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Saints The Third

THQ Sandbox game

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A new town to paint purple.

Apr 26, 2012

by TheJohn
posted in The Gaming Hub

Exclusive to the Lunch Network

Rating:

Saints the Third continues Volitions open sandbox world of shooting guns and causing chaos with a polished up face, some new activities and just enough fun to warrant playing over it's predecessors.

Saints The Third gave me a real "Rocky 3" vibe in that the Third Street Saints are not only on top in the world of gangsters, but they are celebrities with clothing lines, adoring fans and merchandizing galore. They also have new enemies in the form of the gangs from Steelport -a run down metropolis full of crime, prostitution and grime. The gangs include the snooty euro trash Morning Stars, the computer hacking Deckers and- I am not joking here, the Luca Libres which are, yes masked wrestlers. Trapped in town and cut off from supplies: you The Boss, Shaundi and a few others must tie up they're shoes and hit the streets to beat the new gangs at they're game and later on take on the STAG Anti Gang task force which turn out to be your basic knight templers in battle armor and laser gun equipped assault vehicles.

Steal cars, attack gangs and take on activities to build up your reputation and use your money to buy new clothes, guns and upgrades for your gang. A lot has been simplified since SR2 in that you don't have QUITE the variety in customization. For example, The Saints franchise, an underwear store and the costume shop is your only clothing options and the clothing stores sell the jewelry so there are no more jewelry stores. No music stores or as many safe houses. Car stores and fast food is gone and so are the liquor stores so no more buying food power ups. Friendly Fires all sell the same weapons and are the only weapon stores and you no longer have to level up your rep to take on more story missions. So while you still have high levels of customizing you're character, it is cut down, but then again it's still leaps and bounds higher then what GTA4 gives you, so it's still a wash.

Activities from the old game are back, and while some like Septic Avenger are gone (aw shit) - new ones like the Tiger Survival are around, not to mention a TRON lightcycle race, Tank Avenger where you, more or less destroy a small section of town with a tank and of course they're s Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Challenge where you shoot mascots with guns and survive traps. Old ones like Meyhem are back and are tweaked to include using unlimited grenades to cause destruction and there is also my personal favorite: Insurance Scam where you literally play in traffic.

Other additions will include getting calls from your friends and told to go take on cops or other gang members or taking on gang strongholds. You can as always call for back up if things get tough. Hidden pickups for money are all across town and include literal money piles, drug stashes, fans who want a picture with a Third Street Saint and: sex dolls. Speaking of sex dolls, did I mention that one of you're weapons in the game is a 4 foot long purple dildo?

So, even though the fat got trimmed what can balance it out? The graphics and sound. Saints 2, as great as it was had some rather lame graphics at times. They weren't BAD but Saints The Third blows them out of the water. The game looks great. Sounds are also nice with new tunes to listen to on the car (including another Rocky reference: Robert Tepper's Theres No Easy Way Out). Controls are about the same as they were the first time but the "lock" system does help keep you steady during big fights. One complaint is that you can be aiming right at an opponent's head and empty a whole clip of SMG ammo and NOT have them die. It's annoying.

Saints 2 is still a great game, but Saints 3 has 2's attitude in a new berg with new games and a fantastic face lift. Nothing lost from Saints 2 is all THAT much missed and what Saints 3 adds is welcome. If anything else, Saints 3 does give you a better feeling of being in a big city with it's run down sections and it's glitzier high rises. Saints 3 is certainly a great addition to your sandbox library and does what any good sequel does best: keep it the same, fix whats broken and make it better. It's up to you if the missing activities from 2 and the larger variety of shops are worth it. Hey, it's how we get things done in the Saints.

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FM_ALEX May 15, 2012

Great review man, I ahve yet to paly this one but I liked the others.

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Madpenguin April 27, 2012

For reasons I can't even explain I been putting this one off despite enjoying the first two. Nice write up. I need to get back to video game reviewing.

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More Saints The Third reviews

Quick Tip by TheJohn. April 26, 2012

A Quick Tip by TheJohn

The Boss is back to cause more panic but this time in Steelport while fighting off new gangs and engaging in more crazy activities. Trimmed some fat off the 2nd game but amped up graphics, sound and controls make up for it.

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About the reviewer

John Nelson (TheJohn)
Ranked #9

Born in Wausau Wisconsin. Move at an early age to Ventura California and lived for 8 years. Growing up in a big city landscape didn't prepare me for my next move: Archbold Ohio with a population of … more