQ has a planning table that contains a city map showing different areas marked up for sale around Santo Ileso. Here, you’ll decide which Criminal Venture to build out and where.
The game had only two possible ventures, and each mission was one. The first I tried was Chalupacabra, a food truck façade for convenient drug dealing around town, very much in the vein of Los Pollos Hermanos from Breaking Bad. I was assigned the introductory task of stealing a food truck from an existing competitor business and bringing it back to our newly constructed retail location as our flagship restaurant/drug store.

Bright Future is the other Criminal Venture, an environmentally-friendly recycling company that sends The Boss in search of trucks hauling vats of volatile toxic waste to dispose of for big corporations. These payloads can be dangerous as the barrels may explode or slouch in your back. You must make sure you get them there quickly and in good condition. Losing the first few containers can lead to many more.
According to some of the developers working on the side missions for entrepreneurs, there would be 15 Criminal Ventures in Santo Ileso. There will also be more after-launch. “Some of them are inspired by past Saints Row games like Insurance Fraud,” said Saints Row Project Manager Ray Hazlip, confirming the goofy self-destructive minigame will return.
Lead Producer Roje Smith said it’s still “playing in traffic,” which sounds as fun as ever in the context of Saints Row. They also told us that a military surplus venture involves weapon testing, and that another will need the new wingsuit.
Each Criminal Venture will reap unique rewards for the Saints, like the previously mentioned experimental artillery you’ll test, new clothing for The Boss, or even a hoverboard inspired by a sitcom. Some of the game’s “wackier” items, vehicles, or weapons will come from completing these illicit campaigns, along with gaining ample experience to level up and keep your cash flow flush throughout the game.
You, as the player, can bring a small piece of the world-building to Saints Row by deciding where your Criminal Ventures are placed around the city. You have complete control over which business goes in which open lot, allowing for convenient placement for the type of missions the Venture may task you with, or if you just think it’s funny to put a toxic waste dump in the middle of the posh part of town, you can do that too. In a way, it’s a form of customizing the city to look the way you’d like with a layout that will likely be different from that of your friends.
Saints Row will have plenty of side quests. Criminal Ventures has been added to the mix, which brings back some favorite activities and starts new traditions. As we get closer to the release of Saints Row on February 25, we’ll likely find out even more about the shady businesses. To learn more, visit our Saints Row Hub by clicking on the banner to the right. You can also read our digital cover story. Game InformerSubscribers
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