| Saints Row: The Third | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Volition[a] |
| Publisher(s) | THQ[b] |
| Director(s) | Scott Phillips |
| Producer(s) | Greg Donovan |
| Designer(s) | Bryan Dillow |
| Programmer(s) | Nick Lee[1] |
| Artist(s) | Frank Marquart[1] |
| Writer(s) | Steve Jaros[1] |
| Composer(s) | Malcolm Kirby Jr. |
| Series | Saints Row |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | PS3,X360,WindowsLinux
PlayStation 4,Windows,Xbox One
|
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player,multiplayer |
Saints Row: The Third is a 2011action-adventure game developed byVolition and published byTHQ. It is the sequel to 2008'sSaints Row 2 and the third installment in theSaints Row series. It was released on November 15, 2011 forMicrosoft Windows,PlayStation 3, andXbox 360, and May 10, 2019 for theNintendo Switch. Aremastered version ofSaints Row: The Third, titledSaints Row: The Third Remastered, was released byDeep Silver on May 22, 2020 forPlayStation 4,Windows, andXbox One, March 5, 2021 forStadia, May 25, 2021 forPlayStation 5, andXbox Series X/S, and July 29, 2021 forLuna.
The game is set in the fictional city of Steelport, and continues the story of the 3rd Street Saints, once again putting players in the role of the gang's leader, who is fullycustomizable. Five years after the events ofSaints Row 2, the Saints have grown from their humble origins as a street gang into a large media and consumer empire with their own brand, while many of the gang's members have become celebrities and pop culture icons. After being stranded in Steelport, which is firmly ruled by an international crime organization known as the Syndicate, the Saints must rebuild their forces once more to take over the city and defeat the Syndicate, as well as S.T.A.G., a violentparamilitary contracted with restoring order to Steelport.
Development ofSaints Row: The Third began in late 2008, shortly after the release ofSaints Row 2. There was high staff turnover from the previousSaints Row team, with only one-fifth of the final 100-person staff having worked on a previous title in the series. They aimed to improve on the series by giving the game a coherent tone, and found it in films such asHot Fuzz and the game's signaturesex toy bat.
The game received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its general zaniness and customization options. Criticism was aimed at the new setting, which many critics felt was flat and underdeveloped compared to the previous games' Stilwater, and the lackluster humor. On the contrary, others thought the game perfected theSaints Row formula. It was a nominee for Best Narrative at the 2012 Game Developers Conference, anIGN Editor's Choice, and a recipient of perfect scores fromGamesRadar andG4. A complete edition including thethree downloadable content packs was released in 2012, and its plannedEnter the Dominatrix expansion became the game's sequel,Saints Row IV, released in 2013.
Saints Row: The Third is anaction-adventure game[2][3] played from thethird-person perspective[4] in anopen world,[3] such that players explore an unrestricted environment.[5] Similar to the premise of thepreviousSaints Row games, the player's goal is to lead the Third Street Saints gang to overtake its rival gangs in the cityturf war.[6] While the protagonist is the same,[7] the game introduces a new setting, the city ofSteelport,[c] with its own three gangs: the Morningstar, Luchadores, and Deckers, together known as the Syndicate.[9][d] To further complicate matters, the government's Special Tactical Anti-Gang unit (STAG) is summoned to quell both organizations.[11]The Third is the first in the series to intertwine the narratives of its three-gang structures, and presents the player with story-altering decisions.[12]
The series has been considered aclone ofGrand Theft Auto[6][8] that later positioned itself as more "gleefully silly" in comparison.[6][13] In combat, players select weapons from a weapon selection wheel,[14][e] includingpistols,submachine guns,shotguns, androcket launchers alongside special weapons such asUAV drones and a fart-in-a-jarstun grenade. Playermelee attacks include running attacks such asDDTs and a purpledildo bat.[15] Players may use vehicles to navigate the city, including a hover jet (known as the F-69VTOL) and a pixelated retrogame tank that are unlocked through story missions. Once special vehicles are unlocked, they are in unlimited supply and can be delivered directly to the player-character's location.[8] Player actions are intensified with what Volition calls the "awesome button", where for example the player will divekick through the windshield into the driver's seat of a car.[14] The main story campaign missions can beplayed alone, orcooperatively either online or viaSystem Link offline.[8][f] Some elements are added to the campaign for the second player.[15] There is no competitive multiplayer, but a "wave-based survival mode" called Whored Mode[6] that supports up to two players.[16]
