Call it bad timing, call it a lack of descent marketing. Call it a brand without an AAA reputation. But Saints Row the Third is the Best Game of the Year that you’ve heard virtually nothing about. Let me run this down for you. The game is an open world, third person shooter, that has a Grand Theft Auto style aesthetic but without even a vein of seriousness. Volition, Inc. developed this game not set the world on fire with an awesome story or some kind crazy graphical upgrade that will make all other games look terrible. No, they just wanted the player to HAVE FUN! Wait, what? Fun? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, there is nothing quite like a fun game to remind you of why we bother playing video games to begin with.
What do I mean: The checkpoints are generous, you are constantly playing with crazy weapons, you get to drive, fly, or even go boating in countless vehicles that you get to customize. You get to buy property and collect the money and discounts from that property like Assassins Creed. There is a crazy Japanese game show side activity set where you can earn money for your character and participate in crazy activities. Save anywhere, every activity from the side missions to the main mission are not meant for the player to sit through a puzzling or dramatic narrative but to constantly make the player laugh and say out loud, “WTF?” Oh, and did I mention you can do all this with a friend? Yes, the entire campaign can be played through co-op!
While I can’t say enough good things about the game: excellent soundtrack, good pacing, a perfect difficulty level on NORMAL, and some of the most inventive gameplay I’ve ever seen. I do have to mention that this game might not be for anyone. The title has an playful adult theme that will probably; in the long term, only appeal to actual adults. But this was a simple matter of personal taste and not an error on the developer’s part. There are certainly a lot of things people might find sexist, in poor taste, or morally questionable in Saints Row the Third. Yeah, don’t worry about any of that; it’s done with the same tone that the whole rest of the game is. Sometimes it unintentionally dips a toe into South Park style humor. But it never really ventures into for very long or very deeply. This game wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. That is the best and most healthy way of taking everything it presents you with. Otherwise, your going to be angry and confused instead of laughing and confused.
The more I played Saints Row the Third the more I loved it. The only real problems I had with the Saints was the constant need to keep checking my phone for the next thing. I might have preferred to simply be directed to the next story mission and then choose to play it or not immediately.
Perhaps it is the industry’s complete inability to actually categorize a game like Saints Row the Third, that has kept it under the radar. But the TV commercial below probably best evokes the feeling you get when you play the game. For a game that is so hard to define in today’s market, the commercial does a pretty good job of at least giving players an idea of what they are getting.
I was extremely cold on this game when I saw if months ago. But that’s the thing about Saints Row the Third, you have to ACTUALLY play the game to appreciate it. While I can’t say that Saints Row the Third is the best game of the year. Saints Row the Third is definitely the best game of the year that you probably haven’t played. For crazy, silly fun you have to take it to the Saints!
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