Saints Row: The Third Preview

More Game Info (Print This Article)

 

 

Scheduled release date:

November 15, 2011

Publisher:

THQ

Developer:

Volition

Number Of Players:

1-2

Genre:

Action

Screenshots

It isn’t difficult to explain Saints Row: The Third. It’s chaos. If we consider the narrative, it’s semi-controlled chaos. The rest of the time…complete, loopy, zany, over-the-top chaos. It’s an open-world sandbox game similar to Grand Theft Auto, where the player can explore and wreak all sorts of havoc. But don’t forget that beneath the surface lies a fair amount of customization and variety, all of which will enhance the experience. This one has staying power.

This time around, developer Volition has added a great next-gen feature: the impact of player decision-making. During the course of your adventure, you’ll have to make certain choices, and those choices will “dictate the ending.” Furthermore, the depth is evident: you can build safe houses after eliminating “Flash Points” (pockets of rival gangs), and the game should also boast more variety in the missions. The graphics will get a new coat of polish so when compared to Saints Row 2, we should see more detail and overall refinement.

But it’s the unabashed insanity that will draw the big crowd. Firstly, it has become a common practice to use pornstars in some capacity; Tera Patrick was involved with SR2 and former adult entertainment star Sasha Grey lends her voice to The Third. In fact, she apparently plays a major villain role. THQ also tapped blonde bombshell Nikki Benz to help plug the character customization, where you can actually create and implement a fully naked character.

However, just to be clear, the naughty parts will be blurred out. Yeah, that’s just the way it goes; we can do horrific grisly violence, but boobs are out. But the atmosphere should really grab everyone; the environment will be large and plenty immersive, and we’ll get eight music stations, which will play everything from ‘80s and ‘90s pop/rock to hip-hop to classical to electronic music. Hell, we’ll even have a station that plays Adult Swim and Cartoon Network content.

Other features included Professor Genki activities that are kinda like the movie “Running Man,” where participants have to survive warehouses loaded with enemies and booby traps. Customization will extend beyond your character, too; you can customize gangster clothing and vehicles, and speaking of vehicles, those can be upgraded along with weapons. In general, you’ll have full control over your rise to vice-ridden domination in the world of Saints Row: The Third, and that’s a huge plus.

But if you’re wondering, don’t expect THQ to run some sort of contest that will let you spend a day with Sasha Grey. Ain’t happening.