To call the Saints Row series a rip-off of Grand Theft Auto would be beside the point. It’s obviously borrowing quite a bit from the open-world criminal life of Rockstar Games. But the way it’s going about it isn’t all business. In fact, in Saints Row 2, most of the game was played for over-the-top violence and a few laughs along the way, as you tried to live the full-on life of a glorified gangster. But what you saw in that game was nothing compared to what’s coming in Saints Row the Third. THQ recently invited us down to take an extended hands-on session with the game – and after laying waste to a few furries and driving like crazy in a tank, we came away quite pleased…and not even the least bit disturbed. When the main story for The Third begins, the Saints are enjoying an extravagant lifestyle. They’ve become quite popular in the city of Steelport, to the point that the other gangs absolutely loathe them. So, when the Saints team up for a good old fashioned bank robbery (including the arrival of a helicopter to airlift the vault), they set up a trap, which eventually leads to the gang’s incarceration. While locked away, their funds are dwindled and one of their main members offed.
As the new leader of the Saints, it’s up to you, either as a guy or a girl, to vengeance your fallen comrade, reacquire your lost assets, and make those gangs pay the price – by any means necessary. Saints Row the Third is the most impressive open-world game in the series to date. You’re not just cruising through neighborhoods anymore, but an entire city bustling with crime. In fact, you can’t even go down a side street without running across gang members and crooked cops. How you deal with them depends on whether you simply drive on by or go looking for a fight. In certain areas, it actually helps to get a little aggressive, as you can retake territories owned by rival gangs (once you kill all their members) and buy property that can make you some cash – especially if you steal the deed and get it on the cheap. Along with tactical advantages, The Third comes packed with action. We’re talking getting in gunfights while skydiving, shooting helicopters from the rooftop of your luxury pad, getting in a tank and blasting zombies and military members to kingdom come, and other acts of random violence. It doesn’t hold back in any regard, even in the tightest of quarters. You can easily run up to a gang member (or innocent civilian, if you’re sadistic) and plant them into the ground with a flying DDT.
As you proceed through the story, you’ll run across a number of characters that join your team, including Angel, a wrestler who sounds a bit like Hulk Hogan but looks wayyyy younger; a big hulking behemoth who’s stark naked when he first runs into you; and a part-time pimp who speaks entirely in Autotune, to the point you might crack up over the course of a mission. You’ll be able to choose through their missions over the course of the game, and they change up quite a bit. As you have others join the ranks, you’ll sometimes need to make decisions that affect how your gang rolls. Some involve something as simple as fashion choice, while others could affect morale, such as coming across a yacht loaded with hookers and either blowing it to smithereens or saving the girls to pleasure your cohorts. This morale is quite important when it comes to staying alive, especially later in the game, when you’re introduced to a powerful military faction called STAG. (And yes, they have flying vehicles that can lay waste to anything quite handily.) The game is unabashedly fun, whether you go it alone or team up with a friend either through System Link or online through Xbox Live.
This feature hands-on preview for Saints Row: The Third, from THQ concludes on the next page, please click Page 2 below to continue reading.