Players customize their characters after the introductory mission.Player-character bodies, dress, and vehicles can be customized,[8][g] as well as home properties. Players can additionally share their character designs in aSaints Row online community.[15] Apart from the main story missions, there are optional diversions to make money and earn reputation, such as Insurance Fraud, where players hurt themselves in traffic to maximize self-injury before a timer expires, or Mayhem, where players maximize property destruction before a time expires. Some of these diversions were introduced in previousSaints Row games.[8][h] Activities serve the plot and are positioned as training the player-character or damaging the Syndicate.[14] They can also be repeated.[10] Outside of structured diversions, players are free to make their own fun by purchasing property, shopping for items, finding hidden sex doll and money cache collectibles, and wreaking unsolicited havoc.[9] There are also "flashpoint" gang operations that grant respect when disrupted.[12] Attacking others increases the player's notoriety level, as depicted with stars.[9]
Saints Row: The Third introducedexperience levels[12] and weapon upgrades to the series.[17] Most actions in the game come with incentives in the form of money and respect (reputation). Money buys land, weapons, and other upgrades,[i] and respect is a kind ofexperience point that can unlock player abilities like "no damage from falling" or "infinite sprint",[8][j] as well as upgrades to the player'scomputer-controlled gang member support.[6] In turn, players receive further incentive to nearly miss car collisions,streak naked through the streets,[8] shoot others in the groin, blow up Smart cars, and kill mascots in ambient challenges to earn more respect. Lack of respect does not hinder story progress, as it has in previous games.[6] Player progress and unlocks are managed by an in-game cell phone menu that also lets the player call for vehicle deliveries andnon-player character backup. The computer-controlled support will dialogue with each other.[9]
Three years after the events ofSaints Row 2, the 3rd Street Saints have merged with the Ultor Corporation to become a media and consumer empire with their own brand. While robbing a bank in Stilwater to promote an upcoming film about themselves, the Boss (Troy Baker,Kenn Michael,Robin Atkin Downes,Laura Bailey,Tara Platt, Rebecca Sanabria orSteve Blum) and the Saints' top lieutenants, Shaundi (Danielle Nicolet) andJohnny Gat (Daniel Dae Kim), encounter unanticipated resistance on the job, which ultimately leads to them being arrested. The group are bailed out by Phillipe Loren (Jacques Hennequet), head of an international criminal enterprise called "the Syndicate" that owned the bank they robbed, and held as captives aboard hisjumbo jet. After refusing Loren's deal to give him most of their profits in exchange for their lives, the Saints stage a breakout, though Gat is forced to sacrifice himself to allow the Boss and Shaundi to escape. In response to the incident, Loren orders the Syndicate to attack the Saints, and ensure that their empire is destroyed.
Shaundi and the Boss land in the city of Steelport, firmly ruled over by the Syndicate's three main divisions: the Morningstar, a sophisticated gang led by Loren and his lieutenants, sisters Viola (Sasha Grey) and Kiki DeWynter (Megan Hollingshead), who dominate the gun and sex trades; the Deckers, a hacker gang led by Matt Miller (Yuri Lowenthal), who dominate the city's cyber black-market; and the Luchadores, a Mexican wrestler-themed gang led by Eddie "Killbane" Pryor (Rick D. Wasserman), who operate their own casino and deal steroids. After Saints lieutenant Pierce Washington (Arif S. Kinchen) arrives with backup, the Saints secure a hideout, and go after Loren's operations, ultimately killing him in his own skyscraper. In the process, they rescue Oleg Kirrlov (Mark Allen Stuart), a formerKGB agent being forcefully cloned to provide super-soldiers for the Syndicate, who helps them to track down other allies: ex-FBI agent Kinzie Kensington (Natalie Lander), who seeks to disrupt the Deckers; veteran pimp Zimos (Alex Désert), who lost his business to the Morningstar; and Angel de la Muerte (Hulk Hogan), Killbane's embittered former wrestling partner.
