Saints Row: The Third
Saints Row: The Third may be the most fun I’ve had playing video games all year. Naturally Saints Row is compared against Grand Theft Auto IV because of their many similarities but the two games could not be more different. Grand Theft Auto IV placed a strong emphasis on cinematic narrative where Saints Row: The Third is based around being absolutely ridiculous.
The emphasis on being over the top and ridiculous is the single best aspect of Saints Row: The Third and affects everything from missions to character creation. The mission statement while creating this game must have challenged everyone working at Volition to try to create a crazier idea than their co-workers. After playing through the game multiple times I can honestly say that I never found a single mission to be boring. In every open world game there are a few missions that are always the highlight of the game. These missions often occur around the climax of the story and are action packed from beginning to end. Almost every mission in Saints Row: The Third feels this way, with several giant set pieces, ridiculous situations or uncanny enemies, Saints Row: The Third is a constant thrill ride. I often found myself laughing out loud at what was occurring on screen, not only because it is often hilarious but the fact that the game actually put the player in these crazy situations.
One area that Saints Row: The Third pales in comparison to GTA IV and even past Saints Row games are the supporting characters. While it does offer interesting and unique supporting characters, they are severely underdeveloped and can become lost in the insanity of each mission. Little if any emotional attachment is built around these characters. The result is that the supporting cast never becomes more than mission givers and backup.
The lack of character development is largely overshadowed by the variety of intense missions. The side missions are also quite fun with returning favourites like Insurance Fraud and Mayhem along with new series entries such as trailblazing. These side missions are slight variations on the typical Saints Row gameplay and provide many additional hours of fun. In addition to side missions you will be tasked with taking over the different territories of the city of Steelport. As with past Saints Row games you move in on other gang territory by purchasing properties and taking out rival gang operations to increase your hourly income. This income can be spent on new clothes, upgrades to your gang stronghold or weapons.
There are a few dozen different weapons in Saints Row: The Third which range from street and military grade weapons to ridiculous and obscene weaponry. Money can be spent on upgrading weapons to a maximum of four levels or upgrading the hundreds of vehicles with additions such as a flamethrower. Income can also be spent to upgrade the abilities and skills of your character and gang. You can eventually upgrade your character to take no damage from bullets or fire and upgrade the health and weapons of your gang members. Many of these upgrades decrease the realism of the world but they do create a fun sandbox experience. These upgrades can be purchased through the in-game menu which doubles as a cell phone. The cell phone is also used to place GPS markers on a map of the city, call in backup and check your stats. The one function that the cell phone is missing is the ability to call a taxi for fast travel that was innovative in Grand Theft Auto IV.
Combat mechanics are largely unchanged from past Saints Row games but still work very well. One of the more notable changes is the ability to have choice over the events of the main story line. On several missions you will be presented with a choice that affects the outcome of each mission. Depending on your choice you will be granted a different cutscene, new allies, and a new weapon or ability. The effects of your choices have a limited impact but do change the story slightly.
Saints Row: The Third does suffer from some technical limitations that are apparent in the draw distances. Driving a car quickly down a street will often result in vehicles, trees and other objects popping in. Another area that could be improved upon is the radio stations. There are only a few radio stations with limited track lists. Songs will be repeated quite often on the radio almost to the point of annoyance. Tim and Eric of Adult Swim have their own radio channel that is sometimes funny but the use of voice filters is far too prevalent for any meaningful listening. The heavy reliance on voice filters by Tim and Eric was a disappointment which puts their work far below the talk radio found in Grand Theft Auto IV.
Aside from playing solo, the entire game can be played through with a partner across Xbox Live. Playing with a friend is a great way to experience Saints Row: The Third. Playing with one other person is nice but playing through other open world games like GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption with multiple players is an experience Saints Row: The Third sorely misses. A free roam mode that allowed for sixteen other people to play would have been a great addition and an incredible way to kill some time with friends. Past Saints Row games have had a limited competitive multiplayer experience that is also missing in this instalment. Saints Row multiplayer was never groundbreaking but it was fun and gave some extra playing time once the single player was completed.
Instead of a competitive multiplayer or free roam mode Volition did include a new game mode titled “Whored Mode.” Whored Mode is a wave defence game mode that can be played with a partner across a few different maps. The enemies and their weapons change each wave and become progressively more difficult. Gears of War 3’s “Horde Mode” put forth the notion that more teammates are better in wave defence gameplay and the two player maximum in Saints Row: The Third is limiting.
Saints Row: The Third offers one of the best single player and cooperative campaigns of the year. The underdeveloped story and characters are overshadowed by the constant action packed missions and humorous dialogue and situations. The structure of the missions brings Saints Row: The Third to a place of pure over the top entertainment making some of the issues mentioned in my review minor footnotes to an overall great experience. An increase in the total amount of players and a more robust multiplayer experience would have made Saints Row: The Third an exceptional game. It is the perfect game for people to get together and cause mayhem in the open world but sadly does not offer that support.
