''Saints Row: The Third'' is a 2011
action-adventure game developed by
Volition and published by
THQ
THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initi ...
. It is the sequel to 2008's ''
Saints Row 2'' and the third installment in the ''
Saints Row
''Saints Row'' is a series of action-adventure video games created by Volition and published by THQ and Deep Silver. The series follows the 3rd Street Saints, a fictional street gang originally operating out of the Saints Row district, hence ...
'' series. It was released on November 15, 2011 for
Microsoft Windows,
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...
, and
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...
, and May 10, 2019 for the
Nintendo Switch. A
remastered
Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used.
Mastering
A ...
version of ''Saints Row: The Third'', titled ''Saints Row: The Third Remastered'', was released by
Deep Silver on May 22, 2020 for
PlayStation 4,
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...
, and
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, March 5, 2021 for
Stadia
Stadia may refer to:
* One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums"
* The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes'').
* Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey
* Stadi ...
, May 25, 2021 for
PlayStation 5, and
Xbox Series X/S
The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 202 ...
, and July 29, 2021 for
Luna
Luna commonly refers to:
* Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin
* Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon
Luna may also refer to:
Places Philippines
* Luna, Apayao
* Luna, Isabela
* Luna, La Union
* Luna, San Jose
Roma ...
.
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 fully
customizable. Five years after the events of ''Saints 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 violent
paramilitary contracted with restoring order to Steelport.
Development of ''Saints Row: The Third'' began in late 2008, shortly after the release of ''Saints Row 2''. There was high staff turnover from the previous ''Saints 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 as ''
Hot Fuzz
''Hot Fuzz'' is a 2007 action comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Starring Pegg, Nick Frost, Timothy Dalton, and Jim Broadbent, the film centres on two police officers investigating a series of mysteriou ...
'' and the game's signature
sex toy
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibratin ...
bat. ''Saints Row: The Third'' was built using a proprietary engine known as Core Technology Group and the
Havok physics engine.
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 the ''Saints Row'' formula. It was a nominee for Best Narrative at the 2012 Game Developers Conference, an
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
Editor's Choice, and a recipient of perfect scores from ''
GamesRadar'' and ''
G4''. A complete edition including the
three downloadable content packs was released in 2012, and its planned ''
Enter the Dominatrix'' expansion became the game's sequel, ''
Saints Row IV
''Saints Row IV'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Volition and published by Deep Silver. It is the sequel to 2011's '' Saints Row: The Third'', the fourth installment of the ''Saints Row'' series, and the final main installment i ...
'', released in 2013.
Gameplay
''Saints Row: The Third'' is an
action-adventure game played from the
third-person perspective
Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...
in an
open world, such that players explore an unrestricted environment. Similar to the premise of the
previous ''Saints Row'' games, the player's goal is to lead the Third Street Saints gang to overtake its rival gangs in the city
turf war
A turf war is a fight over territory or resources, or may refer to:
Music
* ''Turf Wars'', a 2007 album by the Canadian band Daggermouth
* "Turf War", a song on the 2001 album ''Filmtracks 2000'' by American composer Bill
Television
* '' Turf W ...
. While the protagonist is the same, the game introduces a new setting, the city of
Steelport, with its own three gangs: the Morningstar, Luchadores, and Deckers, together known as the Syndicate. To further complicate matters, the government's Special Tactical Anti-Gang unit (STAG) is summoned to quell both organizations. ''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.
The series has been considered a
clone of ''Grand Theft Auto'' that later positioned itself as more "gleefully silly" in comparison. In combat, players select weapons from a weapon selection wheel, including
pistols
A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, ...
,
submachine guns
A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an automati ...
,
shotguns, and
rocket launchers
A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile.
History
The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the attachment of a rocket motor to the shaft a few in ...
alongside special weapons such as
UAV drones
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...
and a fart-in-a-jar
stun grenade
A stun grenade, also known as a flash grenade, flashbang, thunderflash, or sound bomb, is a less-lethal explosive device used to temporarily disorient an enemy's senses. Upon detonation, they produce a blinding flash of light and an extremely lo ...
. Player
melee attacks include running attacks such as
DDTs and a purple
dildo
A dildo is a sex toy, often explicitly phallic in appearance, intended for sexual penetration or other sexual activity during masturbation or with sex partners. Dildos can be made from a number of materials and shaped like an erect human p ...
bat. Players may use vehicles to navigate the city, including a hover jet (known as the F-69
VTOL
A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-wi ...
