Saints Row: The Third

Saints Row: The Third, also known as Saints Row 3 or SR3, is an action-adventure open world video game developed by Volition, Inc. and published by THQ. It was released on November 15, 2011 in Australia and North America, and was released on November 18, 2011 in Europe for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the third title in the Saints Row series, after the release of Saints Row 2 in 2008. As in Saints Row 2, the player controls the leader of the Third Street Saints. The game world is the fictional city of Steelport, and the story focuses on the urban gang war between the Saints and The Syndicate, a rival criminal group.

Plot

Since the events of Saints Row 2, the 3rd Street Saints have turned their street gang into a media empire after merging with the Ultor Corporation, becoming icons across the world, with their own energy drink, Japanese commercials, a large fanbase, and a movie deal in the works. But when they attempt to rob a bank with Josh Burk (a TV star who is "researching" his part for the Saints' movie) in town, their everyday routine takes an unlikely turn when the bank tellers unexpectedly fight back with military grade weapons. The Saints attempt to airlift the vault out of the building, but when Birk accidentally sets off the alarm, it alerts the Stilwater P.D. and, after a large-scale firefight, the Saints are incarcerated.

In prison, Johnny Gat bemoans what the Saints have become, expressing disappointment at having strayed from their roots as "true gangstas". At that point, an international crime organization called The Syndicate bribes the police to release the Saints' leader (henceforth referred to as Boss), Gat, and Shaundi. The three are taken to the Syndicate's leader, Phillipe Loren, to try and negotiate a business plan with them aboard Loren's private jet. While in-flight, Loren tells them they will be allowed to live if they turn over two-thirds of their revenue made in Stilwater. The Boss and Gat immediately reject this unfair offer, starting a gunfight aboard the private jet, permanently injuring Phillipe Loren's eye. As Gat holds back their enemies, The Boss finds a parachute, and then he and Shaundi prepare to jump out of the plane. As they contact Gat on the intercom, he tells the two he will see them back in Stilwater, but then a gunshot is heard, and the intercom goes silent. The plane loses control, and objects start to get sucked out of the plane. The Boss and Shaundi are sucked out of the plane, and he is forced to battle enemies among the falling debris in mid-air, then catch Shaundi.

Upon landing, the two find themselves in the Syndicate controlled city of Steelport, a Pittsburgh-esque city described by Shaundi as "Bangkok's abusive father". The Saints invade Steelport in an attempt to profit off the city and also take control of organized crime away from the Syndicate as revenge for killing Gat. The game's main plot revolves around removing the three gangs that the Syndicate is composed of. These gangs consist of the Morning Star, a group of European businessmen that control Steelport's sex trade and manufacture weapons and genetically engineered, sometimes heavily armed, albeit flawed, superhumans called Brutes, the Deckers, a group of Tron-look-a-like elite hackers that launders money for the Syndicate and destroys the Saints' large bank accounts, and the Luchadores, a group of Mexican wrestlers who control gambling in Steelport.

After calling Pierce Washington, the Boss' main lieutenant, into Steelport, the Saints seize a Morning Star penthouse for their new headquarters, hijack a bomb from a military base, and begins attacking the Morning Star's businesses, culminating with an attack on Loren's headquarters. The Saints free the Brutes' genetic basis Oleg Kirrlov and manage to kill Loren. Killbane, leader of the Luchadores, takes charge of the Syndicate and attacks Stilwater's Hughes Memorial Bridge, destroying it with RPGs, and frames the Saints for it.

To retaliate, the player seeks out anti-Syndicate talent, recruiting Oleg (a giant man with super-human strength and intelligence and an alleged ex-KGB employee), ex-FBI hacker Kinzie Kensington; Zimos, a pimp who speaks with an Auto-Tuned electric voice box due to a tracheotomy; and Angel De La Muerte (voiced by Hulk Hogan), Killbane's vengeful former tag-team partner. They are later joined by Viola DeWynter, one of Loren's twin lieutenants, after Killbane kills her twin sister Kiki out of rage due to a failed assassination attempt on the Boss by strippers, and introduces the player to the Mayor of Steelport, Burt Reynolds (as himself). Her defection, however, coincides with the arrival of the paramilitary STAG (Special Tactics Anti-Gang) forces in Steelport, created by senator Monica Hughes after the bridge (dedicated to her husband, Alderman Hughes, from the first game)'s destruction to end gang violence once and for all. The Saints take on STAG regardless, resulting in Steelport going under martial law, and a zombie outbreak due to the Boss taking down the cargo of a STAG plane that included strange chemicals, which Mayor Burt Reynolds assigns the Third Street Saints to take care of.

