The Grand Theft Auto series is kind of like Ice-T… what began as a highly controversial and rebellious franchise has settled down a bit and has grown commercially tolerable by everyone. Simply put, GTA just doesn’t have the same shock value it once had. So in comparison, the Saints Row series would be like Dave Chappelle, taking previously old material and running it clear off the rails into absurdity (but hopefully won’t retire young and move to Africa).
The first Saints Row had timing on its side, earning a cult audience desperate to experience GTA (or in this case, something similar) on their new consoles. Despite having some clear improvements such as an improved shooting mechanic as well as a GPS feature for quickly navigating around town, it wasn’t until the second game that the series began to separate itself from GTA by picking up on its leftover traits. In other words, as Grand Theft Auto continued to take itself more seriously, Saints Row continued to get wilder and crazier.
With Saints Row: The Third, we now have the end result of Volition Inc’s experimentation, culminating in an open-world game that features GTA’s polish, but a far more insane sense of humour.
Believe it or not, there is a cohesive plot to this game; after eliminating all their competition in the previous game, the Saints gang have turned their criminal empire into a mega-corporation, with each of the pivotal members becoming full-on celebrities that sell branded merchandise, star in international commercials and sign autographs by the masses. The game opens up with a mock bank heist with the Saints shooting footage for their upcoming movie… in which they dress as themselves during the robbery. Little do they know, a new rival group known as the Syndicate gets the drop on them and sparks a new war for city dominance, where the Saints earn new friends and foes alike while causing a wave of destruction all over Stillwater in the most explosive and ridiculous way possible.
The tone of the story is almost in line with the crazy gameplay, as if Quentin Tarantino collaborated with Suda 51 to write a script that could only work as a videogame. Amidst the self-referential dialogue and clear parodies, what makes The Third’s story really work is its cast of likeable characters. While the main character is nameless and fully customizable, he or she carries a unique personality that is partly dependent on the type of voice you choose (even the zombie option results in some clever delivery), appropriately reacting to the absurd situations while also having fun with many of the destructive weapons or jacked cars. In one particularly memorable sequence early on, two characters engage in a sing-along to a Sublime track, singing the entire song from start to finish, laughing along with such conviction you would think it was originally an outtake that made its way onto the game proper.
Many of the allies and enemies are equally as memorable, both with their unique mannerisms or absurd eccentricities. For the villains, there are multiple gangs that carry a specific theme with their look, such as the Luchadores (who all dress up as Mexican wrestlers) or the Deckers (a techno-themed group with Matrix-like weapons and acrobatics). For the new additions to the Saints, there’s the overly-paranoid ex-FBI agent Kinzie, and the permanently autotuned-voiced pimp Zimos (just try not to laugh every time he opens his mouth). Virtually everyone is instantly memorable and help bring all the craziness to a somewhat believable light.
It would be both criminal and impossible to list all of the ridiculous things you’ll be doing in this game; you’ll have your standard shootouts with enemies, high-speed chases, and the occasional need to protect a fellow ally with a sniper rifle or bazooka from a helicopter. These sections alone are a bit more frantic than other GTA clones, but they’re also just the warm-up; from taking out a group of furries with a flamethrower, taking part in a motorcycle race in a virtual Tron-like world, driving around the street with a live tiger on the passenger side, or having a free-falling gunfight after escaping a moving plane are just a sample of the wacky hijacks you’ll come across. The extra activities and challenges littered throughout go even further, like streaking across the city (complete with mosaic-censored bits), driving a motorcycle while set on fire, or taking part in a Japanese-inspired gameshow filled with deadly traps and gun-toting mascots.
Even the stuff that feels normal by comparison, like taking out city property with a bazooka or assassinating targets for cash all carry a bit of Saints Row’s trademark wackiness, whether it be by the arsenal provided to you (not including a laser rifle, a dildo bat, or a computer-guided Predator missile - yes, like the ones from Call of Duty - and yes, you get a dildo bat) or the hundreds of optional attire you can don (including superhero outfits, furry costumes, or just women’s clothing…sure, why not).
The craziest stuff comes with a price, and in Saints Row you’ve got two important pieces of acquisition: Respect and Money. Respect serves as experience points, filling up a bar that lets you level up and unlock skill upgrades and new abilities (such as faster health regeneration, additional gang members, the ability to dual-wield weapons, etc). To purchase these upgrades along with everything else in the world, you need cash. Fortunately, both can be obtained a number of ways; you can invest in property by buying local stores, eliminate your competition by hitting gang spots in the map, or take part in any of the many aforementioned activities. Even the clothes you wear or the main missions you complete earn you Respect and Money, and you can even unlock the ability to earn more Respect with more Money (or vice versa) if you desire.
There are a requisite of missions that must be completed before you can continue with the story, a common element the game still shares with GTA. Some of these objectives tend to repeat themselves (such as the bodyguard missions), while others aren’t quite as entertaining (namely the Insurance Fraud missions that see you jump in front of a moving car). The lack of a fast-travel option is also sorely missed, especially when you’re tasked to visit an ally again just to watch a short cutscene telling you to come back later. Fortunately, the world is a lot less massive than the ones in GTA, and the ability to set up a custom waypoint at any time, as well as the on-screen arrows serving as a GPS, helps immensely. If the driving back and forth proves tedious, just add some extra mayhem to alleviate boredom; vehicles can be stored in a local crib and customised into an exaggerated murder mobile, with tire-popping blades, reinforced plating and nitro boosting. Or, you can just run around and mess with the local NPCs and gangs, whether through violent confrontations or a push of the taunt button.
You can even engage in the fun with another person online, although it’s recommended you make a separate character for this, as any story-based decisions made by your partner will automatically be applied to your existing character. For the action-heavy person, there’s also the Whored Mode, which is exactly like Gears of War’s Horde Mode, but with a stupider name - t hat doesn’t make it any less fun, however. For the creative gamer, there’s also the ability to upload your customised character for other players to download, and vice versa.
As strange as it sounds, the best thing that can be said about Saints Row: The Third is that it’s dumb. It’s a dumb game, and it embraces that fact fully. It’s as if someone took the tried and tired GTA formula and added a bunch of game-breaking mods to it. After the embarrassing juvenile hijinks of Duke Nukem Forever, it’s nice to know that you’re never too old to appreciate a good dick joke, as Saints Row embraces the same delinquent and dirty elements that made Grand Theft Auto such a hit in the first place.
Want this game so bad.
26th November 2011, 11:20 PM - reply - report