Absurdly fantastic
I did not identify with Saints Row I or II, dismissing them as shallow knock-offs of the GTA franchise. However, after watching a few clips on SR3, I decided to give it a try. The mechanics are fluid and refined. The combat is enjoyable. There are some missions that are not fantastic and perhaps go on a bit too long, but on the whole the missions are quite enjoyable. However, it's unfair to boil Saints Row 3 down to it's core components when it's the experience the game provides that allows it to stand out on its own. No longer did I regard this series as a pretender. The set pieces of this game -- that is, the memorable "moments" Saints Row 3 creates - are as brilliant as they are perverse. While the large purple dildo bat seems to garner attention, the moment that made me laugh out loud was watching a naked, auto-tuned pimp pull a flaming rickshaw up a hill without using his hands, if you know what I mean. There is a scene where you, as the protagonist, jump from a falling airplane, fight henchmen who are also in freefall, change directions and glide back INTO the falling plane, fight MORE henchmen, leap free AGAIN from the plane and rescue a damsel in distress. If you took James Bond and injected him with a Redbull-and-Cocaine cocktail, stuffed him into a Tim Burton movie and asked Michael Bay to direct the action scenes, you would still come up short for the Saints Row 3 experience.
