Wild and crazy gang warfare, action packed, and plenty of customization options equals nothing but fun.
Graphics:
The graphics is respectable. The characters and environment is detailed enough to get things done. The graphics isn't mind blowing; however graphics isn't everything especially if the gameplay makes up for it.
Story:
Lets just say it is all about the Saints improving as a gang. They let the fame go to their heads and.....you can fill in the blanks when you start the game. This game doesn't waste anytime giving you an idea on whats going on. The great thing about this game is the fact that you don't have to gain a certain level of respect in order to complete the main story. You can compete side quests and main story missions anytime you want. Plus the game seems to get so crazy you won't even know what will happen next.
Gameplay:
There is so much I don't even know were to start. Lets see....
You have your basics: run, punch, and shoot. The controls in this game are tighter; because in Saints Row Two the controls felt a bit sluggish when it came to the gun play. In SR 2 switching to fine aim isn't fluid and the control scheme is a bit clumsy. The game kind of plays like an RPG of sorts. Everything you do in the game builds up your respect; which is used to help you level up your character's stats, abilities, and even your gang themselves. You can even gain the ability to call up your homies to help you in battle or deliver vehicles you collected to you. Killing gang members, stealing cars, near misses while driving, hitting cars, base jumping, vehicle surfing, buying clothes, buying properties, and etc. They really meant why they said you can do just about anything to gain respect. And like in all gang related games it is about gaining territory. The cool thing about this game is you actually get to visually see your progress. The more you begin to take over a part of the city the more saints members will walk the streets that were once crawling with rival gang members.
I almost forgot to mention a button called the awesome button. This button pretty much amplifies your close range and theft abilities to ridiculous heights. You can use it to severely beat down someone and gain extra cash with successful button presses, quickly steal vehicles by jump kicking drivers out of their vehicles, add insult to injury by doing jaw cracking dash attacks that work like grapples, and use weapon grabs to humiliate victims.
The customization feature seems to be the primary feature in this game. The customization feature is so deep people can actually make accurate models of celebrities and super heroes with time and effort. A large number of vehicles can be customized. You can change the colors of the parts of your vehicles and even add special parts such as nitro boosters. But wait there is more! As you progress through the game you can unlock more features that allows you to customize the appearance of your fellow gang members that are not part of the stars of the saints row team. This is really cool; because you get to customize your crew in a more personalized style.
There are some pretty powerful weapon upgrades in this game as well. In the beginning you may think the upgrades makes the game too easy; however the farther you progress the more insane it gets. Things can really get heavy in a hurry in this game. For instance, each rival gang has a specialist that uses a special weapon and has different abilities, plus you will encounter very deadly, over sized fighters that can flip cars. You can get shotguns that can easily take down cars, dual wield armor piercing handguns, rain down hell fire on your enemies below with satellite controlled rockets, and etc. You can also use each gang's special weapon against them; however you can't keep it.
Earlier in the review, I mentioned that there are side missions as well. There are special activities, vehicle theft mission, and assassination missions. The vehicle theft and assassination missions are a bit different; because you don't simply go to markers that can be located on your map like you do for the activities. In vehicle theft and assassination missions you read the details and go to more specific areas on the map in order to find what you need in order to complete the task. These missions are actually pretty fun.
Lets talk a little more about the special activities. You unlock special activities by first completing the first one as a story mission. After it is completed you can play the special activities again; however the difficulty settings will change as well as the location. Some examples of the activities you can play are listed below:
Guardian Angel: Protecting an ally by attacking from a helicopter.
Escort: Driving around horny people while avoiding the press.
Insurance Fraud: Jump in front of vehicles and maneuver into
objects to collect money.
Trafficking: Saving groups of people from rival gangs.
Professor Genki Super Ethical Climax:
Take part in a dangerous obstacle course game show.
These activities are a lot of fun. I haven't completed the game yet; so there may be a few more.
And what makes this game even more interesting is all of the things I mentioned can be done with a friend online.
The final mode to mention is a mode called Whored mode. You heard me. Not horde; but whored. So pretty much this mode is another horde mode; but it is done Saints Row style. I haven't played a lot of it yet; but it is the most hilarious horde mode in gaming history so far. Each wave in this game provides you with preset weapons as well as enemies. Sometimes the enemies are enhanced in outrageous and funny ways or you are given an unfair advantage and you have to make good use of it before time runs out. I don't want to spoil anything here; because this mode is down right hilarious.
Final Thoughts:
This game is very impressive. The game doesn't have a lot of multiplayer options; however the execution in terms of coop didn't hurt this game one bit. The amount of things you are able to do in this game is incredible and almost endless for those who like to spend hours messing around. I am positive that most people thought coop would have reduced the number of activities and chaos. And those comments are acceptable assumptions. THQ really did their thing with this game; because it feels like the coop didn't reduce the fun factor of the campaign at all. The coop actually adds more. I haven't played the coop yet; but I did watch videos of it and it looks like you are not limited at all when someone else is playing with you. The game is a bit buggy. There is a lack of multiplayer options; however that might have been a good move cause adding more multiplayer modes might reduce the quality we have now.
Pros:
+Great story.
+Character favorites return.
+Customization options are flawless.
+Close combat is more than just a three hit combo.
+Movement isn't sluggish.
+The lack of reality added more action and fun gameplay.
+The random stuff that goes on in the city is cool.
Cons:
-It would have been nice if the game had more new activities.
-Graphics are great; but doesn't look as good as more recent games.
-The game is a bit buggy.
-Lack of multiplayer options. (Might be a good thing though.)
I am glad I waited for Saints Row: The Third. This game is soo much fun. This game deserves a 9.0 out of 10.