Saints Row: The Third

Overview

Saints Row: The Third is, as the name implies, the third game in the Saints Row franchise. THQ Vice President Danny Bilson has stated that there will be "the most robust transmedia play on any game ever done", including plans of a live-action Saints Row film possibly starring rapper 50 Cent, as well as various merchandise such as a collectible card game and books. This was most likely a joke, however, playing on the plot of the game, in which the Third Street Saints have transformed from a street gang into a corporation known for "selling out". Also has the slogan Strap It On.

Plot

No one gang should have all this power.

It has been years since the Third Street Saints have claimed the town of Stilwater for themselves. They have grown from simple street thugs to a highly recognized gang, essentially becoming a corporation. The Saints are a household name, with Saints-branded sneakers, energy drinks, and Johnny Gat bobblehead dolls available in stores. The Saints' fame, however, has attracted the attention of a legendary criminal organization known as the Syndicate, who, after having one of their banks robbed by the men in purple, demand tribute from the Saints. This leads the Saints, who have never been big on bowing down to anyone, to take the fight to the Syndicate in their hometown of Steelport.

The game begins with a failed robbery attempt by the Saints, and those who are involved are thrown in jail. The bank, however, was under the control of the Syndicate, who have worse plans than prison for the Saints. As they are being relocated on one of the Syndicate's private jets, the Boss, as well as Johnny and Shaundi, make a chaotic escape from the plane as it comes crashing down to the city of Steelport below, a run down city being rebuilt by the Syndicate, who have given control of the city to three gangs, Morning Star, the Luchadores, and the Deckers. The Saints begin their conquest of the new city, and, eventually, their defeat of the Syndicate and its corrupt leader, Phillipe Loren. as well as the associates who have powered the Syndicate to its current place of power.

Gangs

As in the previous games, Saints Row: The Third features three rival gangs that the Saints must defeat in order to claim the city as their own. All three of the Steelport gangs were created by Phillipe Loren and the Syndicate.

Morning Star

These suit wearing, chain smoking criminals are led by Loren himself, and concern themselves with more organized means of crime, such as control of the banks. Loren has two personal assistants, Viola Dewynter and Kiki DeWynter, who manage his personal life and day-to-day business affairs. The Morning Star are the first gang the player will combat, and their signature color is red. They tend to drive four-door sedans, such as the Justice and the Infuego, though they also make use of heavier vehicles, such as SUVs and the Oppressor helicopter.

Luchadores

Just as the name implies, this gang consists of muscular, violent men who dress up as Mexican wrestlers. They are the most brutish gang, and specialize in fronts such as drug dealing and gambling. Their leader, Killbane, a once prominent wrestling star, was deported to Mexico after killing a man in the ring. Now, he has come to back to reclaim fame, and after being recruited by Loren became the head of the Luchadores, along with his former tag-team partner, Angel De La Muerte. However, after infighting led Killbane to unmask his partner, which is considered the greatest form of disrespect a Luchador can receive, De La Muerte is out to seek revenge.

Deckers

Although they may seem like an unlikely group of thugs, the Deckers are a force to be reckoned with. Cyber crime is their main grift. They are led by the arrogant, obnoxious, and socially challenged Matt Miller, who spends his time trolling the Internet and hacking websites to strengthen himself as well as the Syndicate. The Deckers are the most technologically sophisticated gang, but also use arguably the poorest choice of vehicles, with their main staples being the Solar hybrid car, the Kayak, and the Criminal.

STAG - Special Tactical Anti-Gang

Led by Cyrus Temple, the STAG group were formed by the government after being proposed by Senator and former Stilwater mayor Monica Hughes to combat gang violence in Steelport. They are enemies to all gangs in the city, and used advanced weapons and vehicles such as the F-69 VTOL jet and the experimental Specter hover bike. Their weapons consist mainly of futuristic laser-based designs, and some of their vehicle designs share a resemblance to the designs used for Red Faction Guerrilla.

Activities and Respect

Respect is no longer used to unlock story missions like in the previous two games. Respect now acts as experience which you use to level up your character, unlocking upgrades and abilities for purchase. Activities now play a more prominent role in the game's world; completing them will have more effect on the war against Syndicate as a whole, rather than just supplying the player with more cash and respect.

Insurance Fraud

The fan-favorite from the preceding games makes yet another return. Given an unlimited amount of health, the player must literally throw himself in harms way in order to rack up as much fraudulent insurance money as possible. The Adrenaline meter also returns, allowing a player to throw themselves over extremely large distances and into bigger hazards to maximize their scoring potential.

