Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Rocks"

With GTA as the king of free roam action games, Saints Row was always overshadowed in the past. Saints was good but not 'that' good in comparison. Saints Row 3 however I think has come into it's own and stepped the series out of the shadow to offer something familiar but very different at the same time.
This game is all about fun and a chance to forget the seriousness that games have become.

There are lots of elements of other game and film titles on the market that show it's influence here. Having a UAV as a weapon - Hello Call of Duty! The button bashing melee battles - Hello God of War! A zombie apocalypse arises mid game - Hello Dead Rising!
Rather than be infuriated and immediately think 'Hey! These guys are just stealing ideas!" It just feels great to be given the chance to play those familiar gaming moments all over again because of how well the game pulls them off. Saints takes those influences and fits them nicely into it's own, and it's damn right hilarious fun from start to finish. The plot and narrative I felt was well written and there were lots of twists and turns to keep things interesting. Humor is the main focus and there are lots of quirky and original characters along the way that are instantly lovable.
The only complaint I have was the amount of unnecessary bad language. I don't know whether it was because I was playing a game as opposed to watching a film. But I certainly noticed it a lot more and felt some of the language could have been toned down a tad.

Combat felt good and balanced. A large variety of upgradable weaponry to use and experiment with - certainly a few weird and wonderful ones to use there too. I did love how intense some of the gun battles were once the notoriety levels increased. Driving felt exactly the same as Saints 2, which I did have an initial problem with which to be honest was fine after a few hours of play. I just didn't like how cars didn't accelerate naturally and instantly shot to full speed.
But there are plenty of vehicles to find and customize and have a ball with.
Tanks, Hover bikes and Tron Bikes! All very fun to use!

Familiar game play from previous Saints games are back such as a wide range of activities. Some old faves such as Helicopter escort missions and "insurance fraud" are there plus a whole bunch of strange new ones like Professor Genki's Game show where you have to race from one end of an obstacle course to the other whilst dodging traps and shooting enemies, all with running commentary which was very funny and original. Also like previous games you need to purchase property in order to take over the city - This was good to gain extra cash but by the time I'd finished the game I still only owned a tiny part of all shops, so felt this to be a little pointless overall. I still managed to afford all the guns and upgrades without purchasing all property.

Character customization is a big part of Saints 3. I had a lot of fun messing around with my character and dressing him up like an extra from Watchmen! There are tons of clothing to look at although I still felt there could have been a few more different items to add variety, but otherwise were still cool to try out.

I didn't get to try out multiplayer or Whored mode - but I hear they are very fun to play also - I just didn't' have any other friends to play it with.
Overall I thought Saints 3 was a very good game and one of the best out there at the moment. It reminds us of all the fun things that made previous GTA titles great but brings itself onto it's own stage to shine in all it's hilarity. A must buy!