It’s been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And ever since it achieved tremendous success ten years ago, Grand Theft Auto III has been imitated by countless rivals. Some have fared fairly well, while others have tanked badly due to the fact that the developers simply didn’t “get it”. But no clone has managed to topple the king, and with Grand Theft Auto V looming in the distance, it almost seemed like no one ever would.Silly fools. All it takes is the ability to let go and give the player the ability to do everything they ever wanted – even stuff they never dreamed of – and you could have an experience that’s every bit as good as Rockstar’s legendary title. And it looks like, after various attempts with its Saints Row series, THQ has finally done it. The original Saints Row wasn’t bad by any means, but it took its gangster syndrome a little too seriously and, as a result, turned off a few players. Saints Row 2 was much improved, with a sense of humor and much more varied missions that made it a success.
But now, with Saints Row the Third, the developers at Volition have mastered the curve and provided a gaming experience that’s every bit as good as Grand Theft Auto’s. In fact, thanks to its constantly evolving – and overly threatening – storyline, as well as the game’s ability to make a passive wink at everything that’s happening – it’s more ridiculously fun. The game follows the Saints as they approach the point of oversaturation. They’ve effectively taken over Steeport, a city laden with crime and explosive personality types, and the other gangs have noticed. So they set up an ambush where one of the lead Saints take a fall, and the others barely escape, only to find their funds saturated and no answers. But that doesn’t stop them. As the lead character, whom you can design any way you see fit, it’s your job to help lead the Saints back to glory, taking on the rival gangs, the police, and, eventually, a military force that will go to great lengths trying to crush you flat. As serious as the story sounds, it’s anything but. Saints Row the Third has so many laugh-out-loud moments it’s insane. Early in the game, the lead character actually sings along to Sublime’s “What I Got”, even if the cops are tailing them or they’re plowing through a park full of people.
Later on, when you take control of STAG’s flying behemoth, the VTOL, your character can’t help but state, “THIS IS SO FUCKING COOL!” as they fly around and vaporize tanks with a laser beam. And these are just a couple of examples. How much you experience in Saints Row depends on how far you really want to go. Customization is a huge part of the game, as you could probably tell from the previously launched Initiation Station. You can literally dress yourself any way you see fit to give a look of intimidation, though how you dress won’t really affect how much Respect you earn. You could wear golf pants, a pimp coat and a helmet and still be considered one of the most feared gangsters in town. At one point, you even end up naked, wandering through a nightclub and attacking guards with up-close attacks, like a flying DDT or a full-blown face dive. (Granted, the naughty bits are blurred out, but that’s probably part of the joke.) You can also customize gang members however you see fit, even turning the Saints into a group of psycho clowns, if you prefer it. Beware the shoes!
The gameplay does borrow quite a bit from Grand Theft Auto’s sandbox-style free-roaming, as you’ll drive throughout the city to complete whatever missions open up. However, there’s a staggering amount of variety to these missions. From roaming undercover in a STAG facility to kidnap a movie star to destroying cars with a rocket launcher from a helicopter to hanging off the side of a building (in your lingerie, no less) using a sniper rifle, there’s no shortage of activities to tackle. The gameplay in each of these segments is terrific, as you’ll never run into a situation where the aiming is off or the controls are weird. There are times mid-air vehicles can get tangled up, but that’s your own damn fault for hitting a building or, like I did, switching flight modes on a VTOL without being clear of a skyscraper. It was funny as hell to watch anyway. Along with the single player campaign, which will take you several hours and features some of the funniest endings you’ll run across in a video game this year, Saints Row the Third also supports co-op, so you can work with a friend online (or system link) to complete missions. It’s cool to have a buddy along for the ride, especially in tougher missions like warehouse raids or, God help you, trying to maintain control of a tiger in a moving vehicle. (He gets angry when you crash – ouch.) Unfortunately, Volition decided to scrap competitive multiplayer for the game, but there’s so much happening, you may not even notice.
This feature review concludes on the next page, please click Page 2 below to find out our final thoughts on THQ's Saint's Row: The Third.
