Saints Row: The Third

Saints Row: The Third is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Volition, Inc. and published by THQ. The story of Saints Row: The Third takes place in the fictional city of Steelport. The game focuses on the gang war between the Saints and a rival criminal group called the Syndicate. You play as the leader of the Third Street Saints. The plot revolves around the Saints invading Steelport in order to gain control of territories owned by the three Syndicate gangs. The first gang is the Morning Star, a gang that consists of European businessmen that genetically engineer super humans called Brutes. The second gang is the Deckers, a group of hackers that launder money for the Syndicate. The third gang is the Luchadores, a gang consisting of Mexican wrestlers who control the gambling operations for the Syndicate. I think the story of the game was the weakest aspect of the package and is not required to fully enjoy the experience. I thought the cut scenes were hilarious, especially those involving a pimp named Zimos who only speaks in auto-tune. Fortunately, all the cut scenes are skip-able if you just want to get to the gameplay sections.


The graphics in the game were developed in house by Volition using a modified custom engine found in previous Saints Row games. The technical detail of the textures and environments in the game are decent but will not impress. The game has a cartoony art style which fits in with the outrageous mission style but fails to find the level of polish found in other open world games like Assassin’s Creed, Grand Theft Auto, and Skyrim. The character models can be stiff and there is occasional texture pop in and bugs found throughout the city.


The gameplay in Saint’s Row is where the game really shines. The real highlight of this game is the ridiculous types of missions that you take part in. The new mission types are Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax, Tank Mayhem, Guardian Angel, Trafficking, and Gang Operation. The objective of Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax is to eliminate a certain amount of mascots in order to unlock the exit. The objective of Tank Mayhem is to cause as much mayhem in order to earn a specified amount of money before the timer runs out. Guardian Angel has you protecting your fellow gang members from a helicopter using a rocket launcher and a sniper rifle. Trafficking has you protecting a dealer while they make various sales throughout Steelport. Lastly, Gang Operation revolves around killing an area of gang members in order to collect an item relating to that gang. Returning activities include Insurance Fraud, Trail Blazing, Heli Assault, Escort, Snatch, and Mayhem. What I like about some of these activities is that they have hilarious spins on them. One escort mission has you driving around in a vehicle with a tiger in the backseat; this is in an effort to prove you are tough enough to fight the Syndicate. Also included in the game, is a leveling system where you can upgrade weapons and melee combat using the experience you earn after completing missions. The weapons in this game are clever and handle well. One of my favorite weapons was The Penetrator, a baseball bat with a dildo attached! The other weapon categories found in the game are melee weapons, pistols, smgs, shotguns, rifles, explosives, and special weapons. The standout weapons are the cyber blaster, a Mega Man like cannon with unlimited ammo and the sonic boom which you can charge up and blast enemies sending them flying in the air. You can also call in airstrikes and control a predator drone, which is simply amazing. The vehicles are also a blast as you to travel around in the city of Steelport. The vehicles include cars, boats, planes, helicopters, fighter jets, and even hoverbikes. Also new to the game are choices that can be made during some of the storyline missions. These choices often offer different rewards and alternative endings. While I enjoyed this feature, it lacks the complexity and replay value found in role playing games like Skyim or Mass Effect.



Besides the single player campaign, the game can also be played co-cooperatively with one other player throughout the whole campaign. The co-op mode supports online play or system link and also features Drop In/Drop Out functionality. There is also a game mode called “Whored mode.” As you might have guessed, this mode puts you up against waves of increasingly difficult enemies. What makes this different from the other horde modes out there is the ridiculous game-play found in the campaign that carries over into this mode. For example, you fight naked Brutes, gimps with giant dildos, soda can mascots, whores on rollerblades, zombies, and Giant hoes. This mode can be played solo and cooperatively with one other player online. I liked that in this mode if you die you simply restart the wave; unlike other horde games which make you restart from wave one.


Overall, I enjoyed the experience that I got with Saint Row: The Third. The outrageous mission variety, upgrade systems, crazy weapons, and diverse vehicles allowed you create chaos throughout the city of Steelport. Unfortunately, I felt that game lacked polish and the immersive storytelling that you would find in the Grand Theft Auto Series. With all that said, if you are looking for a game that you can have a stupid good time this holiday season, Saint Row: The Third is the game for you.

Score: 80%

Rent: The single player campaign only takes around eight hours to complete and there isn’t much in side missions to keep you coming back for more. Also the whored mode is totally skip-able and can become repetitive quickly. Keep in mind though due to the online pass, you need to buy the game new in order to play the co-op and whored modes. Even with these modes included, I still do not think that this game warrants the sixty dollar price tag.