After providing Kinzie with the appropriate technology, the player enters the Deckers' mainframe, defeating Matt Miller's avatar in a virtual reality fight and driving him and the Deckers out of town. At Angel's insistence, the player opts to take on Killbane by killing the other contestants in his Murderbrawl XXXI pay-per-view to gain entrance, and then, with Angel's help, defeating Killbane and his Luchadores. As a result, an enraged Killbane responds by instigating several attacks throughout Steelport to cause chaos.

The Boss is simultaneously informed that Killbane is escaping the city while STAG lieutenant Kia is holding Shaundi, the Mayor, and Viola at a Steelport monument rigged to blow to frame the Saints. If the Boss opts to eliminate Killbane, the destruction of the monument is used as a pretext by STAG to attack Steelport with the airborne aircraft carrier Daedalus; the final mission consequently sees the Boss destroying the Daedalus, killing STAG leader Cyrus Temple in the process, and declaring Steelport an independent city-state under the Saints' control. If the Boss kills Kia and saves Shaundi and the others, the Saints are hailed as heroes for saving the monument and STAG pulls out of Steelport with the threat that they will be back. The final mission instead has the Boss track Killbane down to Mars and kill him in what is ultimately revealed to be a scene from the Saints sci-fi film Gangstas in Space, based on Gat's comic books, seen in a mission earlier.

Mission structure

In previous Saints Row games, the player would be able to approach each of the three rival gangs along separate storylines that ultimately culminated into a final conclusion. In The Third, the storylines between the three gangs are interconnected, and decisions that the player makes in dealing with one faction may alter the behavior of the other factions towards the player or missions that may be available later. The developers have focused on developing an open-ended storyline; the majority of storyline missions can be completed in multiple ways, and the decisions that the player makes on these missions will ultimately affect the game's ending.

Gameplay

The Third retains the blend of an action-adventure in an open world, urban warfare format that is traditional in the Saints Row series. The player, as the leader of the Third Street Saints, can explore the city of Steelport, performing main missions that progress the game's story, and side missions. These side missions include Activities, minigames, Strongholds, rival gang bases that can be taken over to control a section of Steelport and Flashpoints, on-the-spot gang warfare. Successful completion of missions can earn the player in-game money, weapons, cars, and gang respect. The Third uses respect as experience points which grant levels, which in turn enable the player to spend money on improving specific attributes of their character, such as melee combat or firearms skills. The levelling system allows the player to purchase these attributes, or 'perks', each time the player character is leveled-up, with the various attributes requiring a certain level before purchase is possible. Money can also be used to purchase clothing items, weapons and cars, or may be used to upgrade weapons and cars, such as adding scopes or extra barrels to a weapon, which are then stored in the player's arsenal.Finally, money can be used to upgrade the Saints gang, customizing their appearance, outfits, and headquarters.

The "Initiation Station" system allows players to upload their character creations to The Third's online community, and download other players' creations to use with their save game. Within The Third, the player can set up to four different appearances for their gang. Finally, money is also used to purchase shops and other properties within Steelport, which will provide a steady stream of income for the gang over time.

While completing some missions, the player may be given a choice of options to finalize the mission. For example, the player has the option of using a gigantic bomb to demolish one of the skyscrapers in the city; though they will gain a great deal of respect for the action, it will alter the city's skyline for the rest of the game and cause non-player characters to react differently to the player, while leaving the building standing allows it to be used as a headquarters for the Saints. New Activities have been introduced alongside many from previous Saints Row games.

The player's arsenal is presented as a pop-up compass through which weapons are equipped with the analog stick. Novelty weapons are introduced alongside the traditional arsenal of handguns and automatic weapons. Players will gain the ability to call down airstrikes on encamped enemies, or to use a remote control electric bug to control vehicles remotely. Unlike the first two games, there are no health recovery items in favor of improving the grenade throwing system; in exchange, the player's health will regenerate at a faster rate as long as they stay out of the line of fire. Nearly all actions in the game can be sped up by holding down a second controller button, dubbed by Volition as the "awesome button"; for example, when carjacking, holding down this button will cause the player character to missile-kick the driver out of the seat in short order.