Killbane steps in to succeed the late Loren as leader of the Syndicate, and soon kills Kiki in a jealous rage when she refuses to take orders from him. Out of anger, Viola defects to the Saints and helps them finish off the Morningstar. Meanwhile, the lawlessness in Steelport leads to the federal government approving the deployment of a task force to combat it - the Special Tactical Anti-Gang initiative (S.T.A.G.), led by Cyrus Temple (Tim Thomerson) and supervised by Senator Monica Hughes (Tasia Valenza), the widow of the Saints'old nemesis Richard Hughes. Armed with highly advanced technology, S.T.A.G. puts the city under martial law until order can be restored. During this time, the Saints focus on the Deckers, with the Boss acquiring items needed by Kinzie to allow access to the Deckers' network with a virtual avatar. Once inside, the Boss battles Matt's avatar and defeats it, forcing Matt to retire his gang and leave the city. With only the Luchadores left, Angel and Viola suggest humiliating Killbane during his next major wrestling match, resulting in him going on a rampage across Steelport after he loses.
While pursuing Killbane amidst the chaos, the Boss is informed that Shaundi, Viola and MayorBurt Reynolds (himself) have been kidnapped by S.T.A.G. and taken to Steelport's most prominent monument, which has been rigged with explosives. At this point, the player must choose between continuing the Boss' pursuit of Killbane, or trying to stop S.T.A.G. In thecanon ending, the Boss rescues the Saints allies and prevents the monument's destruction, resulting in the Saints being hailed as heroes and Monica Hughes withdrawing S.T.A.G. after its actions become severely questioned by the government. The Saints decide not to pursue Killbane, who has fled Steelport, and instead resume their consumer activities, focusing on a new film calledGangstas In Space that stars the Boss. If the player alternatively chooses to pursue Killbane, the Boss ultimately kills him, but Shaundi, Viola and Reynolds die when S.T.A.G. destroys the monument, which the Saints are framed for. The Boss exacts revenge and destroys S.T.A.G.'s flyingaircraft carrier, before declaring Steelport an independent nation under the Saints' rule.
I feel like I'm playing something unlike anything else—we know whatSaints Row is now.
Saints Row 2's design philosophy was to "put everything ... into the game", which made for a disjointed title with varied tone. Design director Scott Phillips said the series' legacy of lightheartedness made the sequel's tone hard to define. The development team withstood a high turnover between the two releases, with only a fifth of the final 100-person team having worked on a title in the series before.[18][k]Saints Row: The Third was in development by September 2008 asSaints Row 3.[20][21] For its first six months of development, the team tested a choice-based adventure concept featuring anundercover agent infiltrating the Saints, which was dropped for not aligning with the spirit of the series.[22][23] Now without a vision, the team made a "tone video" with film segments and songs that would define the new title. The final version featured bits fromBad Boys II,Shoot 'Em Up,Hot Fuzz, andMötley Crüe's "Kickstart My Heart". The team worked in this direction to find a personality forSaints Row: The Third, which it found in its signature "dildo bat". The idea started as one-off mission-specific weapon and the artists ran with the concept.[18][l] Their design mantra became "Embrace the Crazy; Fun Trumps All".[22][25]
They came to the conclusion that "everything had to be 'over the top this time around'" so as to distinguishSaints Row: The Third from other open world titles[19] and to make the franchise into aAAA title. The team increasedplaytesting to check for the action's pacing and "setpiece moments" within its overall flow.[26] Producer Greg Donovan consideredSaints Row: The Third a reboot of the franchise, "cohesive" in a way the prior two "semi-serious" entries were not.[19] Other than "over the top" themes, the team wanted "holy shit" "water cooler moments" that players would remember forever and want to share.[22] Phillips also "didn't want the player to be a dick".[22]
The city of Steelport was designed such that the player could identify locations without needing aminimap, with a spatially recognizable skyline and iconic gang vehicles in specific regions.[24]
The title was not shown at the2010Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) with the explanation that the company had spent the year "rebuilding the technology", but a tie-in movie was mentioned as in production and aSaints Row 3 announcement was expected at the DecemberSpike VGAs.[27]Saints Row: The Third was finally announced officially in March 2011.[28] The team wanted to include many different features and items, so scoping the final product became an issue. They laid out their ideas on a schedule and began to cut until over "4000 man-days of scheduled work" were removed, including features such asfree-running (called "freegunning"[23]) and acover system.[18] Competitive multiplayer was removed due to its lack of popularity in the previous series entries.[7] In retrospect, Phillips said he wanted to remove more. The studio borrowed people from other parts of the company to finish the project.[18] Writer Drew Holmes expressed the difficulty in determining what was too risqué for the game.[29] In keeping with series advertising,Saints Row: The Third includedsex symbolSasha Grey in the production as a character voice.[30] Other celebrity voice actors includeHulk Hogan andDaniel Dae Kim.[31]