Trafficking

Trafficking handles identically to the Drug Trafficking missions in the earlier games, with the protagonist riding alongside an AI controlled dealer, who is attempting to sell illegal goods while the police and gang presence escalates in their pursuit. Players will be given weapons and ammunition for these side missions, and depending on the difficulty, the quality of the items received will also increase accordingly.

Heli Assault

Fly around in an attack helicopter with heat-seeking missiles and protect your crew members down below. Alternate version has you protecting Kinzie instead of Pierce and you are given more control over the helicopter.

Escort

Drive a car with a prostitute who is entertaining a client in the back seat, while avoiding unwanted attention from news crews. Also includes a variation where the player must drive with a live tiger in the vehicle while attempting to not enrage the animal.

Snatch

Take out pimps and steal their prostitutes. Alternate version has you picking up captured FBI informants from gang members.

Trail Blazing

Ride around on a flaming ATV and cause as much damage as you can in the allotted time. There's also a variant called "Cyber Blazing" where the player jumps into cyberspace and help Kinzie hack rival gangs' systems by racing through them in a Tron style lightcycle.

Guardian Angel

Protect a target from afar using weapons such as rocket launchers from a helicopter and a sniper rifle from a roof while they complete their objectives. When playing in co-op, both players will be protecting the AI, rather than one character manning the aircraft, as happened in Saints Row 2's Helicopter Assault side missions.

Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax

A super popular Japanese-style game show that pits contestants against other psychopath mascots in bizarre challenges. Complete with flame/electrical traps and bonuses obtained by shooting certain signs.

Mayhem

Using an array of explosive weapons at your disposal, rack up the most amount of dollars in damage to your surroundings as possible. Ammo is unlimited for certain weapons, and there are typically areas with more cars spawning to make causing havoc easier. Gangs and police are also eligible as targets for destruction.

Tank Mayhem

Much like the Mayhem activity, only this time you have a near indestructible tank at your disposal. Tanks in the game are extremely resistant to damage and with the limited time in Tank Mayhem, destroying a tank is nigh-on impossible. Tank Mayhem is one of the easiest side activities, since it normally has certain areas designated with huge numbers of enemies and vehicles, to boost your combo and kills.

Assassination

Find and kill a list of assassination targets. There are thirty-six targets and each target has different criteria before they will spawn and can be killed. For example, one target requires you to park at a gas station in a muscle car. When they spawn you may kill them in any manner desired, as was the case for Saints Row 2, though not in the original, where you had to kill targets in a specific manner.

Vehicle Theft

Steal and deliver a list of desired cars. These cars can be found in certain areas of the city, though if you have one in your garage you can drive it into the area and then to the chop shop, barring a few exceptions. Some of the cars needed are specific and will spawn in fixed locations, allowing you to repeatedly attempt to find the car if it has been destroyed during a previous attempt.

"Whored" Mode

Whored Mode is the games own take on Gears of War's Horde Mode survival-style gameplay. In Whored Mode the player has to survive as long as they can fighting multiple waves of enemies. Each wave has you fighting certain types of enemies with certain weapons and/or conditions. For example, waves can have you fighting against prostitutes with the Penetrator dildo bat, or against brutes in a Tank.

Genkibowl VII

Genkibowl is the first piece of DLC for Saints Row: The Third, released on January 17th, 2012. The DLC comes with 4 new Professor Genki challenges as well as new costumes, homies and vehicles.

Genkibowl

Professor Genki is hosting the 7th annual Genkibowl, a violent sport competition where the contestant must murder mascots. Apocalypse Genki is similar to the core activity "Super Ethical Reality Climax", with the same power ups and objective (score enough money to open up the exit), except that the event happens in a jungle setting with shark infested waters.

The second challenge is Super Ethical PR Opportunity, where the contestant must drive Professor Genki to an event while avoiding rabid fans and running over civilians in order to please Genki. Running over a large number of civilians triggers the vehicle's flamethrowers which fire both towards the front as well as on the sides. This car is known as the Genkimobile, and is a modified Danville from Saints Row 2.

Sexy Kitten Yarngasm lets the player control a huge ball of yarn, crushing cars and keeping the combo going by creating as much destruction as possible. This mode handles similarly to Tank Mayhem, though Yarnie (the vehicle used) is able to travel in any direction and make faster turns, though at the cost of not having a main gun. Yarnie is, like tanks during Tank Mayhem, extremely difficult to destroy in the allotted time. Yarnie can be destroyed outside the mode, though, where it appears as a Homie and can be called to your location. Yarnie cannot be selected via the Garage or Helipad.

