I am a big fan of the saints row series from the beginning and I was excited to get my hands on SR3. I was kinda worried though to hear that some activities were cut(hot fuzz,septic avenger, fight club, and demolition derby) and even more worried when they announced the 40 weeks of DLC plan but Volition made claims that they cut multiplayer to make the single player experience better. Sure, I knew they cut some things out but I foolishly believed that despite the "cuts" SR3 will have loads to do. Then came the release and 24 hours later I achieved 93%. 24 hours....93%...kinda short for a free-roam game isn't it? Slowly everything started to sink in and I realized that SR3 is the worst entry of the series. I made three points a few days ago why SR3 fails and I'll re-post them here with a few edits. Warning, there are spoilers and in these points:
First of all, the customization is watered down compared to the second one. In the second one, you could layer clothing which doesn't exist in saints row 3 nor does design patterns and there was a lot of clothing items to choose from in the second one but not so much in the third. I can't even make a decent Tommy Vercetti. The NPCs including gang members seem to have way better clothing items than the player! where's the ninja outfit or the pimp clothing? To Volition's credit they did include a cop uniform but the options could still be better.
Secondly, instead of having activities available from the start they are unlocked by doing the storyline which is fine but most of act one was activity tutorials. Also, even after unlocking all of the activities there seems to be a lot less activities than SR2.It makes me wonder if they plan to sell the missing activities as DLC.
Speaking of the story, let's move to my third point. The story could have been better. I know this is saints row but at least volition tried to make the story solid in SR2, not so much in SR3. remember that bad ass known as Johnny Gat from the the first games? He survived being stabbed and being shot in those games and held off a bunch of cops. In the third, he dies....off camera. You think that this is a trick by V so you wait til the very end hoping he comes back only to find out that he does in an insulting way for that character. Also, loose ends from the second game are completely ignore just so they wouldn't alienate new players. Thanks V, now you just alienated your current fan base.As for the other returning characters, there's only two(not counting Jane Valderama) which are pierce and shaundi. Once again, minimal returning characters due to not alienating the new fan base. As for Loren, let's just say his fate is lame especially since he was built up as the big baddie.
My next point is revolving around the star itself, not the MC but the city of Steelport. The city felt lifeless. Sure you would see a cop pulling over a car and a guy playing guitar on the street but that's it. There are no interiors except for your cribs and those idle animations that were in the second one(i.e. fishing when next to a pier) are not present. Also, there is no proper day and night cycles as it changes during missions and activities. Sure you have a lot of toys to play with but it's like playing in a sandbox without sand. It feels like thing were cut for DLC.....oh wait. That's right, they have planned for the 40 weeks of DLC!
Saints Row the third could have been an awesome sandbox game but with the cuts they made(likely in the name of "DLC") saints row the third fails. truth be told, I can't see why it's getting all of these good reviews. I would honestly rate it a 6/10 because of the above points and that reaching 100% can be achieved in a short time and that's without rushing through it! Once you reach 100% then that's it. I'll be honest, I never achieved 100% in SR2 but I still placed over 200 hours in playing that game. Ironically, as the saints sold out in SR3 so did volition. V got greedy and cocky so I ask you gamers who haven't bought this game yet to wait for a price drop and to those like me who were foolish enough to buy it on launch to not buy any DLC they send out. Thanks for reading!
Huzaifa from eXputer: "2008 was home to the likes of Call of Duty: World at War, Dead Space, GTA 4, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, and many other hits, which is outright remarkable."
Alone in the Dark developer Pieces Interactive has been hit with layoffs a month after its release, as per the latest information.
That genuinely, genuinely sucks. The reboot has clear flaws, but it really felt like a solid first step for this team to receive *greater* investment.
Venturing into a post-apocalyptic world, Bandai Namco resurrects the forgotten treasure, Sand Land: will it capture the magic of the Manga?
I enjoyed the demo so I'll be picking this up. The gameplay made me think of Metal Max Xeno so it sold me on it.
I agree with mostly everything you said. The city did feel lifeless, most noticeably (for me at least) around the airport. In SR2 you had planes landing and taking off, but in SR3 there aren't even any people walking around the airport, let alone planes flying around. I also remember in SR2 people in boats and jetskis, well in SR3 i haven't seen a single AI in a boat, only boats parked near docks with nobody in them.
And the clothing part I agree with as well. One nitpick I had is that there is no cape... I could have made the perfect superman costume but its just missing a cape now which is annoying lol.
But the main gripe I have is that there are no easter-eggs/secret locations to find. It may sound weird but that was my main reason for playing the game. I loved just wandering around and finding secret places and stuff, and I did the same in SR3 yet I found nothing, just more boringness around the city.
Shame, was gonna pick this up eventually, may have to reconsider.
I feel like one of the main problems is stagnation for people. It seems to me that people who played the older games are disappointed while new comers like myself enjoy it a lot. I beat the game and have taken over 2 burrows completely and most of the others. I still haven't touched the saints book and I found the 1960's ending pretty great actually. The game also looks like a fairly easy platinum. Excited to try some co-op soon... I dunno. Overall I feel it was worth my 60$ but I don't think I will buy much DLC for it. Not because the game is bad at all but because there is so much more I want to play and with Christmas coming the DLC will be put on back burner until it's sold as a bundle for like 20$.
I think the phrase that sums up SR3 for me is "better, but not bigger" The story missions had a lot of variety and creativeness. Hell, the second mission feels like something out of Uncharted. But compared to the second game, (which I logged 40-some hours on and think I only got around 60%) there just wasn't that much to do between them. And in a sandbox game, that's a big deal.
I pretty much agree with with your specific complaints. In addition to Gat's dying off screen, I also have to gripe that the LEADER of the syndicate is the first to go (in a rather undramatic way), and then you're just cleaning up the scraps. Feels a little ass-backwards. Also one of the final bosses is just a rehash of the DJ Veteran fight in SR2 (a mid-boss at best.)
I enjoyed the final product, but I'm glad I didn't sell Saints Row 2.
Glad i didnt buy it. Ill just stick with Just Cause 2 as my sandbox game for now.