In addition to the single-player mode, the game can be played co-operatively with another player. As in Saints Row 2, the second player can participate in all missions and activities, earning credit for their completion. Certain activities provide different rules when a second player is present; for example, in the Tiger Escort activity, the second player will have to control the tiger in the backseat while the first player drives. Because of their focus on the single player and co-operative experience, Volition has removed competitive multiplayer from the title. Co-op features require an online pass.

Development

The Third was envisioned as early as September 2008, when it was in the early stages of production. An investor's presentation was held by THQ in February 2009, wherein their lineup for the coming financial years was announced. The presentation announced that The Third was projected to release during financial year 2011. In an interview for the December 2009 issue of Game Informer magazine, THQ vice president Danny Bilson announced that The Third would debut at the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo , and that it would retain the over-the-top style of its predecessors.

During E3 2010, he revealed that the game would not debut there but would instead be shown at the Spike Video Game Awards in December. He also revealed that THQ planned to release a Saints Row film as well as various merchandise such as a collectible card game and books. At E3, THQ announced Saints Row: Drive-By instead. It was to be released on the Nintendo 3DS and via PlayStation Network and Xbox Live as part of a marketing strategy for The Third. During the Spike Video Game Awards, Volition announced inSANE, a collaboration with Guillermo del Toro, instead of The Third. It was officially announced for Q4 2011 on March 2, 2011 in a press release by THQ. In May 2011, THQ announced that The Third's tie-in Saints Row: Drive-By had ceased development and had been cancelled.

As for the game engine, Volition representatives said: "In regards to considerations over Geo-Mod 2, we get that question a lot understandably, and the answer is yes, we considered it. But we ended up not going in that direction for two reasons. One, it would have been very, very difficult to do. It would have been possible, but difficult. Two, I think you could make the argument that delivering that level of destruction arguably creates a game that’s different to what fans of the franchise have come to expect."

When THQ CEO Brian Farrell was asked if Grand Theft Auto V will affect pre-orders for The Third at THQ’s Q2 financial conference call, he replied that GTA V and The Third are in a "completely different positioning." "I went online like everyone to see the GTA trailer. As you point out, it's a high quality trailer and I think it’s going to be another fantastic game in the GTA series. That said, it also shows the completely different positioning of the two games. GTA is still serious and character driven – a very different experience. Saints Row – if you saw our video today – it shows you all the crazy stuff in the game. It's a totally different positioning, and if you read the forums it's like 'hey, I love GTA, and I love this game because it's a very different game that knows what it is and is very entertaining."

Speaking with Spong, producer Greg Donovan said that in order for The Third to differentiate itself from other open world games, everything had to be "over the top this time around":

"Scott [Phillips] and I didn’t work on Saints Row 1 – we were on SR2 and SR3 – but I’ll give you a bit of history about it all… The whole goal for Saints Row 1 was to create an open world game on the Xbox 360, because there was nothing else out there at the time. We had no idea that San Andreas was going to be this urban contemporary simulator – and when we found out we thought 'well, shit'. We could do very little about going up against GTA at the time though, so we kept on at it. In Saints Row’s defence though, it did have activities like Insurance Fraud, and other mechanics that similar games didn’t. And from there it’s seen a natural evolution, I would say for Saints Row 2. We still had some serious moments with it – we had long discussions in development over whether the Ronin should have swords on their backs or not, thinking that players would care about that stuff. But they don’t. With Saints Row: The Third, we’re doing a complete reboot of the franchise, with new technology and everything else. Everything’s just going to be over the top this time around. It works for us, it differentiates us from other open world games, we do it well, and players love it."

Soundtrack

See also: Saints Row: The Third soundtrack

Marketing and release

Prior to its release, Saints Row: The Third was marketed and promoted heavily through the use of numerous Internet and TV trailers. In addition, several special editions of the game are available. To promote the game in Australia, THQ had securely-fitted attire women to dispense free petrol for motorists in the suburb of Redfern, New South Wales. The event lasted only three hours until police were involved. Saints Row: The Third has received heavy funding and sponsorship and has appeared at game conventions with its own booth. Saints Row: The Third has appeared at E3, THQ Gamer's Day, Comic Con, PAX '11, Eurogamer Expo '11 and Gamescom.