Finally, Sad Panda Skyblazing has the contestant dress up as a sad panda who has special sky diving abilities (he can basically fly). In order to gain altitude, the player must hit (ethical and unethical) balloons and scores money by going through rings and killing mascots on rooftops with a chainsaw.

The DLC ends with the contestant winning Genkibowl and giving an inspiring speech on TV to the kids at home. Completing the DLC lets the player call in the giant ball of yarn as a homie.

Weapons

As always, the character will have an enormous arsenal of weaponry at his fingertips, ranging from pistols and shotguns to satchel charges. Weapon customization is handled similar to how vehicles were handled in past games. Each weapon can be upgraded three times, affording new abilities such as a better zoom level, or more damage. They are permanently saved to a cache in your crib, much like your garage. Melee with most weapons results in a nutshot melee animation.

Melee

Strap it on

• The Penetrator: Giant purple dildo with flopping physics. The Penetrator was one of the first weapons shown in promotional material for the game, and was also known as the 'Dildo Bat' before clarification.
• Apoca-Fist: Boxing gloves that obliterate victims. They are one of the options available during the Murder Brawl XXVI mission, depending on how you choose to handle Killbane during the mission. The Apoca-Fist is an instant kill melee weapon resembling a set of boxing gloves.
• Chainsaw
• Baseball bat
• Nocturne: A large sword, unlocked by defeating the Deckers gang. Nocturne handles similar to the Penetrator, giving roughly equal power in the form of a sword.
• Stun Gun: A regular stun gun. When an enemy is hit with a blast from the weapon their body will ragdoll and they will be temporarily incapacitated. This can also be used against other players in co-operative play.

Pistols

• .45 Shepherd: The first pistol encountered in the game, the .45 Shepherd is large and powerful, getting even larger and more powerful as it is upgraded. The design seems to blend the Colt M1911 design with the infamous Desert Eagle pistol. It boasts incendiary rounds when fully upgraded.
• KA-1 Kobra: Standard pistol used by police, with average initial performance. When fully upgraded the Kobra boasts a silencer and armor-piercing rounds, which can make it very useful.

SMGs

• TEK Z-10: The first SMG encountered in the game, with a name similar to the stereotypical Tec-9. The Z-10 is initially weak though becomes very valuable when upgraded, receiving incendiary rounds.
• D4TH Blossom: The other main SMG of the game, used by law enforcement. It resembles the TDI Vector, and has a very high rate of fire along with armor piercing rounds when upgraded.
• Cyber Blaster: An SMG unlocked by defeating the Deckers, with a similar Tron-inspired design as their cars. Physically it looks similar to the D4TH Blossom, though it fires lasers with a pulse noise instead, requiring a cooldown instead of a reload.

Shotguns

• Grave Digger: A shotgun with a slow fire rate, resembling the Winchester Model 1887. When upgraded it receives additional barrels. When it is at Level 4 the Grave Digger boasts three barrels and incendiary shells, which can make it excellent for destroying vehicles, though it has a slower firing rate than the AS3.
• AS3 Ultimax: The main shotgun of law enforcement authorities in Steelport, the Ultimax is pump action initially. When upgraded it becomes automatic and similar in scope to the real-world USAS-12. The AS3 Ultimax edges the Grave Digger out in many regards due to its higher rate of fire.
• S3X Hammer: Futuristic shotgun design used by the STAG, firing laser pulses as opposed to conventional rounds. It does not need reloaded though can overheat if fired too rapidly.

Rifles

• K8 Krukov: The basic assault rifle of the game. When upgraded it receives a grenade launcher, firing grenades in your inventory, and an LMG-styled box magazine. Due to this it can be a potent weapon for destroying cars and aircraft, since grenades fired from it explode on impact rather than on a timer.
• AR-55: A more powerful assault rifle, limited to firing in bursts of three rounds initially, though upgraded to bursts of five when fully upgraded. The AR-55 also receives a sniper scope, so can replace the McManus if needed.
• Viper Laser Rifle- A long range laser rifle

Explosives

• Annihilator RPG
• Satchel Charges: Placeable explosive device, that can be chosen during the "My Name is Cyrus Temple" mission.
• Mollusk Launcher (Professor Genki DLC pack): A mind-control launcher firing what appear to be small octopi. When a target is hit they go insane, beginning to dance and perform other erratic actions.

