Saints Row: The Third (PS3)
At first glance Saints Row might look like a cheap GTA knock off and that is partly true. Saints Row is a third person shooter/open world game that uses most of the the game mechanics also found in GTA like driving, shooting and flying etc. However Saints Row brings some new things to the table as well. I'm talking about boss fights, character customization, zombie hordes and senseless action.
To elaborate a bit, I haven't played any of the previous Saints Row games and my impressions are solely based on this third installment. I had heard very little about the Saints Row series before I thought to myself that now would be the time to try it out.
The first thing that you'll encounter in the game which sets Saints Row aside from GTA is the character customization. You will choose between playing a female or male protagonist and you'll be able to customize him or her according to you liking, that includes appearance, body type and voice. As I usually do when faced with this kind of option, I go with the female character and in this case I'm glad I did. The female voice actor is great, she sounds a lot like female Shepard from Mass Effect but I looked it up and it is actually Laura Bailey (Fetch, Infamous: First Light). Hearing her sing Sublime's What I Got off the top of her lungs definitely made me like her even more. The default male voice actor is no other than Troy Baker (Booker DeWitt, Bioshock and Joel, The Last of Us) so I guess that wouldn't have been a bad choice either. The part suited very well for a woman though and I'm content with my choice.
As I hadn't played the two first games I had little clue what was going on with the story but that also soon got more clear to me. You are part of a gang called the Saints and you fight against rival gangs and the police as you're trying to get control over the whole city. Pretty basic right? Except it is not. Because of it's self ironic and ridiculous style you never know what to expect. Not once during my play trough was I bored or annoyed. There was always something new happening and therefore the missions felt far from repetitive. Clueless players (like myself) are in for a few nice surprises that's for sure.
Saints Row gets much of its appeal from humor and the game itself is all about fun and feeling powerful. That is what makes it a really good game. However the production quality is not as high as GTA. The graphics are average and the city sometimes looks quite bland. Those things does not take away the fact that Saints Row: The Third is an enjoyable ride from start to finish (the final mission/epilogue is pure gold).
To elaborate a bit, I haven't played any of the previous Saints Row games and my impressions are solely based on this third installment. I had heard very little about the Saints Row series before I thought to myself that now would be the time to try it out.
The first thing that you'll encounter in the game which sets Saints Row aside from GTA is the character customization. You will choose between playing a female or male protagonist and you'll be able to customize him or her according to you liking, that includes appearance, body type and voice. As I usually do when faced with this kind of option, I go with the female character and in this case I'm glad I did. The female voice actor is great, she sounds a lot like female Shepard from Mass Effect but I looked it up and it is actually Laura Bailey (Fetch, Infamous: First Light). Hearing her sing Sublime's What I Got off the top of her lungs definitely made me like her even more. The default male voice actor is no other than Troy Baker (Booker DeWitt, Bioshock and Joel, The Last of Us) so I guess that wouldn't have been a bad choice either. The part suited very well for a woman though and I'm content with my choice.
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| My own character in Saints Row: The Third. Her favorite colors are green, black and pink and her weapon of choice the dual wielding pistols. Favorite activities: Insurance fraud and car surfing. |
As I hadn't played the two first games I had little clue what was going on with the story but that also soon got more clear to me. You are part of a gang called the Saints and you fight against rival gangs and the police as you're trying to get control over the whole city. Pretty basic right? Except it is not. Because of it's self ironic and ridiculous style you never know what to expect. Not once during my play trough was I bored or annoyed. There was always something new happening and therefore the missions felt far from repetitive. Clueless players (like myself) are in for a few nice surprises that's for sure.
Saints Row gets much of its appeal from humor and the game itself is all about fun and feeling powerful. That is what makes it a really good game. However the production quality is not as high as GTA. The graphics are average and the city sometimes looks quite bland. Those things does not take away the fact that Saints Row: The Third is an enjoyable ride from start to finish (the final mission/epilogue is pure gold).
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