I thoroughly enjoyed playing Saints Row the Third! This is the first Saints Row game I’ve played, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I did expect something like GTA IV, but with wackiness, and that’s essentially what I got. The plot isn’t terrible, but you can do lots of other things besides the plot, as this is an open world game. As you get reputation and money, there are many helpful upgrades to your health, your weapons, your vehicles, your Homies, and your cribs and strongholds. The driving in the game is nearly as annoying as in GTA games, but you seem to be able to get away with a lot before people start shooting at you. As you buy up shops, crack houses, apartment buildings, etc., your income and control grow, but the added benefit is that you can run into a shop that you own to get rival gangs and the police to stop following you. This becomes important, as there are endless supplies of enemies.
I played some of the game in co-op mode, which is great! A friend could join me (since I was the newbie, she joined my game) and help me through missions. The joining player keeps their abilities, including weapons and vehicles that the hosting player may not have earned yet, so my friend was able to summon VTOL jets for us to kick butt in. Co-op vehicle are great, because one of us drives and the other can target enemies and shoot them. Solo vehicle play is more of a challenge, because one player has to do both. Therefore, to compensate, the game makes the missions a little harder when playing with a partner. Since I played on the PS3, voice chat was seamless and worked perfectly.
In the game, you fight several rival gangs, each identified by colors (red, green, and blue) that are visually different from the purple color of the Saints. You also fight the police and a military group called STAG. Most of the time, rivals don’t attack you on site, though if you wander into one of their gatherings, watch out! If you hit one of their vehicles or do something too naughty in front of the cops, people will start shooting at you. When driving, usually you can bump cars and pedestrians with immunity, but sometimes, an enraged motorist will chase you for miles, occasionally ramming you. The best bet in this case, is to stop, get out, and shoot the bastard.
Though I made a previous post about morals and not enjoying killing innocents, Saints Row the Third didn’t give me many qualms. For the most part, hitting pedestrians doesn’t kill them, and mostly the people who you kill intentionally need killing. Yes, the game involves drugs and hos, but you don’t see anyone using drugs, and only the baddies abuse their hos, and in many missions, you rescue hos.
There are a number of very funny surprises that happen later in the game, so I won’t divulge them here, but there are many laughs in the game. The music is great too, from the music as you are doing missions to the radio stations in the vehicles. Very well done!
So I finished the plot mission, but that doesn’t mean I’m completely done. I haven’t finished all the upgrades or neighborhood takeovers. Besides, since co-op play is so great, I will keep the game handy so I can play it with my friends.
Saints Row the Third is wacky fun and well worth playing!