Written by: Mark

 

 

 

The Saints Row series must be doing something right as it returns to our consoles for the third instalment with the rather uninspiring title of "Saints Row: The Third". Despite the title, the game features hours of over the top action packed with violence and bad language over countless missions.

 

Will this be enough to see the game overtake GTA as the best adult themed sandbox title currently available? The following review reveals all.

 

 

The story in SR3 sets the scene for the amount of craziness to come as the game follows on from SR2 with the player once again taking on the role as the leader of the Third Street Saints who have gained worldwide popularity from previous events. Such is the popularity of the gang (particularly from the media) that they see their faces on billboards all over the city, have their own brand of energy drink and have even asked to star in their own movie about the gangs escapades.

 

This has not stopped The Saints from continuing their crime spree and the game opens with you taking control of a bank robbery which goes wrong as the bank tellers fight back and as a result the gang find themselves imprisoned. During this stay a fellow criminal organisation The Syndicate bribe police to release three members of The Saints including your character and other key member Johnny Gat as they attempt to negotiate a deal between the two groups aboard The Syndicates private jet. During these discussions Gat and The Boss refuse the proposed deal and carnage ensues with Gat being killed and The Boss managing to parachute to safety and land in the city of Steelport where The Saints are pursued throughout the rest of the game by The Syndicate.

 

The storyline is put together pretty well and moves along at a good pace. Early stages are a little confusing but soon gets into full swing and proves pretty engaging especially with the well though out missions and side quests.

 

 

As expected the gameplay matches the over the top story well with some excellent action packed missions which can be said are incredibly violent at times and packed with choice language which means that this is one game definitely not suitable for the younger audience.

 

 

The game in essence is pretty free roaming across the massive city of Steelport and players can approach proceedings as they like, either through exploration, stealing cars and committing needless acts of violence or by sticking to the story and completing set missions. Personally I found the storyline to be good enough to stick to this however at times the side quests were a little average but never really detracted from the game.

 

It goes without saying the SR3 is full of gun battles which are unbelievable at times with the amount of enemies on screen at any one time and this certainly helps with the pace of proceedings as you will be truly engaged during each battle. In addition are the numerous vehicle sections and to be honest it is these which are the weakest part of the package as the driving sometimes seems a little frustrating. This is only a minor niggle and should not put off any potential players as the missions, action scenes and sections such as those which involve aircraft are pretty solid indeed and mean that the game is incredibly playable and absorbing.

 

 

 

As already stated the city of Steelport is very impressive indeed and has been animated well although this can come at a price with numerous unforgivable pop ups evident throughout which are particularly evident during the driving sections as vehicles, buildings and scenery appear unexpectedly. Although I expected better I guess that with the excellent action scenes this can be overlooked but one will often be frustrated by that the games graphical aspect cannot quite live up to the story or gameplay.