Worth playing but not worth full price
Saints Row III pales in comparison to it's predecessor, at least in my eyes. I feel like just about everything that made the second game so good has either been entirely done away with or watered down.
The world feels a lot smaller, the driving controls are awkward, there are less stores and places to visit/go into and missions feel less like "missions" and more like a splicing of different cut scenes (the action is almost constantly interrupted by brief loading screes that will then show a 10 second clip before giving you another loading screen and finally putting you back in control.)
The graphics are also much more "cartoonish" and everything has a thicker/block-like style to it that I don't particularly care for. Enemy animations and combat also feel cheap and ridiculous (ex: enemies fly 3 feet in the air after getting shot with a handgun.)
The story doesn't make a whole lot of sense either and nothing is done to fill in gaps. Often times you'll select "Mission" from your phone and suddenly end up inside of a tank or other vehicle or building moments later with no explanation of where things came from or why you're really doing what you're doing.
The second game had a significantly stronger story and everything felt much more connected. This time around everything feels flat and so far I haven't found myself caring about anyone/anything amidst all the nonsense.
It's not a bad game but certainly not one that's going to amaze you. This is good for when you just want to cause chaos and play with friends.
That being said I still don't think it's worth the full price. I'd rent it first or wait until you can get it used. There have been so many other good games released this year and Saints Row: The Third really doesn't have a leg to stand on in comparison.