Difficulty:

Easy

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Just plain fun"

Saints Row is known for its wacky and over the top gameplay as well as its lack of a deep story and dynamic characters. Saints Row: The Third is no exception; in fact, it furthers the elements of each of those characteristics. The results consist of an incredibly fun open world action game at the expense of a practically non-existent plot and even more dumbed down characters. Fortunately, many items and activities are distracting enough to give too much though to these negative aspects.

The tone of the game is rather clear from the get-go when you are almost immediately thrown into a wild shoot-out between some of your crew members and a large onslaught of military personnel. There isn't a whole lot to talk about as far as the plot is concerned. The 3rd Street Saints are in a new area, called Steelport, and there are of course rival gang members to take down in order to take over an entire city once again. There are a few familiar faces that return from the previous installments, but some of them undergo drastic personality changes for the worst while another is completely written out. It's too bad to see the story and characters be so insignificant, but again, it's not too distracting to the overall enjoyment of the game.

The gameplay is another aspect that has been toned down a bit. Your character is now even more of a bullet sponge than before, and health even regenerates over a short period of time. There are difficulty levels to match the player's preferred level of challenge, but in all the game is still a cakewalk. On top of all of this, a leveling system has been implemented. Leveling up unlocks new abilities that vary from increasing health to duel-wielding some weapons and other enhancements that further the easiness of this game. Earning money, leveling up, and purchasing abilities adds a constant rewarding feel. A heavy dose of customization also adds some spice to the experience. Your character can be as goofy or serious as you want it to be, collected cars may be upgraded to nearly indestructible ground rockets, and other various sorts of customization make Saints Row: The Third tailored more to your liking.

One mild disappointment is the mission structure. The first few missions contain some of the most insane and intense gameplay to be seen in an open world action game, but then afterwards the missions cool down for while. The main issue with the story missions is that several of them coincide with the assortment of activities that are strewn throughout Steelport. Some of the same ones return from the game's predecessor, but there are a few additional ones. Anyhow, a good portion of the story missions are merely these exact activities. On multiple occasions I instantly completed a mission because I had all ready finished the side mission that this so-called "story" mission was going to lead me to. It seems kind of cheap for such a large amount of the missions to follow this path, but fortunately some of the activities are satisfying enough to make up for this downfall. Some missions in the game also force a number of "this or that" type of decisions to be made. They aren't too significant to the plot and have minimal effects, though some reward certain items over others.

Visually, Saints Row: The Third is a decent step up from Saints Row 2. The graphics may not be the most sharp, but the bright lights and colors make Steelport look nicer than it really is. In all, it's not much to complain about, but there are still a fair amount of glitches and even some performance issues. The glitches aren't too intrusive to the gameplay. In fact, some of them are downright hilarious. Ever played a game where a dead hooker became morphed into your vehicle thus causing it to handle boisterously? Didn't think so. The occasional performance issues are what's bugging however. Sometimes, the Saints Row: The Third can't handle its awesomeness and will begin to stutter and drop the frame rate noticeably. This can get somewhat annoying, but other than that sporadic problem, it's a smooth experience.

Steelport contains loads of activities to partake in. The variety of activities keep the gameplay from getting too boring. Insurance fraud, mayhem, tank mayhem, and helicopter assault are some of the more exciting activities there are. Completing these activities go towards taking over parts of the city occupied by opposing gangs. Purchasing properties and stores also contribute to the taking over of Steelport. Respect, which is basically experience for leveling up, is also earned for doing almost everything imaginable- completing an activity, maneuvering certain stunts, finishing a mission, purchasing new gear, customizing a vehicle, and so forth. In addition to the activities, vehicle thefts and assassinations are something else to do. It's difficult not to get distracted between story missions with the loads of extra things to do.

Overall, Saints Row: The Third focuses on entertainment, and it's hard to criticize it for that. With a multitude of activities and loads of humor and crazy action, it's easy to overlook most of this game's flaws. The single player will easily last over 20 hours if given the time to conquer a good amount of the side stuff, and over 30 hours to complete just about everything. If that's not enough, there's also Whored Mode and playing through the co-op levels. Even after playing for a long duration a time, Saints Row: The Third almost never fails to be enthralling. This is definitely a game that should be played by anyone who enjoys one that is open world and over the top, even if it's one that isn't at all serious and contains a lethal *****, people dressed up in mascot costumes, and other sorts of ridiculous, yet hilarious, oddities.