If there is one thing developers Volition know, it’s their market.
From the billboards of sexy ladies and ridiculously giant cat-headed bazooka-wielders, through to its surreal, looneytoon commercials starring cult comedians Tim & Eric, Saints Row: The Third has a humour and appeal aimed squarely at both the immature and the immature at heart.
Luckily enough, while I enjoy my Dostoyevsky, Proust and Mozart, I’m not averse to the odd fart, boob or willy joke either.
Saints Row: The Third builds on the greatly exaggerated stylings and successes of its predecessors, building a mammoth and ludicrous open-world adventure game that manages to differentiate itself from its competitors (and inspiration) by making everything as crazy, ridiculous and gratuitous as possible.
Case in point – while you start GTA IV with a slow, steady and introductory meander through the city streets, Saints Row: The Third will have you blowing machine-gunning helicopters out of the sky, and skydiving face first through planes (whilst shooting everything around you John Woo-style) within the first 15 minutes. Subtle, it ain’t.
Which is where Volition intends the fun to lie. With countless main and side missions to entertain, you’re guaranteed to be kept busy with all manner of explosive, destructive and OTT action adventure set pieces – piloting jet planes, beating passers-by to death with a giant purple dildo (recent stats suggest that over 2 million people have been bludgeoned with the ‘Inspirational Erotic Device’ since the game’s launch), and ordering airstrikes on rival gangs is all par for the course – and undeniably gigglesome.
Throw in a whole heap of pop culture pastiches (everything from Star Wars to Japanese game shows is mercilessly and often brilliantly mocked), and you’ve got a game that guarantees a braindead, feel good time.
Ironically enough, it’s the endless onslaught that works against it, with such ludicrous albeit relentless bombasticity losing the intended ‘AWESOMELOLZYEAH’ effect every now and again.
But really, Saints Row: The Third’s success – and your inclination to buy it – boils down to one very simple, very puerile and very ridiculous point of view. If the thought of running down the street, stark bollock naked and beating people to death with giant dildos makes you smile, you’ve just found your funniest, most grin-inducing game of the year.
[Rating:4/5]
Saints Row: The Third is out now and available on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
