Second Opinion - Saints Row: The Third

I will admit right off the bat that I am not a big gamer, but I have been interested in Saints Row since seeing the demo at last year’s Comic Con. And I while I played it longer than may have been necessary (I enjoyed the sandbox\open world aspect of the game and still do) I have been able to complete all the missions. This is perhaps the first game I have completed since The History Channel’s Civil War and before that it was the PC version of Wolfenstein 3D (and that’s going back quite a while.)

Finishing the game was an accomplishment in both having the time to do it, but also the interest. A lot of games, as an example, the new Wolfenstein and L.A. Noire, start out as fun, but sort of bog down and I’ll admit I lose interest. Such was not the case with Saints Row: The Third. Again, a lot of that had to do with the sandbox qualities the game provides. Running around the game kicking ass is fun. And the upgrades you get through game play only add to that experience.

And it is the getting to Rank 50, and all the upgrades that go with it, that is the fun of the game. Building a gang and taking over Steelport is what the game is about, and who doesn’t like destroying a rival gang’s compound or shooting a helicopter out of the sky? There is enough variety of missions, weapons and adversaries to make the journey worth taking.

However, once I had earned infinite ammunition and was immune to gunfire, being run over or falling from buildings, some of the sandbox activities grew monotonous. Without the threat of death, there was just an endless supply of potential victims. What would make anyone send wave after wave of police and gang members up against someone who can’t die and has an endless supply of anti-aircraft weapons?

Still, I would recommend Saints Row: The Third to the casual gamer like myself.