I Thought I was Done With This
In 2008, Rockstar released Grand Theft Auto IV. Unlike the previous title in the series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the game told a darker tale with a serious tone. Driving on the sidewalk held a consequence of conscience. Hiring prostitutes felt dirty. Every aspect of the open world served not the sandboxy bloodthirsty whims of the player, but the gravitas and reality of the story. Though there was some absurd humor, the story of that game's protagonist, Nico Bellic and his failure at making a fresh start in a new country was emotionally wrenching and viscerally engrossing. The open world genre was changed forever.
Or so I thought.
Volition's previous entry in the Saints Row franchise (also released in 2008) took the opposite stance. Goofy side activities, generic story, and interchangeable protagonist (literally, the character could change appearance, voice and gender at a moment's notice) made for an experience that embraced the sandbox. It was intuiging to see the San Andreas mentality taken to the extreme, but I found it hard to care (or indeed sink more than a couple of hours into) Saints Row II after the mind blowing experience that was GTA IV.
Split the difference?
In 2011, Volition released Saints Row: The Third. A better realization of the batshit-ivity of Sants Row 2, SRTT brings in a crazy plot that flows surprisingly well. Whether rescuing a pimp from a BDSM club or kidnapping an actor dressed as a Catholic Cardinal, I always felt I was aware of the reasons behind my actions. All the plot points are not only satisfyingly action-y and crazy, but surprisingly plausible (within the evolving Saints Row reality). However, it was the eccentric and varied characters that made me care about the outcome of the story.
SRTT brings back the activities from SR2, but without the quota system to access the next story beat. Many of the story missions introduce the activities introduce various activities, but after that, they can be ignored if the player wishes. This really cuts down on the monotony of SR2 and saves them for something to do during the endgame.
The game plays well. Staying in line with the series, SRTT does not have a targeting system like GTA IV, but uses more standard third person shooting. The guns feel appropriately visceral and I had immense amounts of fun causing chaos and mowing down wave after wave of law enforcement, gang members, or random civilians. The driving is no slouch, either... feeling more arcadey than GTA IV, I always felt that I could put the car exactly where I wanted it. Where the game surprisingly shines is the hand to hand combat. Punches and Kicks have force behind them and the left bumper doubles as a sprint and attack modifier. A traditional groin shot becomes a DDT. No Joke.
The game also offers cooperative play and a horde mode. The co-op allows players to play through the game's regular campaign in tandem. Whored mode (the naming of this mode might be the sole example where the game loses its juvenile charm) has the player fighting off waves of enemies with random modifiers, such as being substantially smaller than the enemies, with random weapons, such as a very large, very floppy dildo.
As much as SRTT lives up to its juvenile marketing, It truly is more than the sum of its parts. I have spent a lot of time in this review talking about GTAIV. After that game, I thought I was done with the very things Saints Row: The Third has to offer. It turns out that I wasn't. If done poorly, this game would be revolting. The level of quality in the execution here is a wonder to behold.
This game isn't for everyone, but if you find over the top swearing, ridiculous action movie sequences and a plethora of professional wrestling references appealing, this game is for you.