) 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. 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. The main story campaign missions can be
played alone, or
cooperatively either online or via
System Link This article refers to the Xbox system link. Not system link on any other Video Game Consoles. Information about system link on other Video Game Consoles can be found elsewhere!
{{short description, Form of offline multiplayer gaming
System Link i ...
offline. Some elements are added to the campaign for the second player. There is no competitive multiplayer, but a "wave-based survival mode" called Whored Mode that supports up to two players.
Players customize their characters after the introductory mission.
Player-character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
bodies, dress, and vehicles can be customized, as well as home properties. Players can additionally share their character designs in a ''Saints Row'' online community. 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 previous ''Saints Row'' games. Activities serve the plot and are positioned as training the player-character or damaging the Syndicate. They can also be repeated. 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. There are also "flashpoint" gang operations that grant respect when disrupted. Attacking others increases the player's notoriety level, as depicted with stars.
''Saints Row: The Third'' introduced
experience level
An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experien ...
s and weapon upgrades to the series. Most actions in the game come with incentives in the form of money and respect (reputation). Money buys land, weapons, and other upgrades, and respect is a kind of
experience point that can unlock player abilities like "no damage from falling" or "infinite sprint", as well as upgrades to the player's
computer-controlled gang member support. In turn, players receive further incentive to nearly miss car collisions,
streak naked through the streets, 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. Player progress and unlocks are managed by an in-game cell phone menu that also lets the player call for vehicle deliveries and
non-player character backup. The computer-controlled support will dialogue with each other.
Plot
Three years after the events of ''
Saints 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
Troy Baker (born April 1, 1976) is an American voice actor and musician. Baker is known for his video game roles, including Joel Miller in ''The Last of Us'' (2013) and its sequel (2020), Booker DeWitt in ''BioShock Infinite'' (2013), Samuel ...
,
Kenn Michael,
Robin Atkin Downes
Robin Atkin Downes is an English actor known for his work in animation and video games.
Early life
Downes was born in London. He earned an MFA from Temple University in Philadelphia.
Career
Downes has voiced characters in animated films s ...
,
Laura Bailey
Laura Bailey is an American voice actress. She made her anime debut as Kid Trunks in the Funimation dub of ''Dragon Ball Z''. Her other anime credits include Emily / Glitter Lucky in ''Glitter Force'', Tohru Honda in ''Fruits Basket'', Lust in ...
,
Tara Platt
Tara Platt (born June 18, 1978) is an American actress and author who has provided voices for dozens of English-language versions of Japanese anime films, television series and video games. Her notable roles in anime include Temari in ''Naruto' ...
, Rebecca Sanabria, or
Steve Blum
Steven Jay Blum (; born April 29, 1960) is an American voice actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, his most well-known roles include Spike Spiegel from the anime series '' Cowboy Bebop'', Garazeb Orrelios from the animated series '' ...
) and their top lieutenants, Shaundi (
Danielle Nicolet
Danielle Nicolet (born Danielle Diggs; November 24, 1973) is an American actress. She has made appearances on shows such as ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996–2001), '' Second Time Around'' (2004–05), '' The Starter Wife'' (2008), '' Family Too ...
) and
Johnny Gat
Johnny Gat is a fictional character from Volition's ''Saints Row'' series of action-adventure video games. Voiced by American actor Daniel Dae Kim, the character was originally introduced in 2006's ''Saints Row'' as a lieutenant of the Third S ...
(
Daniel Dae Kim
Daniel Dae Kim (born Kim Dae-hyun ( ko, 김대현); August 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jin-Soo Kwon in ''Lost'', Chin Ho Kelly in '' Hawaii Five-0'', Gavin Park in ''Angel'', and Johnny Gat in the '' Saints Ro ...
), 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 his
jumbo jet
A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is . In the typical wide-body economy cabin ...
. 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
Marina Ann Hantzis (born March 14, 1988), known professionally as Sasha Grey, is an American actress, model, writer, musician, and former pornographic actress. Grey began her acting career in the pornographic film industry, winning 15 awards for ...
) and Kiki DeWynter (
Megan Hollingshead
Megan Hollingshead, also known as Karen Thompson or Kelli Kassidi is an American voice actress, best known for her roles as Nurse Joy in ''Pokémon'', Mai Valentine in ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'', Shizune in ''Naruto'', Caster in ''Fate/stay night'', Rangiku ...
