Balls deep in the Row

I'm posting this about 75% through the "story" of Saints Row 3. I'm not going to sugar coat it and say it's a fantastic story because its not, and its not supposed to be. What is, and what it does perfectly, is let us run through a city acting like a total asshole and have a blast doing it.

First I start will the Pre-order and collectors edition crap. Of course I pre-ordered it and got the octopus gun that shoots mind control mollusks and I got Professor Genki's Manapult but honestly, I barely used either of them and the Shark gun DLC puts the octopus gun to shame. Being as it was my birthday, my GF Bonnie got me the collectors edition of SR3 which came with headphones. Headphones that don't work with xbox live and are pretty chunky with a big ass SR3 logo on the side, they haven't and probably will never leave the box, unless one of my nephews or something want them. No extra missions. No art book. I am dissapoint.

That's really the only glaring bad thing about this game. I know when games are hyped like this, they usually come up short but in all honesty this game delivers what it promised. The storyline missions are varied and pretty eventful (though none have lived up to the escaping the airplane from the beginning ....yet). All of your favorite , well MOST of your favorite mini games are back from the 2nd Saints. Heli Assult, despite much improved controls, is still there and still pretty frustrating. FUZZ sadly enough, was no where to be found. New mini games include "Guardian Angel" which is just Heli Assult but the CPU flys the choppah, and "Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax" which is actually a pretty fun rendition of well, a mix of Smash TV and The Running Man; it also makes it easier to hit that "kill 200 mascots" challenge. Septic Avenger, Fight Club, Crowd Control also go the big ugly axe. Freckle Bitches was no where to be found on the map either, in fact you cant even buy food for your dpad menu anymore.

Ah yes, the challenges. Remember all the goofy shit you can do for respect, like driving in the oncoming lane? Well the game now tracks that stat with a purpose. Once you do it for 10,000 feet you get a cash and respect bonus. Some challenges are pretty tame like "compliment 50 people" some are a real pain, like nailing 15 base jumps. Most will come in time playing the game, others you are going to have to make time to do this. They mention FUZZ a lot in the description, so I believe this is part of the replacement for FUZZ. Ironically, you can buy a Steel Port Police Department uniform in the game.

One thing I really liked and appreciated in SR2 was completing mini games to unlock perks. Do this, you get unlimited pistol ammo, do that and you don't take fall damage. Unlocking perks like that is gone, now you buy the perks with cash you earned. This was done for 2 reasons, something to spend money on, and getting perks that you couldn't because you cant beat a mini-game.

The refined controls are reason enough to head back into the row. They changed the priority of the cars so that the players car has more mass/inertia. Its a godsend, no more getting bullied by a pinto when you're driving a SWAT van. Powerslides, burnouts, even getting up on 2 wheels is just easier to control and that saddest part about that? Racing is no where to be found =( Perhaps some real honest to goodness DLC will come out. Ive been eyeballing the "Season Pass" DLC but I'm hesitant to pull the trigger. God knows I didn't really use the MK Pass like I thought I would.

The graphics are a big jump. They are as much of an improvement over SR2 as SR2 was over SR1. Lower poly counts but improved textures do wonders for the visual appeal. Pop ups still happen but they don't affect gameplay. Occasionally you get some weird glitches, for example, traffic signs getting stuck inside the car, cars sunk into the ground, and more than once I "Bo-Duken'ed" into a car and for some reason took a ton of damage and died. Thankfully dying just takes away some money, you keep your guns so you can jump right back into the game.

Overall I am having a fantastic time, I'm 20 hours or so in and still having fun just goofing around. I plan to finish up the "story" after I get a few more "insert gang name here" specialists killed. Brutes are brutal, but I gotta say, its a good Rowvember.

Saint's Row the......second

I'm behind the times, get over it. I almost passed up this GEM of a game based on how fucking terrible the first one was. Seriously, the first one was so bad they should have called this one something else to avoid the negative stigma.

Im like 11 hours in and I only have umm....65 gamerscore from it, and I couldn't be happier. The game does a great job of keeping you busy while not making you do the same thing over and over. Built in Zombie game? Scavenger Hunt? Hitman missions? Racing? Boats (and hoes)? Sword Fighting? Stealing prostitutes from pimps to get them jobs at Madam Wu's massage parlor? Spraying poop on cop cars? Fight Club? Well I cant talk about the last one, but its all in there. I think one of the neatest features is buying houses and upgrading the insides for "style" points that in turn give you respect bonuses from the missions.

The sound track is both varied and incredible. I'm not gonna name drop tracks but its right there with the Grand Theft Autos and in someways even better, cause your on screen character will sometimes sing along (which is both hilarious, and worth 5 gamer score) The only real downside of the game is sometimes the physics get wonky (like if your Helicopter clips something just right, you end up , upside down) and sometimes the game just dumps a shit ton of enemies on you.

I heard good things about this game and gave it a shot, you should to. Even if you only do it to prep for Saint Row the 3rd, which I plan to get when it drops. I blame this game if I dont get to 100k by New Years, lol

~M