Special

• McManus 2015- A long range, high-powered sniper rifle
• Reaper Drone- A predator missile strike deployed through an overhead view of the battle
• SA-3 Airstrike- A precision jet airstrike designated by laser targeting
• RC Possessor- A device that overrides a vehicle's driver and allows the vehicle to be driven via remote control
• Sonic Boom- Creates a large sonic force that obliterates anything too close.
• Cyber Buster- A "Mega-man" style blaster fitted to the player's arm. Shoots unlimited explosive blasts.

Radio Stations

There are eight radio stations in the game. Through the in-game phone, the player can also create a Mixtape as a ninth station and add any number of songs from any radio station to it. Unlike in previous games, adding music to a Mixtape does not require buying the music from a music store in-game.

89.0 Generation X

• The Black Keys – Next Girl
• Brooklyn – Volcanology
• The Dear Hunter – In Cauda Venenum
• Deftones – Diamond Eyes
• Delphic – Clarion Call
• The Do – Queen Dot Kong
• Dragonette – Stupid Grin
• Feeder – Renegades
• Heavy Young Heathens – Sha La La La
• Hockey – Too Fake
• Justin Raisen – Lost Desire
• King Khan and The Shrines – Torture
• The Lines – El Matador
• Miike Snow – Animal
• The Rassle – Born Free
• Sleigh Bells – Riot Rhythm
• Valencia – Stop Searching
• White Denim – Paint Yourself

95.4 KRhyme

• Amanda Blank – Gimmie What You Got
• The Black Keys with NOE – Done Did It
• Freeway – Throw Your Hands Up
• G-Eazy – My Life is a Party
• Kanye West – Power
• K:B – Get It In
• Kurupt and Problem – I'm Burnt
• Medine – Don't Panik
• Mickey Factz – Paradise
• Mos Def – Quiet Dog
• Pharoahe Monch – In the Zone
• Rob Roy – Fur in my Cap
• Sean Price – Boom Bye Yeah
• Sixx John – Push Play
• Southpaw Swagger – Can't Stop Now
• Sum Kid – The Countdown
• Tandem – 93 Hardcore
• Tyler, The Creator – Yonkers
• Wale – Mirrors
• Yelawolf – Good to Go

97.6 K12

• Baobinga – State of Ghetto Jackin'
• Benny Benassi – Satisfaction
• The Bloody Beetroots – 31 Seconds to Die
• deadmau5 – A City in Florida
• Digitalism – Idealistic
• Dilemn – Pitiless
• Divalola – Wallflower
• Grum – Heartbeats
• Jesse No – Double Bubble
• Jesse No – Oh No U Don't
• Jokers of the Scene – Baggy Bottom Boys
• Junkie XL – Angry Elephants
• KKS – Scrub Down
• MNDR – C.L.U.B.
• Ratatat – Neckbrace
• Rusko – Woo Boost
• Tugboat – Don't Break It

102.4 Klassic

• Johann Sebastian Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No. 3: Allegro
• Luigi Boccherini – Minuet
• Frédéric Chopin – Waltz in D flat major, Op. 64, No. 1
• Antonín Dvořák – Humoresque, Op. 101 No. 7
• George Frideric Handel – Hallelujah from Messiah
• Franz Liszt – Hungarian Rhapsody
• Felix Mendelssohn – Spring Song
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Serenade No. 13 in G for String Orchestra 1: Allegro
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Serenade No. 13 in G for String Orchestra 4: Rondo
• Gioacchino Rossini – The Thieving Magpie Overture
• Gioacchino Rossini – The William Tell Overture
• Camille Saint-Saëns – Carnival of the Animals: The Fossils
• John Philip Sousa – The Stars and Stripes Forever
• Johann Strauss Jr. – Blue Danube
• Richard Wagner – Ride of the Valkyries
• Émile Waldteufel – Skaters Waltz

104.2 Kabron

• Ambush – Este Reggaeton
• Blaster Chicks – Vamonos Hasta Bajo
• Calle Cardona – Get Down
• Chacka – Friendz
• DJ Genesis ft. Simola – Ella Prende Gilla
• Don Omar – Diva Virtual
• FDK – Lujo
• FDK ft. Pinky – Dejate Llevar
• Flama – Movimiento Espectacular
• Mr. Kapri – Maria Juana
• Pitbull – Maldito Alchohol
• Prophex – La Turbina
• Prophex ft. R-1 – Se Fue La Luz
• Reggae Black – Sueltate Y Toma
• Vakero – Ponte A Trabajar
• Villanosam – Todavia No Hay Na