The development team also pre-visualized rough drafts to sketch ideas for others to advance. For example, the introductory airplane level was pre-visualized two years prior to its creation as a demonstration for the development team and publisher.[22] Levels were built in a world editor by Volition's Core Technology Group (CTG), which was continually built in the four years preceding release.[32] Like the other two titles,Saints Row: The Third usesHavok's physics middleware with customizations. which let the team build vehicle drifting physics and the VTOL aircraft.[33] The studio considered theRed Faction series'Geo-Mod 2 engine but chose against it due to the implementation's difficulty and not wanting that degree of destruction.[34] Phillips gave a game development postmortem at the 2012Game Developers Conference, where he advised studios to let development team members run with their ideas.[18][35] Volition began to addmodding support to the title and series in mid 2013.[36]
Saints Row: The Third has a licensed soundtrack available as radio stations when driving in vehicles. Players can switch between the playlists, which range fromclassical toelectronic tohip hop,rock, or customize their own station based on their preferences. A notable inclusion is the fictional radio station “WDDT CPDG The Swim”, with various licensed tracks featuring artists and themes from variousAdult Swim shows.[8] The original soundtrack was composed by Malcolm Kirby Jr., who had previously worked onThe Love Guru's soundtrack. It was released through Sumthing Else Music Works alongside the game viacompact disc anddigital download. Kirby said the series' over-the-top nature influenced the score, and that he was a huge fan of the series before he received the opportunity. In his composition, each gang has a theme and specific characteristics that range from "menacing orchestral to gangster hip hop to heavy metal".[37]
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The game was released forMicrosoft Windows,PlayStation 3, andXbox 360 simultaneously on November 15, 2011, in the United States and Australia, and three days later in the United Kingdom.[8] The November 17, 2011, Japan release had the veins removed from the Penetrator weapon (the three-foot long phallus bat) due to regulatory restrictions on depictions ofgenitalia.[38] In lieu of exclusive game content scheduled for the PlayStation 3 version that did not ship with the game,[39] early North American and European players who purchased that version received a complimentary download code forSaints Row 2.[40] The summer beforeSaints Row: The Third's release, THQ pledged to support it with a year's worth of downloadable content.[34] Around the time of release, Danny Bilson of THQ announced thatSaints Row IV was already in planning.[41]
Those who preordered the game received Professor Genki's Hyper Ordinary Preorder Pack, which included Genki-themed downloadable content (a costume, a vehicle, and a weapon).[42] A North American limited edition box set release called the Platinum Pack included the preorder content, the soundtrack, and a customheadset.[43][m] Australia and New Zealand received two limited editions: the Smooth Criminal pack fromEB Games and the Maximum Pleasure bundle fromJB Hi-Fi, each of which included tie-in items along with the game and preorder content.[44][n]
Though the game was not shown at E3 2010, THQ spoke of extensive tie-in merchandising (collectible card game, books) and aSaints Row film in production as part of a "robust transmedia play".[27] Instead, THQ announcedSaints Row: Drive By, a tie-in game for theNintendo 3DS andXbox Live Arcade that would unlock content inSaints Row 3.[45][46][o] After the game was announced in March 2011, it was featured on the cover ofGame Informer's April issue.[48] Closer to release, THQ sent rap group theBroken Pixels adevelopment kit with a pre-release version of the game and asked them to record track about "all the wacky things" to do in the game.[49] The group wrote the rap in a day and later produced a YouTube video set to clips from the game.[49] THQ hosted an event inRedfern, Australia where women in skintight clothes pumped free gas for three hours, which generated an estimated 35 times return on investment.[50]Eurogamer recalled that the game was "marketed almost exclusively on the basis of all the wacky stuff it will let you do" from the costumes to the sex toy weapons,[6] andEdge describedSaints Row: The Third as "marketed by sex toys and porn stars".[51]
