Binary Review – Saints Row The Third (Xbox360)

Today I finished Saints Row The Third on the Xbox 360 and I thought I would write a review. I have been a fan of the Saints Row games, this being the 3rd in the series, it was a must have on my short game list. The game is the open world style, 3rd person view, free roam style which are games that I love. The nearest comparison is Grand Theft Auto. The difference between Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row is how serious they take each other. Grand Theft Auto is trying to build as close to real world story and experience as possible where Saints Row takes that approach and goes way over the top crazy in every single aspect.

You start off as a member of the street gang called the 3rd Street Saints. The gang is on top of the world and have created a corporate media empire around themselves. Sport drinks, movies, merchandise, the Saints are celebrities of the city even though that are a street gang… over the top. A new crew tries to move into your turf and take over and you have to stop them. That’s the basic premise of the first part of the game, the second half you are dealing with a military force called the STAG whose primary mission is to eliminate you. The story is action packed, funny, full of twists, and very different as you progress through. In games like this you see many times where missions or chapters are very similar which increase the boredom factor. In Saints they keep the scenery different, the objectives movings around, and the difficulty increasing each step of the way. In a few spots you have decisions to make which change the game a little bit, one example is to blow up a building or keep it for yourself. LIttle things that make a big deal in the game play.

In addition to the main story line Saints Row is packed full of side activities. These activities are what I play Saints Row for, the main story is cool, but its over too quick. I actually played the main story to the point where I was let loose on my own and did all the side activities first. The activities is where you earn all your money, respect, items, upgrades and exploration of the world. You could blast through the main story in a few hours and be done. When you add in all the activities, exploring, and the main story this will consume 40+ hours if you do everything. It’s well worth it.

Why I enjoy Saints Row far more than Grand Theft Auto is the ridiculous, over the top nature of the game. You can customize your character top to bottom with thousands of combinations of clothing, accessories, and physical appearanced you can do. Male, female, wearing a suit or buck naked, you can play however you want. In this game you can even share your characters online and download ones others have created. The activities is the other part that is filled with craziness. Some of the activies consist of you driving around on a 4 wheeler on fire and you have to set as much ablaze as you can, drive around in a tank and destroy as much as you can, escort hookers around town to their spots, play in a wild arena filled with goofy mascots armed to the teeth. All these things make Saints Row a blast to play because they never try to be serious. 

Saints Row The Third is a great piece of entertainment, its challenging, and really fun. If I pick it up and play for 20 minutes or put in a 2 hour session, I always had fun with this game. In my lifestyle that’s what matters most. I no longer have the luxury to play video games for the sake of playing video games, I have to be more choosy and this one didn’t disappoint.

Pros: The gameplay, length, variety, replayability, voice acting.

Cons: Graphics are a little under par, some glitchy parts scattered about, too easy to level up early.

Review Score – 9.5/10

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