Sorry for not posting in a while. I've been playing so many games! I'll be trying to post a ton of reviews over the Christmas holidays. For now, here's my thoughts on Saints Row: The Third:
Review
Played on: Xbox 360
Released: 2011
You know what I miss about gaming sometimes? Fun. Pure fun and laughs. It doesn't sound right that I would say so would it, I mean gaming is about having fun?! But in a world of realism and heavy plots it’s nice to just sit back and play something that has a completely way out story, tons of jokes, politically incorrect comments in the dozen, humorous violence and swearing like no tomorrow. All backed up by blowing up cars, airplanes, people and firing endless rounds from heavy weaponry.
Welcome to Steelport then, or more precisely, the game in which Steelport is a fictive city: Saints Row: The Third. First, let’s make it clear that I have only briefly played the first two Saints releases and have little, prior knowledge to the series. There may be game elements that have been thrown away since the last games, but this third game is in a sense a reboot. Sort of.
SR3 takes a more cartoonish look on its characters and simply turns everything up many notches in the let’s-go-all-the-way-with-ideas department. It kicks off with a hilarious and amazing bank heist, that goes basly wrong. topping off the humour, your character wears a large mascot head, so you don’t see him/her prior to the character creator option, which makes the whole heist even funnier to look at.
Even as a first mission, SR3 goes an extra mile. From what is a normal heist, it goes to hanging on to a huge safe being airlifted by a chopper, off a skyscraper. All while gunning down SWAT-like teams by the dozens. It starts off fun and action packed, and thankfully it stays so all through the game.
You get to build your own character from either a finished figure or from scratch. The character creation has a ton of customisation options and you can make some funny or great looking characters here. You can even change your appearance during the game, if you felt like you didn't quite nail it the first time.
This personal touch, gives SR3 a cooler approach to sandbox gaming than taking on the life and troubles of a set character, like in for instance GTAIV. It suits the genre well, it’s all about what you as a player wants to do.
I like the sheer variation of the singleplayer of the main campaign. Every single mission is different and it always feels like you simply aren't playing a typical GTA-like game. The shooting mechanics are suprinsingly good, with a precise third person shooter feel. You can upgrade each weapon and there are lots to choose from. The missions put you in anything from ordinary shoot-outs against soldiers, gangsters, helicopters etc., while others put you in a wrestling brawl, air combat or car chases. You even end up in a simulated computer world in one them!
It's so incredibly funny and combined with the really entertaining dialogue it’s a great, over the top, experience. I must stress again, you don’t actually think you're playing in this GTA styled genre during the missions, the shooting mechanics are so well made, they feel like real third person shooter.
Add to this already solid packe: lots of side-missions, character levelling,which lets you become invincible against fire, bullets, police forgiveness etc., buying different shops and taking over gang controlled city areas and you're in for hours, many hours of gameplay. We're talking about 30-40 hours at least here.
Speeding through only the main missions, at about the eight or ten hour mark, and you're missed the point of a free roam title. You should, and are rewarded, to explore. Wanna steal a plane at the airport? Drive there and do it! Want to dress up as a pink rabbit and fire rocket launcher rounds from a skyscraper before jumping off in parachute? Do it! Wanna jump through a front window of a sports car at the driver and kick him out, steal it and then drive it straight into a gang and start a shoot out? Do it! Or stand surfing on a moving car, or drive an army motorboat with a canon or…..you get what I'm saying, have fun!
The way SR3 awards you with money is done in a perfect learning curve. The best awards are very expensive and they never lets you get way ahead of it by levelling too fast. There’s always something that costs a little too much to buy, that you simply want. Money is earned through missions, stealing vehicles, doing hitman work or buying up buildings and shops to get a timed income. You’ll never get bored, there’s always a next thing to do or something that distracts you away on a side adventure.
Are there some downsides then? Well, there are some. The most obvious is the framerate. It dips, and it does so, a lot. Especially, when driving fast through crowded areas. It looks and makes it feel sluggish when it kicks in. Combine this with a rather short draw distance and I feel this could have done with some more optimising. All in all, this doesn't pull the game down so much for the whole experience. Large free-roaming games have a tendency to have an unstable framerate.
I also encountered a couple of bugs, putting you in some awkward spots, but these type of games usually have a few of these. Nothing major or game breaking.
If GTAIV was simply too serious and repetitive for you, I would warmly recommend SR3. In fact, I actually think it’s one of the best games this year. It's release came as a surprise on me, it took itself far from serious and I loved every minute of it. The storyline and main missions are incredibly varied and fun. The city itself offers a huge amount of missions and tasks to occupy your time.