Two weeks before the game's release,Saints Row: The Third had four times the preorder count ofSaints Row 2 at its comparable point.[52] By January 2012, the game had shipped 3.8 million units worldwide, which THQ cited as an example for its business model change to focus on the big franchises. THQ President and CEO Brian Farrell expected to ship five to six million copies of the game in its lifetime.[53] It had reached four million by April, and 5.5 million by the end of the year.[54]Saints Row: The Third was an unexpected continued success for the company.[55] It was featured in promotions withHumble Bundle,[56][p][57]PlayStation Plus,[58] and Xbox LiveGames with Gold over the next several years.[59]
Volition released aLinux port of the game in 2016,[60] andmade the Xbox 360 release compatible with its successor, theXbox One, the next year.[61] In August 2018,Deep Silver announced aNintendo Switch port, which was released in May 2019. The port was developed byFishlabs.[62][63][64] Deep Silver announcedSaints Row: The Third Remastered in April 2020. The remastered version was developed by Sperasoft and features remodeled assets for high-definition, enhanced graphics and lighting, and includes all of the game's downloadable content. The title was released onPlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows[q] on May 22, 2020, with it later being released onGoogle Stadia on March 5, 2021,Steam on May 22, 2021, andAmazon Luna on July 29, 2021.[65][66][67][68][69]
Downloadable content forSaints Row: The Third includes additional story missions, weapons, and characters.[3] A "definitive edition",Saints Row: The Third – The Full Package, contains all post-release downloadable content—including all three mission packs ("Genkibowl VII", "Gangstas in Space", and "The Trouble with Clones") and bonus items (clothes, vehicles, and weapons)—in addition to the main game.The Full Package was announced in September 2012 for release two months later on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.[70][71][r]
THQ announced anEnter the Dominatrix standalone expansion as anApril Fool's joke in 2012.[73] It was confirmed as in development the next month. InEnter the Dominatrix, the alien commander Zinyak imprisons the Saints' leader in a simulation of Steelport called The Dominatrix so as to prevent interference when he takes over the planet. The expansion also addedsuperpowers for the player-character.[74] In June, THQ said the expansion would be wrapped into a full sequel, tentatively titled "The Next Great Sequel in theSaints Row Franchise" and scheduled for a 2013 release.[75] Parts ofEnter the Dominatrix that were not incorporated into the sequel,Saints Row IV, were later released as downloadable content for the new title, under the same name.[76][77]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | (PC) 84/100[78] (PS3) 82/100[79] (X360) 84/100[80] (NS) 70/100[81] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Edge | 6/10[82] |
| Eurogamer | 7/10[6] |
| IGN | 8.5/10[8] |
| Official Xbox Magazine (US) | 9.5/10[83] |
| PC Gamer (US) | 83%[10] |
The game received "generally favorable" reviews, according to video game review score aggregatorMetacritic.[78][79][80][81] Some said the game did not try to be more than a good time,[8][10] and described it as a variant of "ridiculous", "zany", or "absurd".[8][11][15][84] In another way, others called it "juvenile".[8][84] Critics praised the degree of customization options,[8][10][15] and had mixed views of the array of activities, but found Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax a high point.[6][10][11][15][s] Some found the game's ironic sexism to verge on misogyny,[6][82] and that its other humor sometimes fell flat.[8][11] Several critics referred to the game as the perfection of theSaints Row formula[15][85] It was a nominee for Best Narrative at the 2012 Game Developers Conference,[86] anIGN Editor's Choice,[8] and a recipient of perfect scores fromGamesRadar andG4.[11][15] During the15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominatedSaints Row: The Third for "Action Game of the Year".[87]
Edge said that the series "wants to be theWarioWare of open-city games", "a cartoon flipbook of anything-goes extremity" toGrand Theft Auto's "ostentatious crime drama".[82] They wrote that the game's "single-minded" "puerile imagination" demanded respect and noted the game's escalation of video game tropes and cultural references fromJapanese game shows totext adventures tozombie apocalypses tolucha libre.[82]IGN's Daemon Hatfield called the game "an open world adult theme park". He said that calling it "a good time would be a severe understatement" and praised its method of incentivizing almost every action in the game as "fantastic game design".[8] Hatfield was "addicted" to efficiently expanding his in-game hourly income.[8]GamesRadar's Michael Grimm wroteSaints Row: The Third was nearly surreal, and praised the player-character's running attacks.[15]