), who dominate the sex trade; the Luchadores, a Mexican wrestler-themed gang led by Eddie "Killbane" Pryor (
Rick D. Wasserman), who operate their own casino; and the Deckers, a hacker gang led by Matt Miller (
Yuri Lowenthal
Yuri Lowenthal (born March 5, 1971)Birthday references:
*
*
*
is an American voice actor, producer and screenwriter known chiefly for his work in cartoons, anime and video games. Some of his prominent roles in animations and anime include S ...
), who dominate the city's cyber black-market. 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 former
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
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
Natalie Jenette Lander (born March 28, 1983) is an American actress. She is the daughter of actors David Lander and Kathy Fields. She is known for her work on ABC's ''The Middle'', where she plays Debbie. Other TV credits include ''Castle'', ' ...
), who seeks to disrupt the Deckers; veteran pimp Zimos (
Alex Désert
Alex Désert (born July 18, 1968) is an American actor and musician, known for his roles in the TV series ''The Flash'', '' The Heights'' with Jamie Walters, '' Becker'' with Ted Danson, and Mr. Williams on '' Boy Meets World'', as well as the voi ...
), 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. 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 (S.T.A.G.), led by Cyrus Temple (
Tim Thomerson
Joseph Timothy "Tim" Thomerson (born April 8, 1946) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Jack Deth in the ''Trancers'' film series and for his work in numerous low-budget features and for his comedic television r ...
) and supervised by Senator Monica Hughes (
Tasia Valenza
Tasia Valenza (born April 5, 1967) is an American actress.
Personal life
Tasia Valenza is the daughter of former actor and restaurant consultant Frank Valenza and Gloria Valenza. Her twin brother is a former television writer and now solar mark ...
), 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 them to access 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 Mayor
Burt 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 their pursuit of Killbane, or trying to stop S.T.A.G. In the
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
ending, the Boss rescues their 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 called ''Gangstas In Space'' that stars the Boss. If the player alternatively chooses to pursue Killbane, they ultimately kill 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 flying
aircraft carrier, before they and Pierce declare Steelport an independent nation under the Saints' rule.
Development
''Saints Row 2'' 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. ''Saints Row: The Third'' was in development by September 2008 as ''Saints Row 3''. For its first six months of development, the team tested a choice-based adventure concept featuring an
undercover agent
To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an indi ...
infiltrating the Saints, which was dropped for not aligning with the spirit of the series. 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 from ''
Bad Boys II
''Bad Boys II'' is a 2003 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. The sequel to the 1995 film '' Bad Boys'' and the second film in the ''Bad Bo ...
'', ''
Shoot 'Em Up
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...
'', ''
Hot Fuzz
''Hot Fuzz'' is a 2007 action comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Starring Pegg, Nick Frost, Timothy Dalton, and Jim Broadbent, the film centres on two police officers investigating a series of mysteriou ...
'', and
Mötley Crüe's "
Kickstart My Heart". The team worked in this direction to find a personality for ''Saints 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. Their design mantra became "Embrace the Crazy; Fun Trumps All".
They came to the conclusion that "everything had to be 'over the top this time around so as to distinguish ''Saints Row: The Third'' from other open world titles and to make the franchise into a
AAA title. The team increased
playtest
A playtest is the process by which a game designer tests a new game for bugs and design flaws before releasing it to market. Playtests can be run "open", "closed", "beta", or otherwise, and are very common with board games, collectible card games, ...
ing to check for the action's pacing and "setpiece moments" within its overall flow. Producer Greg Donovan considered ''Saints Row: The Third'' a reboot of the franchise, "cohesive" in a way the prior two "semi-serious" entries were not. Other than "over the top" themes, the team wanted "holy shit" "water cooler moments" that players would remember forever and want to share. Phillips also "didn't want the player to be a dick".
The city of Steelport was designed such that the player could identify locations without needing a
minimap
A mini-map or minimap is a miniature map that is often placed at a screen corner in video games to aid players in orienting themselves within the game world. They are often only a small portion of the screen and must be selective in what details ...
, with a spatially recognizable skyline and iconic gang vehicles in specific regions.
The title was not shown at the
2010 Electronic 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 a ''Saints Row 3'' announcement was expected at the December
Spike VGAs. ''Saints Row: The Third'' was finally announced officially in March 2011. 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 as
free-running (called "freegunning") and a
cover system
A cover system is a video game gameplay mechanic that allows a virtual avatar to hide from and avoid dangers, usually in a three-dimensional world. This method is a digital adaptation of the real-life military tactic of taking cover behind obst ...
