It has been nearly nine years since the original Saints Row: The Third released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. I remember being mega excited in the weeks leading up to launch. It had been three years since Saints Row 2 and despite Mafia II releasing the year prior; open world sandbox fans were once again ready for their fix. What we got was one of the most insane, over the top experiences ever and fans lapped it up. So the question going into this remaster, as with many before it, is how does the game hold up now?
Well the answer is – really well! Truth be told not a lot has changed from the original game. There has been a graphical overhaul and while not pushing the limits of the PlayStation 4 Pro, the game doesn’t look out of place in 2020. This was most impressive during rainstorms and at night when the colour in the game really pops. It’s like a fresh coat of paint, and a good one at that.
Gameplay is pretty much unchanged, but that is not a knock. Saints Row: The Third is like a cartoon. It’s not aiming to be realistic and therefore the gameplay ages better. Hand to hand combat is largely inspired by pro wrestling with Superman punches, tornado DDT’s, flying bronco busters and more pulled out contextually depending on the situation.
There is a wide range of weaponry from the standard pistols, uzis, machine guns, grenades, baseball bats and even rocket launchers all the way up to laser beams and a flaccid dildo aptly named ‘The Penetrator’. One of my personal favourites – Apoca-Fist – is essentially Hulk hands and allows you to punch large objects like cars so hard they explode. I did tell you this game didn’t take itself too seriously right?
The story, for anyone who didn’t play the original, centers around the 3rd Street Saints. They have become celebrities in Stilwater with merchandise, movie deals and fans screaming for their autograph. Now in Steelport, the Saints get locked in a blood feud with a shadowy organisation known as The Syndicate.
From the opening half an hour of the game where you don bobble head masks of Saints leader Johnny Gat to rob a bank, followed by skydiving from a Syndicate plane you helped destroy… TWICE, the scene is set. The aforementioned Gat stayed behind on the jet to handle business and with him presumed dead your created male or female character becomes the new leader of the Saints.
This is GTA turned up to eleven and there is very little down time during the twenty plus hour campaign. Saints Row: The Third doesn’t drip feed you fun, it drops you into a crazy sandbox and lets you go wild. After settling in my first safe house I was told to head to my garage and pick a car to spawn. One of the options was a tank. A TANK.
Missions are every bit as crazy as the great cast of characters. You get to go and film scenes from the action film that is being made about the Saints during one, while another has you competing in Professor Genki’s Ethical Reality Climax – a reality show where you have to shoot your way through a herd of enemies within a set time.
There are slightly more grounded missions that progress the off the wall story forward. The highlight of these is the characters you meet along the way. Zimos was my personal favourite. A pimp that only communicates via an auto-tune on the end of a cane. You first encounter him decked out in a gimp suit, being held against he will by the Syndicate and forced to pull punters along on a carriage. I did say slightly more grounded.
There are a few niggles that still annoyingly exist from the original game. The camera angle during missions where you shoot from a helicopter can be infuriating at times. Trying to aim a rocket launcher at a moving car only for your reticle to be covered by your characters body happened all too frequently.
The trophy list is another highlight. It asks you to explore and take part in everything that Steelport has to offer without ever becoming overly tedious or outstaying it’s welcome. As one trophy requires you to spend 30 hours with the game this is the minimum it will take to get the platinum, however that should be one of few remaining at that stage.
Overall Saints Row: The Third is on the high end of remasters. The bulk of the work has went in to visual upgrades, but that was what was needed most. With the game not aiming for realism, you can get away with the odd bit of sloppy AI or an unforeseen glitch. Sometimes it only ends up adding to the insanity and hilarity going on all around you. If you want a crazy, fun and exciting open world to blow stuff up in, you can’t go wrong!
-Jock
A review code for this product was kindly provided by the publisher. Reviewed on PS4 Slim.
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