Referring to the historical comparison between theSaints Row andGrand Theft Auto series,[8] Dan Whitehead ofEurogamer wrote thatGrand Theft Auto IV's serious turn let theSaints Row series be a "gleeful silly sandbox game", and noted thatSaints Row: The Third was "marketed almost exclusively" based on its wackiness, from the costumes to the sex toy weapons.[6] He felt that the "wacky hijinks" quickly became "predictable and repetitive" and the activities felt "sanitized and generic".[6]Edge wrote that they were "one-off gags".[82]Eurogamer's Whitehead added that the tiger escort Guardian Angel missions appeared to draw fromWill Ferrell'sTalladega Nights, and that the Prof. Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax shooting gallery drew fromBizarre Creations'The Club shooter.[6]Eurogamer andPC Gamer both found the game easy.[6][10]
Ryan McCaffrey ofOfficial Xbox Magazine thought that the game resolved some of the problems of open world design and thus allowed for an experience with good times and no filler, such asBurnout-style arrows on the streets instead of hidden in the minimapGPS.[85] He added that this was the game Volition "was born to make".[83] Grimm fromGamesRadar similarly praised Volition for their "http://deckers.die" mission, which was "so insanely creative and funny that it single handedly makes the game worth playing". He added that the game's unrealistic driving made the game more fun.[15]IGN's Hatfield was "really won ... over" by his character and both was convinced she cared about her friends and impressed by her voice actress.[8] Whitehead ofEurogamer found Zimos, the pimp who speaks inAutotune, to be the game's best character.[6]Edge found some of the writing "sharp" and executed well by the voice actors.[82]PC Gamer's Tom Senior found the major story missions to be a highlight.[10] Hatfield ofIGN thought the single-player game fell apart at the end and called the two endings either "a super downer" or nonsense.[8] He found the cooperative mode easy to set up, but felt like the game's missions were not designed well for multiple players, and that the visiting player became a "third wheel".[8] On the other hand,CBS News.com''s Christina Santiago called the cooperative mode "near perfect" and exemplary.[9]
Saints Row's weakest parts are hand-me-downs from itsGTA source text, uncomfortably echoing the squalid business of pimpin' and hustlin' in the form of a lame cartoon, a whooping fratboyish endorsement of crime and female degradation, devoid of any conscience or commentary.GTA takes pains to voice moral unease. ... the best solution to that dissonance cannot be to pitch the entire thing into a swamp of near-uniform toxicity.
IGN's Hatfield considered the game's graphics average for the age. He "loved the neon-lit towering skyscrapers of Steelport" but thought the streets were sometimes "lifeless", as the game may be "open world" but not a "living world".[8]Edge added that the city was easy enough to navigate, but that it was missing character.[82] Grimm ofGamesRadar said it didn't look bad, but wasn't interesting.[15] Multiple reviewers complained of "pop-in",[6][8][84][88] or of graphical errors.[6][82]1UP.com reported the PC version's graphics to be more stable,[84] andEurogamer's Digital Foundry face-off recommended the PlayStation 3 release for its lack ofscreen tearing.[88]
Eurogamer's Whitehead felt that the game crept closer "from ironic sexism to outright misogyny" in missions such as "Trojan Whores" and set pieces like "Tits n' Grits" and "Stikit Inn", even in the series' "gloriously lowbrow standards".[6]Edge added that intent of humor in thesex trafficking-related mission "The Ho Boat" did not come across well, and seemed to be included only forshock value.[82] Hatfield ofIGN related that some of the game's more juvenile aspects made him cringe,[8] andEdge wrote that the game felt "largely meaningless" in response to the desensitizing barrage of "context-free frippery".[82]PC Gamer's Tom Senior said he was almost offended during much of the game but stayed more happy than disgusted, adding that while the game has a "huge purple dildo", it doesn't have the prostitute-killing liberties or "other moments of nastiness" associated with theGrand Theft Auto franchise.[10]
Whitehead ofEurogamer wrote in conclusion that the game doesn't propose "anything particularly inventive" and instead ends up with a toy box of gadgets.[6]Edge felt that the game was weakest where it leaned onGrand Theft Auto's precedent without adding a social commentary.[82]Eurogamer's Whitehead added thatSaints Row: The Third missed an opportunity to separate from "theGTA formula",[6] whichEdge thought was done well in the last third of the game.[82]IGN, however, felt the game was explicitly not aGrand Theft Auto clone,[8] andG4 called it "a knockoff no more".[11]
During an interview on the future of THQ in June 2012, its president, Jason Rubin, responded to the interviewer's concerns thatSaints Row: The Third was not a game he wanted to play in front of his family by saying that, while he does not consider there to be no place in the company "for a game that features a purple dildo",[t] Volition chose that route because of the limited options and their "environment at the time", and he was looking to push the publisher and its studios to do better.[89]
Media related toSaints Row: The Third at Wikimedia Commons
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