Gameplay hours, which seem like minutes, because this game has so much entertaining going on. You’ll simply be smiling and laughing all the time!
Update: If you want a modern and better experience playing this game, then go for the remaster. I reviewed that here, and it's better than the original in every way.
Released: 2011
You know what I miss about gaming sometimes? Fun. Pure fun and laughs. It doesn't sound right that I would say so would it, I mean gaming is about having fun?! But in a world of realism and heavy plots it’s nice to just sit back and play something that has a completely way out story, tons of jokes, politically incorrect comments in the dozen, humorous violence and swearing like no tomorrow. All backed up by blowing up cars, airplanes, people and firing endless rounds from heavy weaponry.
Welcome to Steelport then, or more precisely, the game in which Steelport is a fictive city: Saints Row: The Third. First, let’s make it clear that I have only briefly played the first two Saints releases and have little, prior knowledge to the series. There may be game elements that have been thrown away since the last games, but this third game is in a sense a reboot. Sort of.
SR3 takes a more cartoonish look on its characters and simply turns everything up many notches in the let’s-go-all-the-way-with-ideas department. It kicks off with a hilarious and amazing bank heist, that goes basly wrong. topping off the humour, your character wears a large mascot head, so you don’t see him/her prior to the character creator option, which makes the whole heist even funnier to look at.
Even as a first mission, SR3 goes an extra mile. From what is a normal heist, it goes to hanging on to a huge safe being airlifted by a chopper, off a skyscraper. All while gunning down SWAT-like teams by the dozens. It starts off fun and action packed, and thankfully it stays so all through the game.
You get to build your own character from either a finished figure or from scratch. The character creation has a ton of customisation options and you can make some funny or great looking characters here. You can even change your appearance during the game, if you felt like you didn't quite nail it the first time.
This personal touch, gives SR3 a cooler approach to sandbox gaming than taking on the life and troubles of a set character, like in for instance GTAIV. It suits the genre well, it’s all about what you as a player wants to do.
It's so incredibly funny and combined with the really entertaining dialogue it’s a great, over the top, experience. I must stress again, you don’t actually think you're playing in this GTA styled genre during the missions, the shooting mechanics are so well made, they feel like real third person shooter.
Add to this already solid packe: lots of side-missions, character levelling,which lets you become invincible against fire, bullets, police forgiveness etc., buying different shops and taking over gang controlled city areas and you're in for hours, many hours of gameplay. We're talking about 30-40 hours at least here.
Speeding through only the main missions, at about the eight or ten hour mark, and you're missed the point of a free roam title. You should, and are rewarded, to explore. Wanna steal a plane at the airport? Drive there and do it! Want to dress up as a pink rabbit and fire rocket launcher rounds from a skyscraper before jumping off in parachute? Do it! Wanna jump through a front window of a sports car at the driver and kick him out, steal it and then drive it straight into a gang and start a shoot out? Do it! Or stand surfing on a moving car, or drive an army motorboat with a canon or…..you get what I'm saying, have fun!
The way SR3 awards you with money is done in a perfect learning curve. The best awards are very expensive and they never lets you get way ahead of it by levelling too fast. There’s always something that costs a little too much to buy, that you simply want. Money is earned through missions, stealing vehicles, doing hitman work or buying up buildings and shops to get a timed income. You’ll never get bored, there’s always a next thing to do or something that distracts you away on a side adventure.
Are there some downsides then? Well, there are some. The most obvious is the framerate. It dips, and it does so, a lot. Especially, when driving fast through crowded areas. It looks and makes it feel sluggish when it kicks in. Combine this with a rather short draw distance and I feel this could have done with some more optimising. All in all, this doesn't pull the game down so much for the whole experience. Large free-roaming games have a tendency to have an unstable framerate.
I also encountered a couple of bugs, putting you in some awkward spots, but these type of games usually have a few of these. Nothing major or game breaking.
If GTAIV was simply too serious and repetitive for you, I would warmly recommend SR3. In fact, I actually think it’s one of the best games this year. It's release came as a surprise on me, it took itself far from serious and I loved every minute of it. The storyline and main missions are incredibly varied and fun. The city itself offers a huge amount of missions and tasks to occupy your time.
Gameplay hours, which seem like minutes, because this game has so much entertaining going on. You’ll simply be smiling and laughing all the time!