. Competitive multiplayer was removed due to its lack of popularity in the previous series entries. In retrospect, Phillips said he wanted to remove more. The studio borrowed people from other parts of the company to finish the project. Writer Drew Holmes expressed the difficulty in determining what was too risqué for the game. In keeping with series advertising, ''Saints Row: The Third'' included
sex symbol Sasha Grey
Marina Ann Hantzis (born March 14, 1988), known professionally as Sasha Grey, is an American actress, model, writer, musician, and former pornographic actress. Grey began her acting career in the pornographic film industry, winning 15 awards for ...
in the production as a character voice. Other celebrity voice actors include
Hulk Hogan and
Daniel Dae Kim
Daniel Dae Kim (born Kim Dae-hyun ( ko, 김대현); August 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jin-Soo Kwon in ''Lost'', Chin Ho Kelly in '' Hawaii Five-0'', Gavin Park in ''Angel'', and Johnny Gat in the '' Saints Ro ...
.
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. Levels were built in Volition's Core Technology Group (CTG) editor, which was continually built in the four years preceding release. Like the other two titles, ''Saints Row: The Third'' was built in the
Havok physics engine with customizations. The engine let the team build vehicle drifting physics and the VTOL aircraft. The studio considered the
''Red Faction'' series'
Geo-Mod 2 engine but chose against it due to the implementation's difficulty and not wanting that degree of destruction. Phillips gave a game development postmortem at the 2012
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tuto ...
, where he advised studios to let development team members run with their ideas. Volition began to add
modding
''Modding'' is a slang expression derived from the English verb " to modify". The term refers to modification of hardware, software, or anything else, to perform a function not originally intended by the designer, or to achieve bespoke specif ...
support to the title and series in mid 2013.
Audio
''Saints Row: The Third'' has a licensed soundtrack available as radio stations when driving in vehicles. Players can switch between the playlists, which range from
classical to
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
to
hip hop,
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
, or customize their own station based on their preferences. The original soundtrack was composed by Malcolm Kirby Jr., who had previously worked on ''
The Love Guru
''The Love Guru'' is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Marco Schnabel in his directorial debut, written and produced by Mike Myers, and starring Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Romany Malco, Meagan Good, Verne Troyer, ...
'' soundtrack. It was released through Sumthing Else Music Works alongside the game via
compact disc
The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...
and
digital 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".
Marketing and release
The game was released for
Microsoft Windows,
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...
, and
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...
simultaneously on November 15, 2011, in the United States and Australia, and three days later in the United Kingdom. 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 of
genitalia
A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...
. In lieu of exclusive game content scheduled for the PlayStation 3 version that did not ship with the game, early North American and European players who purchased that version received a complimentary download code for ''Saints Row 2''. The summer before ''Saints Row: The Third'' release, THQ pledged to support it with a year's worth of downloadable content. Around the time of release, Danny Bilson of THQ announced that ''Saints Row IV'' was already in planning.
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). A North American limited edition box set release called the Platinum Pack included the preorder content, the soundtrack, and a custom
headset. Australia and New Zealand received two limited editions: the Smooth Criminal pack from
EB Games
EB Games (formerly known as Electronics Boutique and EB World) is an American computer and video games retailer. First established as an American company in 1977 by James Kim with a single electronics-focused location in the King of Prussia mal ...
and the Maximum Pleasure bundle from
JB Hi-Fi
JB Hi-Fi Limited is an Australian consumer electronics and home appliances retail company. It is publicly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Its headquarters are located in Southbank, Melbourne, Victoria.
The company has 316 store ...
, each of which included tie-in items along with the game and preorder content.
Though the game was not shown at E3 2010, THQ spoke of extensive tie-in merchandising (collectible card game, books) and a ''Saints Row'' film in production as part of a "robust transmedia play". Instead, THQ announced ''Saints Row: Drive By'', a tie-in game for the
Nintendo 3DS and
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...
that would unlock content in ''Saints Row 3''. After the game was announced in March 2011, it was featured on the cover of ''
Game Informer
''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' April issue. Closer to release, THQ sent rap group the
Broken Pixels a
development kit
A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific to ...
with a pre-release version of the game and asked them to record track about "all the wacky things" to do in the game. The group wrote the rap in a day and later produced a YouTube video set to clips from the game. THQ hosted an event in
Redfern, Australia where women in skintight clothes pumped free gas for three hours, which generated an estimated 35 times return on investment. ''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, and ''Edge'' described ''Saints Row: The Third'' as "marketed by sex toys and porn stars".
