Saints Row: The Third

It is a game specifically designed for annihilation junkies, those who can embrace the idea of an infantile playground of seemingly infinite obliterative pleasures. For those who prefer their games a tad less absurdly--perhaps needlessly--violent, any number of other games this fall will likely suit your fancy just fine.

Beyond the dense, dangerous, opportunity-filled open world, there's another mission type around every corner. Saints Row: The Third doesn't play like recent THQ efforts have -- all bark and no bite -- but instead feels like a labor of love. It feels like the developers had fun, and they wanted you to feel it too. And I promise, you will.

Regardless of a few omitted favorites, Saints Row: The Third features no shortage of activities, side-quests, collectibles, and humorous distractions. Between them, the wealth of new upgrade options, co-op play, Whored mode (a Horde mode clone), and the explosive story missions, there’s no shortage of content.

Saints Row: The Third is buoyed to great heights by terrific mission design and by the remarkable assortment of vehicles and weapons it gives you with which to take over Steelport. Whether you're buying up property to increase your hourly income, cruising the city in your favorite vehicle to collect photo ops, drug packages, and sex dolls, or punching people to bits with those crazy apocafists, there's rarely a dull moment.

The big issue I have with Saints Row: The Third is that it doesn't feel like its content, varied though it may be, has much of a purpose outside of the main campaign. The open world really seems to exist more as a way to prolong the experience by forcing a player to travel to the origin point for the next mission rather than simply having it begin outright.

Saints Row the Third is an experience unlike any other. It never takes itself too seriously, it remembers that games should be fun and they should entertain. It’s not that any particular part stands out above the other, rather, on the whole, everything is just downright awesome. The character creator alone warrants multiple playthroughs and the story is literally only half the game.

Saints Row: The Third is my first in-depth taste of the Saints Row franchise and I came away wanting more. This ain’t no GTA I can tell you that, as Saints Row: The Third is the most crazy and insanely violent game I’ve played in years, perhaps ever, but it has a story to go with everything else and a very well implemented cooperative mode. The game is a well-done piece business, with obvious detail and care oozing out of every sin soaked pore.

Like any good sandbox game, SR3 includes a bunch of optional side missions to pad out the roughly 13 hour campaign. While some of the side missions, like Escort and Trafficking are a little dull, the vast majority of them are a blast. Mayhem, Trailblazer, and Heli Assault are loaded with big explosions and destruction, while classics like Insurance Fraud have your character hurling themselves into traffic while ragdolling into as many other cars as possible. The much touted "Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax" is particularly fun.

Saints Row 3 walks that fine line between satire and parody, lampooning science-fiction movies, paranoid hackers, and pop stars like T-Pain all while shining a light on the very real issues of sexism and violence in our culture today. Either that, or the guys at Volition are just screwing with us. Honestly, I don't care, I'm just glad they let us along for the ride.

What you should reasonably expect, and what Saints Row: The Third fails to deliver, is a clever Mad Magazine parody, something more than a middle school mentality expressed with a high budget. What you get is a sandbox game that's fun for a spell, but one that you’ll outgrow pretty fast.

t's still a good game at its core, but it's not a patch on its predecessor, as it seems to have forgotten about Saints Row 2's achievements in its blinkered pursuit of extremity. It took me over two weeks to beat Saints Row 2, and I still wanted to stay in Stilwater. I concluded Saints Row: The Third in less than two days and feel no compulsion to return to Steelport anytime soon.

Ceaselessly crass and juvenile it may be, but then Saints Row: The Third has no higher purpose than to entertain you in the most ridiculous way possible - though that in itself is a lofty ambition. Its surprisingly clever and thoughtful design ensures that it succeeds – and then some. It is, as I said before, very smart at being stupid.

Overall Saints Row: The Third is quite the positive experience all round; I experienced very few negative moments in the game. Granted, due to the nature of these sandbox style games a few loading issues emerged and the odd frame rate drop appeared here and there, but nothing that detracted from the experience.

That whoever takes part can make utterly mad choices at any stage, and pass off what would otherwise be extremely suspect activities under the guise of stupidity. Never has the phrase "the game made me do it" been more appropriate, or more welcome. With the holiday calendar chock full of titles, Saints Row: The Third stands out as a holiday retreat, to be sampled again and again whenever a healthy dose of stress relief is required.

Lo que tenemos entre manos es probablemente el sandbox más directamente entretenido de esta generación. Saints Row: The Third es un gran cúmulo de lecciones aprendidas que destaca por su humor y su enorme contenido. Ese necesario chiste grosero en medio de reflexiones tan profundas.

The Third supone, con sensible diferencia, el mejor videojuego de la saga Saint's Row hasta la fecha. Hábilmente Volition ha sabido desnudar al título de todos los convencionalismos del pasado, y ha logrado su lanzamiento más divertido, grosero y canalla hasta la fecha. Gráficamente compacto, jugablemente muy robusto y con una capacidad innata para hacer reír con sus absurdas situaciones, este lanzamiento es el perfecto para los que busquen sandbox alejados de la seriedad de los actuales.

No es ni mejor ni peor, sino simplemente distinto. Saint's Row: The Third llega al mercado con una propuesta claramente inspirada en el ácido sentido del humor de revistas como Mad Magazine, tomando prestados elementos de aquí y allá, toda vez que aporta su granito de arena a base de situaciones surrealistas, muchas hilarantes, todas igual de entretenidas.

Encore plus déjanté que d'habitude, Saints Row apporte assez de fraîcheur pour s'extirper du marasme des sorties de fin d'année grâce à son style irrévérencieux. Tanks, véhicules futuristes, guérilla urbaine, malgré son aspect technique dépassé et de vilains bugs, il offre une grosse dose de fun et de nombreuses options de customisation. Si vous aimez le style gangster-pimp, vous êtes au bon endroit.

Comme vous avez pu le lire à de nombreuses reprises dans notre test de Saints Row 3, beaucoup de superlatifs nous viennent à l’esprit dès qu’il est question de qualifier le titre de THQ. Comique, dynamique, rafraichissant. Le titre de THQ nous accroche et surprend dès les premières minutes de jeu et arrive à nous captiver de bout en bout.

Volition en THQ laten met Saints Row: The Third zien dat gamen puur om plezier draait en niet alleen maar om grafisch pracht en praal. Als je het even beu bent om complexe verhaallijnen te volgen en de serieuze toon van de gemiddelde shooter achter je wilt laten, dan is Saints Row iets voor jou! Waan je even weg in een wereld waarin alles kan en mag en niets te gek is. Heerlijk!

I dagsläget är det här den mest vanvettiga sandlådan i spelvärlden och fylld med så mycket Jackass-doftande underhållning att jag mellan varven brustit ut i spontana asgarv över dumheterna som frodas på skärmen. Även om jag inte precis skulle må dåligt av ett bättre tekniskt genomförande är det underväldigande första intrycket glömt och förlåtet. Det här är ren kärlek i digital form.