14 DAY TRIAL // After a huge amount of trailers, screenshots and all sorts of hype, Saints Row 3 has finally been released, amidst other heavy hitters like NFS: The Run, Halo: Anniversary or last week's Skyrim or Modern Warfare 3.
With the promise of delivering a big open world where you can do pretty much anything you set your mind to, the naughtier the better, while improving on the already very fun Saints Row 2, The Third definitely has some big shoes to fill.
So, does Saints Row 3: The Third manage to deliver the most over the top open world experience out there or does it fail to live up the outrageous expectations? Let's have a quick look at the PC version of the game.
Saints Row 3 drives the point across straight from its opening scenes, where a Star Wars-style scrolling text reveals that since the conclusion of the last game, the Third Street Saints have evolved past their gang origins and become a household name, fact showcased by an over the top energy drink commercial that bears the name of the Saints.
After that, the gang, composed of its boss, controlled by the player, old time members Johnny Gat and Shaundi, as well as an arrogant actor that's trying to document the life of the Saints before the movie based on the gang gets made, go into a bank to rob it.
Things quickly go sideways and the player is forced to battle it out with legions of enemies as well as SWAT teams while dangling from a safe being airlifted by a chopper (don't forget this is still a Saints Row game).
Up until now, both the shooting and overall gameplay feels extremely tight, but you're then forced to rest a bit while you create your own character. This is where the hours spent in the game's previously released Initiation Station pays off, as you can tweak all sorts of attributes for your character, from gender to proportions to the cheeky sex appeal slider that has different results for female and male builds.
You're then introduced to Phillipe Loren, the leader of the evil Syndicate, an group of gangs that wants to take down the Saints. As you can imagine, our thee heroes (the actor ran away during the bank heist) aren't too thrilled, and a pretty hectic fight scene begins, with the player and Shaundi jumping from a plane and shooting quite a lot of enemies while in free fall.
At the end of the sequence, which you can enjoy towards the end of the video below, the Saints are now stuck in Steelport, a brand new city controlled by their enemies.
Considering its over the top opening segments, Saints Row 3 is definitely living up to the expectations it set with all its previous trailers and videos, so let's hope it can continue delivering the same quality experience.