Two weeks before the game's release, ''Saints Row: The Third'' had four times the preorder count of ''Saints Row 2'' at its comparable point. 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. It had reached four million by April, and 5.5 million by the end of the year. ''Saints Row: The Third'' was an unexpected continued success for the company. It was featured in promotions with
Humble Bundle
Humble Bundle, Inc. is a digital storefront for video games, which grew out of its original offering of Humble Bundles, collections of games sold at a price determined by the purchaser and with a portion of the price going towards charity and t ...
,
PlayStation Plus
PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
, and Xbox Live
Games with Gold
The Xbox network, formerly and still sometimes branded as Xbox Live, is an Internet, online multiplayer video game, multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox ...
over the next several years.
Volition released a
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...
port of the game in 2016,
and
made the Xbox 360 release compatible with its successor, the
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, the next year. In August 2018,
Deep Silver announced a
Nintendo Switch port, which will be released in May 2019. The port was developed by
Fishlabs
Fishlabs GmbH (formerly Fishlabs Entertainment GmbH and Deep Silver Fishlabs) is a German video game developer based in Hamburg. Founded in 2004 by Michael Schade and Christian Lohr, the studio is best known for its ''Galaxy on Fire'' series. F ...
. Deep Silver announced ''Saints 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 on
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows on May 22, 2020, with it later being released on
Google Stadia
Stadia is a cloud gaming service developed and operated by Google. Known in development as Project Stream, the service debuted through a closed beta in October 2018, and publicly launched in November 2019. The service was to compete with Sony' ...
on March 5, 2021,
Steam on May 22, 2021, and
Amazon Luna
Amazon Luna is a cloud gaming platform developed and operated by Amazon. Luna was announced on September 24, 2020, with early access available to subscribers by invitation beginning on October 20, 2020. In its early access state, Amazon Luna ...
on July 29, 2021.
Downloadable content
Downloadable content for ''Saints Row: The Third'' includes additional story missions, weapons, and characters. A "definitive edition", ''Saints Row: The Third – The Full Package'', contains all post-release downloadable contentincluding 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.
THQ announced an ''
Enter the Dominatrix'' standalone expansion as an
April Fool's
April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may b ...
joke in 2012. It was confirmed as in development the next month. In ''Enter 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 added
superpowers
A superpower is a state with a dominant position characterized by its extensive ability to exert influence or project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political and cultural s ...
for the player-character. In June, THQ said the expansion would be wrapped into a full sequel, tentatively titled "The Next Great Sequel in the ''Saints Row'' Franchise" and scheduled for a 2013 release. Parts of ''Enter the Dominatrix'' that were not incorporated into the sequel, ''
Saints Row IV
''Saints Row IV'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Volition and published by Deep Silver. It is the sequel to 2011's '' Saints Row: The Third'', the fourth installment of the ''Saints Row'' series, and the final main installment i ...
'', were later released as downloadable content for the new title, under the same name.
Reception
The game received "generally favorable" reviews, according to video game review score aggregator
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
.
[https://www.metacritic.com/game/switch/saints-row-the-third---the-full-package Reviewers] Some said the game did not try to be more than a good time, and described it as a variant of "ridiculous", "zany", or "absurd". In another way, others called it "juvenile". Critics praised the degree of customization options, and had mixed views of the array of activities, but found Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax a high point. Some found the game's ironic sexism to verge on misogyny, and that its other humor sometimes fell flat. Several critics referred to the game as the perfection of the ''Saints Row'' formula It was a nominee for Best Narrative at the 2012 Game Developers Conference, an IGN Editor's Choice, and a recipient of perfect scores from ''
GamesRadar'' and ''
G4''.
''Edge'' said that the series "wants to be the ''
WarioWare
is a video game series, a Spin-off (media), spin-off of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise. It comprises various video games created by Nintendo, starring the character Wario. The series began with ''Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3'', th ...
'' of open-city games", "a cartoon flipbook of anything-goes extremity" to ''Grand Theft Auto'' "ostentatious crime drama". 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 from
Japanese game shows
A Japanese variety show is an entertainment television program made up of a variety of original stunts, musical performances, comedy skits, quiz contests, and other acts. Japanese variety shows are predominantly made to be weird and extremely fast ...
to
text adventures to
zombie apocalypse
Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack huma ...
s to
lucha libre. 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". Hatfield was "addicted" to efficiently expanding his in-game hourly income. ''GamesRadar'' Michael Grimm wrote ''Saints Row: The Third'' was nearly surreal, and praised the player-character's running attacks.
