Saints Row: The Third

[Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin]

If I had to review it in sixteen words, I'd say it's a neverending collage of inappropriate humor and "yes, that just happened." And it is awesome.

One minor annoyance is that, unlike Saints Row 2, I really never got to the point at which I was making money faster than I could spend it. (Mostly because I'm trying to go for several different ~$80,000 upgrades at once, but I've taken all the territory in the city and gotten every money-bonus I could, and I'm still getting less than $50k an hour.) There are other ways to break the game, however.

A slightly less-minor annoyance is that Shaundi isn't really anything like she was in Saints Row 2; yeah, they didn't have the same VA, and yeah, she's mad because of

Spoiler:

Johnny Gat's death

, but there really wasn't anything else familiar there, either.

Ah well, awesome, all in all.

[Dr.Strafe]

I enjoyed my trip through Saints Row 3, but there were many things that were nagging at me.

-The storyline wasn't as good as the previous two games. Remember how in those games, each rival gang had their own unique storyline full of twists and turns? Well, that just doesn't happen here. The three arcs of the story are told in a linear fashion. I remember my reaction to when

Spoiler:

Killbane kills one of the Sisters after the party/ambush mission. That bastard was to become my #1 target. But nope. You get to go after him last because he fancies himself as the new leader of the Syndicate.

-The game is just too short. 47 missions. Half of that is spent introducing the characters or the activities. Sure, things get interesting again once

Spoiler:

STAG

shows up, but the presentation felt rushed and a bit lacking. I completed the game in 22 hours, but half of that was spent screwing around and buying up properties.

-

Spoiler:

Johnny Gat's death. MAN, did this one piss me off. We're talking my favorite character from the previous games here. Since he was killed off-screen, I maintained the belief that he would show up later and kick some serious ass in the nick of time. But nope. The game just taunts you with his likeness at every turn. You get to dress up as him, drive a car shaped like him, and look at all of the Saints merchandise featuring him... but he's dead, only to come back as the inevitable zombie homie after you have completed the game.

-

Spoiler:

Burt Reynolds' cameo.

I have tremendous respect for the man, but his appearance served no purpose to the game whatsoever.

Don't get me wrong. I still loved playing the game, but the strong points lie in the general sandbox "fuck around" factor. This game presents some of the best and most versatile weapons and vehicles that have ever been introduced in such a game. Upgradeable weapons? Yes. Laser weapons? Yes. A tank that can crush cars beneath its treads? YES.

Spoiler:

Hover bike? Airstrike gun? The ability to control vehicles remotely? Apocafists?

HELL YES.

The upgrade system is really interesting too, but in time I hit the same problem that Kimiko mentioned. I had such a high income, that I was just buying stuff for the sake of spending money. You can eventually become invincible to everything and have infinite ammunition with every weapon. That is, if you level your character up enough and acquire the money to do so. As cool as this sounds, it completely removes the challenge to the game, and will lose its appeal eventually.

I plan on making another trip through the game. This time on Hard mode, without buying or upgrading anything, aside from ammunition. I'm sure I can still complete the storyline in 10-12 hours..and still have a blast doing it. Here's hoping that Saints Row 4 improves things in the way that SR2 did to SR1.

Best mission of the game: The final mission of the Deckers. I will not spoil it. You must play it for the full effect.  :3

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

Just finished the main storyline last night.

There's a lot I love about this game like the all-in-one phone menu and the new upgrade system, but there's a lot I feel is a step back from 2, like the more linear campaign and the fact you can't replay completed missions other than the finale (which I feel is slightly anticlimactic in comparison to And A Better Life from 2).

The game has a lot of good points, though. Especially loved the

Spoiler:

call-out to Red Faction

in the Gangstas in Space ending.

[Dr.Strafe]

You can only redo the final mission to take the other path. Once you complete the game that way, then you cannot play the mission again.

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

You can only redo the final mission to take the other path. Once you complete the game that way, then you cannot play the mission again.

Well, that's a disappointment. I'm hoping Volition might patch in replayable missions in an update, but that's a longshot.

[Dr.Strafe]

Yeah, I wasn't thrilled by it either. Anyway, if you take the other path, you get to play one more mission. The rewards are cool, and

Spoiler:

Shaundi and Viola are no longer dead

after you complete it. Ending-wise, I think it was better than Gangstas in Space.

Well, that's a disappointment. I'm hoping Volition might patch in replayable missions in an update, but that's a longshot.

Well, there's always DLC  :V

Well, I've started my Hardcore-No Upgrade run. Stealing vehicles from the Restricted Zone is pretty fucking brutal now.

[Nem]

I beat the game on my first playthrough in 11 hours. I'm currently on my second playthrough doing all of the secondary activities. 12 hours in, and I'm at the part where

Spoiler:

STAG appears after you meet up with Viola.

Trafficking, driving AI, and tanks do not mix. Pierce spent the whole mission moving back and forth between two utility poles. Now I use a Bulldog outfitted with a machine gun and level 4 reinforced frame for trafficking missions.

The Zimos missions are pure comedy, especially the

Spoiler:

human pony chase. I unloaded a whole clip into a gimp pulling a cart to stop the pursuing Morning Star, and instead of falling over, he suddenly explodes!

[Tamer Anode/Cathode]

Okay, the fully upgraded Shepard with explosive rounds is the most hilariously overpowered weapon ever, especially after you get the

Spoiler:

dual-wield and infinite pistol ammo

upgrades. I should not be able to destroy helicopters with a single clip.

They've done a good job with the weapon variety in this game; there may be slightly less than SR2, but all of the weapons scream "use me use me use me" rather than each one in the class being just an incremental upgrade over the previous one. It's something I wish more games would do.

[Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin]

I think mostly, Volition was going for an entirely different kind of "flow" with Saints Row: The Third. It's not perfect, and the lack of mission-replay is definitely a step backward (although I expect this was partly for technical reasons, given that several "regular" missions end with choices that affect the game-world), but I think they weren't trying to be the same thing at all. It'd be like trying to judge Zelda by how much it's like Final Fantasy.