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
-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
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.
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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.
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