Imagine me and you and you and me No matter how they toss the dice, it has to be The only one for me is you, and you for me So happy together!!! And thus, my time with Saints Row the Third has been summed up. With the help of BigRedNY, the last few missions were beaten, my choices were made, and the game was defeated. Coming into SR3, my hopes weren’t high. I love sandbox games, but the only one I’ve ever beaten has been Red Dead Redemption. What drew me into RDR was the setting, time period, and story. Compare the two games and you have polar opposites. Turn-of-the-century west. vs. Modern day urban setting. ADVANTAGE: RDR Outlaw hung out to dry by his gang and looking for revenge while being used by a government official to draw out said gang. vs. Street gang looking for revenge after their leader has been killed while being used by the government to take control of a city. ADVANTAGE: Push John Marston vs. Whoever the hell you want ADVANTAGE: RDR So, as you can see from these few comparisons, RDR is the better game and is completely different from SR3, but I loved SR3. Clocking in at around 19 hours, I stuck to the main missions, only deviating when I came upon a property to purchase or when a hidden package came into view. I knew if I strayed too far off of the main path, I’d never beat the game, much like I always do with GTA games. But one of the main differences between GTA and SR3 is the RPG elements. I was able to beef up my character’s health, speed, ammo capacity, reloading capabilities, and gang members I could recruit and call for help. This lead to a semi-unique experience. Although it was fun to make my character (a hot, tattooed punk rock chick) a bad-ass, leveling up eventually made her nearly invincible. That may be a turnoff for some, but it happens late in the game, so you’re not able to breeze through the early missions. Speaking of missions, you’re not going to find anything terribly unique in SR3. Much like GTA and RDR, you’re going to have a number of escort missions, assassinations, area-clearing tasks, and thefts to commit. What SR3 does that separates it out from the other sandboxes is the adult-oriented spin that’s put into the game. Yes, you are going to have an escort mission, but it’s going to be picking up someone to have sex with a prostitute in the back of your car while being chased by your enemies. I’m pretty sure that Nico Bellic never had to do this on the streets of Liberty City. Let me touch on one last aspect of SR3 that should absolutely not be missed: Co-Op. This is a mode that, for some reason, is severely lacking in a lot of our current generation of games. Instead of Co-op, most games through in an unnecessary multiplayer mode, but that’s an argument for another day. SR3 allows you to team up with a friend to rein destruction down on enemies, friends, and innocent citizens throughout the streets of Steelport. The game tracks the number of missions that you’ve completed alone and in Co-op separately, giving you some incentive to play through the game twice. Trust me when I say that the most fun offered in SR3 comes with a friend over XBL or PSN. One person driving a tank while the other mans the laser cannon? Forgetaboutit!!! To wrap this review up, let me say that I’m not going too in detail about all of the nuances of the game. Rest assured that you’re going to have a great time in Steelport. There are a wide variety of missions that you’ve seen before, but not at this level of absurdity. The gunplay is akin to Ratchet and Clank in that it’s a 3rd person shooter with guns that can be powered up to ridiculous levels. There are challenges galore spread around the spacious map that you can explore on foot, motorcycle, hover bike, car, tank, or VTOL jet. I was able to pick this game up for $19.99 using a variety of coupons and discounts, but I’d say pick this game up at $39.99 without a second thought! Share with friends!
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