Retail editions

Every new copy of Saints Row: The Third on PlayStation 3 features a complimentary download of Saints Row 2, if the Online Pass code included with the game is redeemed before 13 February, 2012. The deal appears to be a make-up offering following the no-show of promised PS3-exclusive content in the finished retail release.

There are three separate "Collectors Editions" available. All contain a copy of the game, along with several extras. The "Platinum Pack" is exclusive to North America, which include a copy of the game, the Professor Genki Hyper-Ordinary pre-order DLC, the game's official soundtrack and a custom Saints Row headset. There's no word on European - or indeed PC - availability The "Smooth Criminal Edition" is exclusive to Australia and New Zealand packaged in unique edition packaging and includes sunglasses, a bullet-shaped ice cube tray, silver-plated Saints Crest cuff links and the game's official soundtrack. Customers who pre-order the "Smooth Criminal Edition" will also receive the Professor Genki Hyper-Ordinarypre-order pack. The "Maximum Pleasure" is also exclusive to Australia and New Zealand, which is packaged in Maximum Pleasure packaging and includes Hyper-Replica Professor Genki head, Professor Genki Stuntman key-ring and Professor Genki banner pen.

The standard version consists of the game and an instructional manual, and is one of the only version available for the Microsoft Windows platform. In addition to the standard version, a "Limited Edition" of the game has been announced, which was available through pre-order. The "Limited Edition" features the Professor Genki Hyper-Ordinary pre-order DLC as a bonus. The "Limited Edition" is available at the same price as the regular game, but in limited quantities, and is available to both the console and PC version of the game.

(Screenshot)

Downloadable content

The first 3000 players in North America who purchased Saints Row: The Third from the THQ Online Store on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC or Steam received the "Saints Row Season Pass". The "Season Pass" includes the game's first three downloadable mission packs. The three downloadable mission packs included in the "Season Pass" are Genkibowl VII, The Trouble with Clones... and Gangstas in Space. Also included in the "Season Pass" is the The Nyte Blayde DLC Pack.

Professor Genki Hyper-Ordinary (pre-order DLC) includes Professor Genki's Super Ballistic Man-a-pult, Professor Genki's "Octopuss" Weapon and Professor Genki's Leisure Stunt Suit.

Shark Attack includes Shark-O-Matic Gun and Shark Bite Hat.

Invincible Pack contains cheat codes.

The Nyte Blayde DLC Pack includes Bloody Cannoness Outfit, Altar Boy Outfit, Bloody Cannoness Bike and Nyte Blayde Mobile.

Explosive Combat Pack includes Future Soldier Outfit and a new weapon.

Z Style Pack includes Z-Style Hat and Outfit.

*Warrior*' Pack includes Knight of Steelport Armor, Warrior Princess Outfit, Kabuki Warrior Outfit, and Intergalactic Warrior Outfit.

Online Pass allows access to play the game in co-op mode.

Season Pass contains Nyte Blayde DLC Pack and DLC Packs stated below.

Upcoming

Genkibowl VII (available January 2012), first mission pack.

The Trouble with Clones... (available Spring 2012), second mission pack.

Gangstas in Space (available Winter 2012), third mission pack.

Reviews

Saints Row: The Third received highly positive reviews from critics. Reviewers praised the game's action, over-the-top gameplay, and quirky humor.

The first review was published by Official Xbox Magazine for the Xbox 360 version, which gave The Third a 9.5 out of 10. They praised the game for its open world action, over the top action moments, self-aware sense of humor, and fun cooperative multiplayer. Their biggest complaint was that the story missions themselves do not allow for much creativity or improvisation the way that the open world does.

The second review and the first for the PlayStation 3 version was published by Play Magazine, which awarded the game 88%, and stated "It has its issues, it has its drawbacks, but Saints Row: The Third is an utterly wanton, totally ridiculous bag of laughs. It's difficult to dislike anyway, and even harder to dislike with such an enjoyable, escalatory campaign. Great stuff."

