Steel Port for the taking! welcome back to Steel Port the home and city wide stronghold of the Saints. In Saints Row 2 the gang successfully annihilated their enemies that came in the form of gangs and police, with all of their rivals out of the way they have become superstars to the people of the city. Think sponsored energy drinks, clothing and jewellery lines and you have the picture. Right from the get go you find yourself in the middle of a bank robbery that goes wrong and you have to regain your image and power from an international crime gang known as the Syndicate. Much like GTA and Scarface the story concentrates on your characters rise to power while of course all the chips are stacked against them.
Saints Row and Saints Row 2 offered huge expansive maps that gave the gamer a virtual playground to explore and a city full of inhabitants to terrorize, this latest chapter of the series follows the same formula except right away I noticed some changes. Terrorizing the public is actually encouraged and there are a number of stunts and tricks involving unsuspecting members of the public that will boost your experience points and respect on the street. It' starts off small like streaking through crowds of people but then elevates into various types of assault and hooliganism. That’s not to say its not fun! it’s all there for a reason and it can be a lot of fun driving the AI crazy.
Saints Row The Third is about a lot more than just mere pranks, after all the city needs to be reclaimed and its up to you to do it. As the leader of the Saints you are given a jaw dropping arsenal of weaponry and tools to get the job done. Strangely enough the developers decided to give players a lot of the high end gear early into the game instead of making you really work for it. In most games that would affect the games lifespan but not here, even when you do get a ridiculously powerful assault rifle or machine gun you can always upgrade it later when you have enough cash on hand. If you don’t want to use the obvious firearms stash you can go for something a bit more unique like a dildo, a chainsaw or if you don’t care about collateral damage a fully functional reaper drone unit – this rains down explosive damage on anyone or anything unlucky enough to be within range.
As with most sandbox games vehicles and cars play a big part in the game, obviously because without them getting around such a huge open world would take too long and kill the pace of the game. There are all manner of vehicles all over the gaming world and jacking them has never been as much fun, see a police car you want and with a few button pushes you will be kicking your way through the windscreen and sitting in the drivers seat in no time at all. The vehicles control better than they ever have in any SR game before, each car or truck etc moves and reacts as you would image it would, weight and speed are all carefully taken into consideration. If you don’t feel like using a set of wheels you can always go for air travel, there are plenty of planes and helicopters around just waiting to be stolen and as the game progresses all manner of futuristic jets and bikes start to show up.
The city itself is not as impressive as I’d hoped for, it looks good and a lot of the buildings are interactive serving as safe houses and stores but its a very flat location that really needed something other than skyscrapers and rows of houses, I get that Steel Port is that kind of town but something more bumpy or out of the way really would have enhanced the game. Instead you are seeing a stream of endless buildings and stores. The stores are there for a reason though, you can fully customize your character in all manner of outfits and trinkets available to the player, don’t have the cash for it? rob the store next door then speed off ..lose the pursuing cops and return to make your purchase. The shops were always one of the strong points of the game for me, what girl doesn’t love trying on an endless amount of clothes and jewellery even if its virtual? from suits and dresses to furry cat suits and dominatrix outfits SR3 has it all. It doesn’t just end there, you can ink your character up with tattoos and go for a little cosmetic surgery should the mood take you.
It’s easy to take a step back from a game like this and not play it on the grounds that it might be a little too crazy but if anything the game plays to suit your style, you don’t have to run around the streets beating someone to a bloody pulp with a dildo, you don’t have to surf a cop car naked ..but its fun if you decide to do it!. And that’s what SR3 delivers in the bucket loads, its ball outs unadulterated over the top fun that never really gets old. There may not be a lot to see in Steel Port as like I mentioned its kind of bland but there is a lot to do, pretty much every aspect of your character can be upgraded or modified. You can have plastic surgery at any time to change the look of your character, if you connect to the online community you can then download premade characters from other players. You can mod your cars with the obvious enhancements like rims/tinted glass and then there is the less obvious like armour and nitros. As you gain experience in the game you can spend your points on unlocking physical abilities like better strength/running/fighting styles and so on making it easier to dominate the streets.
If you don’t want to go it alone SR3 offers one of the best and most fun co-op modes I’ve ever seen in a game. You can jump into a friends game and carry out random acts of insanity or violence like the good lord intended or you can help each other out in missions and mini games as maybe the developers intended?. Whatever your choice of action the co-op really stretches the lifespan and adds hours of playability to the game. I used the co-op quite a lot and never ran into any issues or glitches on either side of the connection.
SR3 is also one of the best games for DLC with extra content seemingly flowing from the developers on what feels like a monthly basis. I’ve bought most of the first wave and it really did add lot to a game that in my eyes already had everything. The DLC scenarios are just as wacky and zany as the main game, in the main game its all about your rise to power while the DLC is all about having a blast.
Visually the game looks quite lush, its not the most stunning game out there but it does have a nice modern look and feel to it, compared to the first two SR games its a huge improvement. The sound isn’t bad, everything sounds like it should from engine revs to clips of various handguns and rifles being unloaded. The music in the game is solid and features bands like The Deftones/Amon Amarth/Otep/Mastadon/Job for a Cowboy ..but who are they? Metal. If you want something a little less brutal there is always Feeder/Motley Crue/run DMC and Bush to name a few, whatever your taste its got a great selection.
I find it very hard to say anything negative about SR3 because there is just so much in the game and everything seems to go together perfectly, it provided me hours of non stop fun and it seemed to go from strength to strength as the story progressed. The missions didn’t feel too repetitive but maybe could have done with being a little more challenging. There are gang members from the various factions you’ll face on most street corners and even something as simple as fighting to take back turf is enjoyable and doesn’t get old when you consider the different ways to dispose of them.
You don’t have to be looking for a filler before Grand Theft Auto 5 to buy Saints Row The Third, its one of the best sandbox titles available to date and for the price offers almost twice as much gaming content than anything else in the same category. I’d highly recommend the various DLC packs too, they aren’t too expensive and add some fun extras to the experience. It’s easy to peg SR3 as just another GTA clone laced with immaturity and pranks but its a lot more than that, underneath all the craziness its a solidly built game with more than enough missions/collectibles and mini games to meet the demands of any gamer. I’m giving Saints Row the Third a well deserved 9 out of 10 – its losing marks for the rather flat landscape, but other than that its perfect.
