Saints Row: The Third

Saints Row: The Third abandoned the last remnants of seriousness and turned the series into a parade of absurd, self-aware action in the stylized metropolis of Steelport. The Saints gang is already a celebrity brand here, with its own energy drink, movie, and action figures, and during the campaign the player gets access to all sorts of bizarre weapons, goes through missions full of parody references to other video games and films, and can enjoy completely free movement around the open city on foot, in cars, and in planes. Character creation offers an extreme degree of customization for the gang's appearance and behavior, setting the game apart from more seriously toned competitors, and the player can also buy and upgrade their own businesses throughout Steelport.

On the PS3, the game ran on a modified engine and offered a colorful, legible world with fast pacing and fluid action, though technically it did not reach the level of detail of competing major productions. The soundtrack with licensed songs and the crazy radio stations with their own hosts nicely underscored the wacky atmosphere, while the combat combined shooting, melee, and vehicle driving into a single fast-paced whole full of options for customizing the character, weapons, and the entire Saints gang. Cooperative play for two players also allowed the entire campaign to be played together with a friend.

The game received very favorable reception precisely for its willingness not to take itself seriously and to offer players pure fun without pretensions, which set it noticeably apart from the somewhat darker Saints Row 2. It became the turning point in the series toward the parodic, kitschy aesthetic that was later taken even further by the even more extreme Saints Row IV, with its alien invasion and superpowers. Today, The Third is valued as one of the most entertaining open-world titles of the generation, ideal for players who want to take a break from seriously-toned action games and their terse tone, and it still enjoys an active player base.

Why play it: Anyone wanting a break from seriously-toned action games will find in Saints Row: The Third one of the most entertaining open-world titles of the generation, built on pure fun without pretensions.