The first review for the PC version of the game was published by PC Gamer, which gave it 83%, and stated that "It's mad. In fact, it barely makes any sense at all. But for all its wonky bits, there's an odd charm to Volition's decision to leave nothing on the drawing board. It's not the largest sandbox, but it is packed full of brilliant toys. Saints Row: The Third's commitment to unrestricted, ridiculous fun is unflinching, and the product is a city full of glorious slapstick debauchery."

1UP gave the game a B+, and stated that "Lackluster side-content notwithstanding, Saints Row: The Third is so crazy and over-the-top that you can't go wrong with this game -- provided that you're the sort that would appreciate the game's knowingly juvenile sense of humor." IGN gave the game 8.5 and stated that "Saints Row: The Third gives the people what they want and drops us into an open world hilarious theme park. It doesn't take itself too seriously and only asks that you don't, either."

G4TV awarded the game a 5/5, praising it for its over-the-top self aware sense of humor, surprisingly likeable characters, and enjoyable gameplay. The only complaints made were that the humor fell occasionally flat and some people might be too easily offended. Regardless of the drawbacks, they stated, "The humor is ridiculously, deliciously over-the-top, perhaps borderline offensive at times, but the best creative works always are. The gameplay is as tight as it's always been but even more fun than ever thanks to the varied set of tasks placed in front of you. This series is a knockoff no more; Saints Row: The Third is, in a word, brilliant."

Sales

On November 2, 2011, THQ CEO Brian Farrell announced that Saints Row: The Third is already the most pre-ordered title in series history. In fact, the game has four times the number of pre-orders Saints Row 2 had two weeks before its launch. THQ estimates the game will ship over 3 million units before the publisher's fiscal year ends in March 2012. By comparison, Saints Row 2 launched in October 2008 and sold 2.6 million by the end of the fiscal year. Saints Row: The Third debuted at fourth place at the UK video game sales chart in its first week, beating the week one sales of Saints Row 2 by 93 percent.

Technical Issues

Despite Volition's claim that the PC version of the game was being developed in house to be a great experience, many PC players reported longterm performance problems with the game, which in many cases made it unplayable. Analysis by another gaming blog showed the game was badly optimized for high spec systems. 

Sequel

During an interview with X-Play, THQ executive VP Danny Bilson revealed that Volition is already working on Saints Row 4. "Like any game, if you have a great creative core to it you just keep exploiting that core," he told G4. "For instance," he continued, "I know what Saints Row 4 is about and it is wilder than this one. It's a good example of how you take what you have and you ask, 'what could happen in the next?" added Bilson, without giving up any actual details.

Minimum System Requirements –

* OS: Windows XP / Vista
* CPU: 2GHz Dual Core Processor (Intel® Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon™ X2) or higher
* RAM: 2 GB
* HDD space: 10 GB
* Graphics: 320 MB 3D Video Card w/Shader Model 3.0 Support
* Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c

Recommended System Requirements

* OS: Windows XP / Vista / 7
* CPU: Any Quad Core Processor (Intel® Core i5 or AMD Phenom™ II X4) or 3.0+ Dual Core CPU
* RAM: 4 GB
* HDD space: 10 GB
* Graphics: 1 GB with Shader Model 4.0 Support
* Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c
* Broadband Connection for Internet Multiplayer

Supported Graphics Cards:

Minimum – NVIDIA® GeForce 8800 series or ATI Radeon HD3800 series
Recommended – NVIDIA GeForce GTX 400 series ATI Radeon HD5000 series

Note: Co-Op Play: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 cards require 640MB of Video RAM. ATI Radeon HD3800 cards require 1GB of Video RAM

I give this game a 9/10. The control is kinda tricky (Cars mostly). 

As far As I Can Tell

"As far as I Can Tell" this game has a great caracter creation, you can make almost all celebrityes if you are such good (check youtube videos). You can pimp your ride up to (gold wheels on a DumpTruck or Peterliner). You are almost invincible in the game (without cheats). The game has like tons of funny moments and dialogue. You make a little tycoon in the game (buy buildings and store wich make you profit) - huge one. 

I recommend this game for GTA series lovers/fans. It even beats GTA IV at some points (gameplay). 

Known bugs I found: none so far. Still I recommend a patch for (optimising graphics a little and sound). 

I recommend a DX11 compatible computer to see the real graphics! 

Please comment and share your point of view!