Saints row the Third

This is an odd one to start with but I'm just replaying it because I recently re-bought it from the humble bundle, Which is a really awesome Charity, and I really recommend that any friend of mine that has a decent computer check it out I'll be sure to link it at the end of the review.

  Saints row the Third was released November 15th 2011 here in the states. It focused much more on the series' over the top wackiness than its predecessors. The Games opening generally sets the tone of the overall pace of the game, that is over the top with no real reason, with a bank robbery from the now World famous Third street saints main members(How the saints gained so much between 2 and 3 is never really explained). The robbery goes bad and they end up in jail after a mass shoot out with police forces and members of an unknown gang from atop the bank vault being carried by a helicopter. That's where we meet our new antagonists the Leaders of the Gang "The Morningstar" which is part of a group called the Syndicate(Incredibly original right?) from there we end up in the new city of Steel port.

  Now moving on from the introductory story I'm not going to tell the full story because this is a review not a walkthrough. The gameplay mechanics have changed since the second game not necessarily for better or worse, its a give and take from saints row 2 we have flashier melee mini cut scenes and the ability to Hi-jack a car by jumping through the window(apparently your character is part of the X-men now), but we lose the different fighting styles and environmental weapons from the 2nd game(No more throwing random trash bags at pedestrians :(  ) . Same could be said about the games customization. The Character customization is improved but the Vehicular and gang customization are either the same or worse( I can be Doctor Manhattan, nudity and all if I want, but god forbid I get a pimped out Garbage truck).  The amount of weapon choice is cut way back as well with only 2-3 things in each category. That said the weapons that are their are incredibly powerful, combined with the fact you character is as damage resistant as superman(No seriously the sequel coming out soon actually focuses on this), makes the game incredibly easy even on harder difficulties.

Now I've only focused on the negative aspect of the changes so far, the game is actually pretty damn fun. Kind of like old school GTA San Andreas. The game is an open world sand box so judging it primarily on the weak story and difficulty might be too harsh. It is this sand box that makes it worth it, the side missions are usually pretty fun but still lacking in difficulty. You can do basically anything you want roaming around from Tasering some random guy who looked at you wrong to driving a Vehicle that picks people up and shoots them out of a cannon, its all there(or not to forget to mention the infamous Dildobat of ultimate power). The game also does Co-op much better than its predecessor, by getting rid of the competitive multiplayer aspect and focusing on solely Co-op they've managed to do that quite well, whereas in Saints row 2 you could only free roam with friends now you can play through the story and side missions as well.

But does the good outweigh the bad? In my opinion no, because once you beat the game the sand box is great but pointless, with out a diving motivation there's not a single reason to come back. Like I said earlier the Story isn't particularly good and crazy short (less than 4 hours is 30+ % complete and that's with messing around included). So in  short the games a fun thrill ride while it lasts but ends far to quickly.



                                                                         6.5/10


So that's my first review I may experiment with the format a little in the next one but I hope you enjoyed it anyway.

Also here's the link to the Humble bundle  I mentioned up top https://www.humblebundle.com/ Any donations there go to the American Red cross and Child's play.