Review - Saint’s Row The Third (Xbox 360 version tested)

Appearances can be pretty deceptive – I expected this game to be a very similar proposition to Grand Theft Auto IV and its episodes. Arrive in a big city, enjoy some compelling cinematic cut scenes, start carrying out missions involving driving, shooting and exploring – with plenty of freedom to enjoy the sandbox etc etc.

Well Saints Row The Third has all that – but it’s more like… Grand Theft Auto through a mirror while on LSD. Can you tell me a game that has weapons like the Mollusc Launcher – a bright purple bazooka that fires molluscs at people? Can you run around in Grand Theft Auto while dressed as a Mexican pro-wrestler, beating people with a four foot long purple adult toy? Can you enter a televised game show run by the manic Professor Genki which is like a lethal version of Endurance?

That’s the difference – whereas Grand Theft Auto was always wonderfully sarcastic, cynical and satirical, it was always as realistic as possible. It told an incredible tale, but tried to be gritty and plausible. This game is just nuts. And that’s the game’s USP – in this way it offers a slightly different experience to the GTA games.

You start out as the leader of The Saints – a feared, powerful criminal gang (and pop-culture icons) – quickly at the start of the game a rival gang attacks and takes everything away. The mission is to restore your gang to its powerful former glory.

One other difference here is that you can customise your character – whereas in GTA you are given a character and all you can do is change their outfits, in SR3 you can create a male or female boss in whatever race, shape or facial appearance you like. So if you want to create a cute Latina brunette and spend the majority of the game watching her run around in her underwear – you can. I may or may not have done this.

But a nice touch is that all the dialogue for all the genders and races has been duplicated – so the experience is authentic whatever combination you choose. Also, graphics have moved on a long way since 2008 and GTA IV – everything looks appreciably prettier than that game. The city looks higher res, more colourful, more vibrant – it’s a great pleasure to steal a helicopter (as you do) and fly around the centre of the city at night – it’s a neon paradise.

That said – the city doesn’t feel quite as large and certainly isn’t as interactive as in GTA IV – fewer buildings can be walked into, even the places that become your safe houses have less interactivity. I remember excitedly walking up to the television set in the first apartment you own in the game – it didn’t switch on. GTA IV had over an hour of unique TV programming to watch – I remember spending one evening watching it all with my wife, it was incredible. Sadly there are no episodes of Republican Space Rangers here.

It doesn’t stop this game being a lot of fun though. The mission based driving and shooting mechanic never gets old and the controls are a little more intuitive than GTA. There is still a lot of city to explore – at leisure if wished, in all manner of vehicles with a healthy selection of radio stations, each with their own large playlists.

I liked it a lot – in the end just as much as GTA. Although it entered the genre later, it is suitably different to warrant purchase even if you own GTA already. GTA V won’t be out for a while longer, so this is a fine way to scratch that itch while waiting.

I apologise for all the comparisons though – this game does deserve recognition on its own merits. It’s a kind of cross between Scarface and The Yellow Submarine and I’m very fond of it.

9/10

Saints Row The Third is out now for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC