Some Random Hillbilly Reviewing Video Games - Saints Row: The Third

Style: Sandbox, Open World, Action Adventure

Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC

Platform I played on: Xbox 360

Publisher: THQ

Developer: Volition, Inc.

Brief summary of game...

Saints Row: The Third is sandbox game in which the player takes control of the leader of a gang called the The Saints and builds an empire in a new city filled with hostile enemy gang bangers. As harsh as that may sound the Saints Row is filled with silly shenanigans and doesn't take itself to seriously.

I can assure you that these will be my honest opinion I'm going to try to get detailed and try to present a total picture of the game. Of course this will be completely based off of my opinion so that doesn't mean that you will feel the same way. I would love to hear how people feel about my review whether they agree or not, and everyone is welcome to leave their opinions in the comment section of the review.

My system has 10 sections worth 10 points. 100 total. I also include 4 bonus sections worth 25 points.

The games total score is based on the combination of all of these points. For a more detailed explanation of my system for reviewing video games see my hub... Some Random Hillbilly Reviewing Video Games – My Method For Reviewing Video Games.

This game is a blast. If you enjoy sandbox types games it's probably one of the funnest there is. Yes, it's even more fun than Grand Theft Auto.

It's kind of hard to judge a storyline for this kind of game. Most people that play this game don't go in to it caring about the storyline, but may find it surprisingly good. Other people that care about the storyline may think it lacks. Personally, I thought for the type of game it is that Volition does a commendable job creating just the right amount of storyline for the game.

Personally, I enjoyed the storyline for the first two installments and probably would have gave this one a higher score if it wasn't for the loss of one of the signature recurring characters. I won't go in to details to spoil it, but I found the loss of such a great character early in the game to hurt the storyline immensely.

This is where Volition really deserves the credit as far as I'm concerned. In my opinion they've done as good a job as possible making these games a decent balance for people that want story and people that don't. If you are more interested in just doing stuff and no story you won't feel bogged down, however if you are interested in the story it is there.

It took me some where between 30 – 40 hours to accomplish almost everything which is about perfect for me. I really enjoyed it from beginning to end and never felt like I was just dragging along.

Controls for this kind of game are tricky because of the various activities the character is doing between driving, melee fighting, and shooting. Volition got it perfect and learning the controls for each isn't overly challenging.

The graphics aren't much better than the second installment, however they are perfect for the overall feeling of this game. The game isn't overly serious, and the graphics emulate that feeling with a light cartoon feel.

The voice acting and sound effects are solid.

The transition between jumping in a car and driving to jumping out and fighting is seamless. In many games one thing or another lacks in these kinds of transitions. This game lacks nothing. You can smoothly transition from flying a helicopter to skydiving. When you land you can beat down a bad guy, scoop up his gun, shoot some enemies, and then hop in a car for a quick getaway. This whole process can be ran through smoothly.

There are ton of side quests, a hand full of choices, and hours upon hours of fun to be had just running around. I could see myself going back through the campaign a few times too.

This game has so many options and things to do it's ridiculous. The world might not be the biggest but it is jam packed with so many activities and things to do, a ton of customization options, and real feeling of building your empire from the ground up.

I've put over 40 hours in to this game and could easily see myself stacking up another 40 no problem. It's definitely a game that ranks high in value vs. time.

Download Content + 5

I haven't played with all of the DLC, but what I've seen has been pretty good. There is quite a bit available.

Co-op + 5

Cooperative play is one of the best aspects of this game. You and a friend can just run around causing a ruckus throughout the streets or you can actually work through missions with the help of a friend.

Multi-player + 0

There isn't a Multi-player mode

Other + 5

I could easily just give this game 5 additional points for the cooperative play, but it also deserves them for how much it has to offer. There is so much content it's ridiculous.

The only complaint I can make about the Saints Row: The Third is my minor disappointment in the storyline. My favorite aspect of this game is the feeling of building your empire. Other than the first two installments there hasn't been a game that offered this kind of feel since Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I was glad to see that the Saints Row: The Third received better reviews than the previous installments. Mainstream game reviewers pushed Grand Theft Auto 3 like it was something special though it lacked so much of what had developed with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Meanwhile the Saints games got poor mainstream reviews, despite offering pretty much everything you could want from a sand box game.

More than anything the game has a great mix of decent story and ridiculous humor that just makes it very fun. Throwing in an excellent cooperative play and customization makes it even better. I really can't see anyone that likes sandbox games not liking Saints Row: The Third.