106.66 The Blood

• After the Burial – Bezerker
• Amon Amarth – Runes to My Memory
• Between the Buried and Me – Obfuscation
• The Black Dahlia Murder – Necropolis
• Black Veil Brides – Perfect Weapon
• Chemlab – Suicide Jag
• The Dillinger Escape Plan – Farewell, Mona Lisa
• Drowning Pool – Feel LIke I Do
• Goatwhore – Apocalyptic Havoc
• Job for a Cowboy – Regurgitated Disinformation
• KMFDM – WWIII
• Marilyn Manson – Arma-Goddamn-Mortherfuckin-Geddon
• Mastodon – Divinations
• Miss May I – Apologies are For the Weak
• Opeth – The Lotus Eater
• OTEP – Rise, Rebel, Resist
• Shai Hulud – Misanthropy Pure
• Strapping Young Lad – Love?
• Tugboat – Slow Revolution
• You Love Her Coz She's Dead – Engine Wrecker

107.77 The Mix

• Adam Ant – Stand and Deliver
• Aldo Nova – Fantasy
• Bonnie Tyler – Holding Out For a Hero
• Bush – Machinehead
• Butthole Surfers – Pepper
• Faith No More – Epic
• Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Relax
• The Icicle Works – Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)
• Joe "Bean" Esposito – You're The Best
• Mark Morrison – Return of the Mack
• Mötley Crüe – Live Wire
• Mötley Crüe – Shout at the Devil
• Robert Tepper – No Easy Way Out
• Run DMC – My Adidas
• Social Distortion – Ball and Chain
• Sublime – What I Got
• Talk Talk – It's My Life
• Tone-Loc – Funky Cold Medina

WDDT CPDG Adult Swim

• Black Mountain – Let Spirits Ride
• Cerebral Ballzy – Insufficient Fair
• Cheesburger – Winner
• Danger Doom – Basket Case
• Dethklok – The Cyborg Slayers
• J.G. Thirlwell – No Vacancy (The Venture Bros. Theme)
• Mike Bigga – The War
• Odd Future – Anarchy
• Schooly D – Aqua Teen Hunger Force Theme (Remix)
• Tim and Eric – Sports! (Sports Bar Remix)
• Unknown Hinson – Save Me From Myself
• Wavves – Idiot

Initiation Station

On November 1, in advance of the game's release, an external character creation tool named the Saints Row Initiation Station was made available, allowing players to create their characters before playing the game. They are able to upload their character to the community site where they can share it with others, and download characters created by others. Early access to the Initiation Station was made available to those who pre-ordered Red Faction: Armageddon or purchased the Saints Row Double Pack on October 25th.

Platinum Pack

The collector's edition of Saints Row: The Third cost $99.99 USD and includes the following:

• A custom modeled Saints Row headset that auto-tunes your voice (The headset works with a 3.5MM audio input and smartphone devices; it does not work on Xbox Live and the Playstation Network, though can be made to work through an adapter).
• Saints Row: The Third Original Soundtrack.

PC Version

The PC version running on multiple monitors

The PC version for Saints Row: The Third, like Red Faction: Armageddon was done in-house by Volition, promising a much better PC experience than Saints Row 2. The PC version adds a video record mode that allows you to record and save gameplay clips. It also features a much higher upper limit on the graphical presentation.

Minimum Requirements:

OS: Microsoft® Windows® XP

Processor: 2GHz Dual Core Processor (Intel® Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon™ X2) or higher

Memory: 2GB System RAM or more

Graphics: 320MB Video RAM GPU w/ Shader Model 3.0 support.

• NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800 series or better.
• ATI Radeon™ HD3800 series or better

DirectX®: 9.0c

Hard Drive: 10GB

Sound: 100% DirectX® 9.0C compliant sound card or equivalent onboard sound

Recommended System:

OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7

Processor: Any Quad Core Processor (Intel® Core i5 or AMD Phenom™ II X4) or 3.0+ Dual Core CPU

Memory: 4GB System RAM or more

Graphics: 1GB Video RAM GPU w/ Shader Model 4.0 support.

• NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 400 series or better.
• ATI Radeon™ HD5000 series or better

DirectX®: 11

Hard Drive: 10GB

Sound: 100% DirectX® 9.0C compliant sound card or equivalent onboard sound

Co-op Play:

NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800 cards or higher. Requirement of 640MB of Video RAM.

ATI Radeon™ HD3800 cards or higher. Requirement of 1GB of Video RAM.

PS3 Exclusive Content Mix-up

THQ had promised that the PS3 version of the game would have exclusive content at launch (a multiplayer game mode and a unique weapon). For reasons unknown, that content cannot be made available. So, to compensate, all North American users who purchase a new PS3 copy of the game and redeem their online pass code before February 13, 2012, will receive a free digital copy of Saints Row 2.