Saints Row: The Third -- All-In-One.

I've earned the full thousand points on Saints Row: The Third. The game was developed by Volition, Inc., and was published by THQ. Saints Row: The Third was my most wanted game this year. It's the one that I knew was going to be a sure thing and deliver all the fun of Saints Row 2 and more. Saints Row: The Third turned out to be my most disappointing game of 2011. Is that to say it's just an awful game? No, it's not an awful game. This entry isn't late even though I finished the game a week ago. I needed to think about if I was actually giving the game a fair shake or not in the terms of was I judging the game for what it is or was I judging the game on what it wasn't compared to Saints Row 2 and if that's even fair. I decided it was fair as it's how I honestly reacted to the game. I've noticed all around the Internet people have been commenting and saying things like Saints Row 3 is the most fun they've had all year but that line has almost always been qualified by saying the game is their first experience with the series. If I had not played Saints Row and Saints Row 2 would I most likely have been blown away by Saints Row: The Third? I think it's safe to say yes. But I did play Saints Row and Saints Row 2 and I know that something is off when it comes to Saints Row: The Third. Saints Row 2 was grounded by some more serious content within its story. Saints Row: The Third isn't grounded by anything. It feels that Volition noticed how the wilder aspects of Saints Row 2 were received and decided that's what fans want. And that's all you get in Saints Row: The Third. The wild and wacky, with no grounding. So it's just wild and wacky for the sake of being wild and wacky. The result actually makes the game feel dumbed down and sort of hollow. Another more tangible aspect of why I get the overall feeling of disappointment is because the game feels rushed content wise. The city design, the gaps in story missions, the activities, everything just feels slapped together. It feels unpolished, unfinished. The new clothing system feels less than from Saints Row 2 as well. You no longer have the options of wearing clothes open or closed where applicable. It may sound like a minor quibble but when you spend enough time saying I wish I could do this or that, and you used to be able to do it in the previous game, it comes across more glaring. It's not all bad news though. The game controls great and it looks much better than the previous titles and it does provide you with fifty plus hours of co-op fueled mayhem. I just can't help but feel that this is less than and overall a disappointment. I've giving Saints Row: The Third a 7.5.