Referring to the historical comparison between the ''Saints Row'' and ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, Dan Whitehead of ''Eurogamer'' wrote that ''
Grand Theft Auto IV
''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the e ...
'' serious turn let the ''Saints Row'' series be a "gleeful silly sandbox game", and noted that ''Saints Row: The Third'' was "marketed almost exclusively" based on its wackiness, from the costumes to the sex toy weapons. He felt that the "wacky hijinks" quickly became "predictable and repetitive" and the activities felt "sanitized and generic". ''Edge'' wrote that they were "one-off gags". ''Eurogamer'' Whitehead added that the tiger escort Guardian Angel missions appeared to draw from
Will Ferrell
John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show '' Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 2 ...
's ''
Talladega Nights
''Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby'' is a 2006 American sports comedy film directed by Adam McKay who co-wrote the film with Will Ferrell. It features Ferrell as the titular Ricky Bobby, an immature yet successful NASCAR driver. The f ...
'', and that the Prof. Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax shooting gallery drew from
Bizarre Creations
Bizarre Creations Limited was a British video game development studio based in Liverpool, best known for their racing titles '' Metropolis Street Racer'' ( Dreamcast) and the follow-up ''Project Gotham Racing'' series ( Xbox, Xbox 360, mobile ...
' ''
The Club'' shooter. ''Eurogamer'' and ''PC Gamer'' both found the game easy.
Ryan McCaffrey of ''Official 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 as ''
Burnout''-style arrows on the streets instead of hidden in the minimap
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
. He added that this was the game Volition "was born to make". Grimm from ''GamesRadar'' 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. 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. Whitehead of ''Eurogamer'' found Zimos, the pimp who speaks in
Autotune
Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances.
Auto-T ...
, to be the game's best character. ''Edge'' found some of the writing "sharp" and executed well by the voice actors. ''PC Gamer'' Tom Senior found the major story missions to be a highlight. Hatfield of IGN thought the single-player game fell apart at the end and called the two endings either "a super downer" or nonsense. 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". On the other hand,
CBS News's Christina Santiago called the cooperative mode "near perfect" and exemplary.
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". ''Edge'' added that the city was easy enough to navigate, but that it was missing character. Grimm of ''GamesRadar'' said it didn't look bad, but wasn't interesting. Multiple reviewers complained of "pop-in", or of graphical errors. ''
1UP.com
''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
'' reported the PC version's graphics to be more stable, and ''Eurogamer'' Digital Foundry face-off recommended the PlayStation 3 release for its lack of
screen tearing
Screen tearing is a visual artifact in video display where a display device shows information from multiple frames in a single screen draw.
The artifact occurs when the video feed to the device is not synchronized with the display's refresh r ...
.
''Eurogamer'' 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". ''Edge'' added that intent of humor in the
sex trafficking-related mission "The Ho Boat" did not come across well, and seemed to be included only for
shock value
Shock value is the potential of an image, text, action, or other form of communication, such as a public execution, to provoke a reaction of sharp disgust, shock, anger, fear, or similar negative emotions.
In advertising
Shock advertising or Sh ...
. Hatfield of IGN related that some of the game's more juvenile aspects made him cringe, and ''Edge'' wrote that the game felt "largely meaningless" in response to the desensitizing barrage of "context-free frippery". ''PC Gamer'' 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 the ''Grand Theft Auto'' franchise.
Whitehead of ''Eurogamer'' wrote in conclusion that the game doesn't propose "anything particularly inventive" and instead ends up with a toy box of gadgets. ''Edge'' felt that the game was weakest where it leaned on ''Grand Theft Auto'' precedent without adding a social commentary. ''Eurogamer'' Whitehead added that ''Saints Row: The Third'' missed an opportunity to separate from "the ''GTA'' formula", which ''Edge'' thought was done well in the last third of the game. IGN, however, felt the game was explicitly not a ''Grand Theft Auto'' clone, and ''G4'' called it "a knockoff no more".
During an interview on the future of THQ in June 2012, its president, Jason Rubin, responded to the interviewer's concerns that ''Saints 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", 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.
Notes
References
; General references
*
Further reading
*
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External links
*
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