Crass, crude, even tasteless. These are all words that, if unaware of its over-the-top self-parody, would aptly depict the nature and personality of drastically over-the-top Saints Row: The Third. The thing is though, really, it isn’t any of these things. In a series well renowned for its immaturity, it was without question that Volition would develop a title unlike any other other. One things for sure though, Saints Row: The Third is the most outrageous game you’ll play this year, and, more importantly, one that you’ll have one hell of a time with.

We see the 3rd Street Saints gang living the high-life, having sold out to ‘The Man’, with more money than they can count as it pours in from merchandise, movie contracts, TV adverts, the works. Things take a swift turn when criminal organisation Syndicate muscle in, inflicting some permanent damage to the Saints in a bid to occupy their turf. As you would expect, the Saints don’t take lightly to this, relocating to Steelport, our location this time around, to take the fight to them. Obviously this brings a new city, with a fresh set of gangs in the form of the powerful Morningstar, Tron-esque Deckers and Mexican wrestler-themed Luchardores.

You, as always, play the boss of the Saints, whom is whoever you want them to be. Vast character customisation is once again present, allowing you to customise your protagonist’s gender, appearance, personality, mannerisms, and clothes. It helps stamp your own authority on the character, and given the slickness of the style and presentation, offers an extra connection to the character.

“The key thing about Saints Row: The Third is that it understands what the enjoyable aspects of an open-world game are and delivers them in epic proportions.”

Opting for hilarity over sense or sensibility, the plot is filled with absurdity. Littered with more sex jokes than an innuendo bondage party it pulls no punches, yet it always manages to find the side of humour rather than offence on every occasion. There are multiple spoofs of mainstream games, most noticeably a tiger-occupied car in reference to a similar styled mission in primary comparator Grand Theft Auto IV, which are delivered with such brilliance, you’ll almost constantly play with a wry smile. The story holds little importance other than to string along a series of both fantastically designed and thoroughly enjoyable missions, so opts for the most ridiculously excessive angle it can get away with.

The key thing about Saints Row: The Third is that it understands what the enjoyable aspects of an open-world game are and delivers them in epic proportions. Predator missiles, tanks, helicopters, skydiving, jets, zombies, fantastic set pieces, laser guns, space marines, a trip to mars; it’s all there, easily accessible and with immensely satisfying power. It holds a fine balance between granting unlimited use of the most powerful toys – such as the brilliant VTOL hover-jet – whilst still bringing a challenge of a worthy scale. Both you and your enemies can absorb more than a fair share of bullets before perishing, ensuring that gun fights are exactly that, meaning you don’t need to run behind cover to regenerate every few seconds. It also gives added emphasis to headshots, with them, in most cases, being a one-hit-kill deal granting you the ability to be more precise with your shots if you so wish.

There’s no denying that The Third is incredible juvenile, however, it relishes in it. With weapons like The Penetrator and the Cyber Buster, it never even hints at taking itself seriously, and if you have an inkling for that kind of humour, then you’ll be physically laughing.

You’re given one-option choices at moments in the story, which although they do affect the overarching story – with multiple endings making an appearance – it’s primarily a ‘which reward do you want’ rather than a morality one.

Steelport is in a world of its own, where the rules on engagement between gangs and average citizens is unlike anything we could comprehend, and it’s that parallel universe of ridiculousness that allows Saints Row: The Third to flourish. Everything in the campaign is geared towards your enjoyment. Whether that’s skydiving with a tank, firing an unlimited amount of rockets from a helicopter in a protect-style mission, or robbing a bank by literally stealing the vault, you’re rarely restricted by poor design choices to give the illusion of difficulty. It’ll throw twenty enemies at you, but only to counter the power you possess at that moment in time. On the occasions you do die, it’s normally down to your own foolishness or choices, rather than the game cheating a life out of you.

“Whether that’s skydiving with a tank, firing an unlimited amount of rockets from a helicopter in a protect-style mission, or robbing a bank by literally stealing the vault, you’re rarely restricted by poor design choices to give the illusion of difficulty.”

As with any open-world game, there are of course a variety of side missions to complete along with plenty of collectibles to seek out. Most of the side activities are showcased during the campaign with a mixture of enjoyment. Throwing your rag-doll body about in Insurance Fraud, or causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage in Tank Attack is great fun, whilst the Professor Genki’s Super Ethical Reality Climax game show or the protect your client Trafficking outings are more often frustrating. Regardless, there is plenty to do, and being able to do the entire campaign online with a partner, with a separate save if wanted, is more than welcome.

With a slightly cartoonish style, Saints Row: The Third is a visual treat – most of the time. There are a couple of issues here and there, such as the facial animations of anyone bar the half-a-dozen main cast being atrocious, or the frustratingly near distance of pop-in along the motorways. In general however, the quality of the character models, far-reaching vistas, fantastic damage to vehicles, progressive alterations to the landscape and visual effects are fantastic. Unfortunately, when there’s a lot happening on-screen the frame rate takes a serious hit which is very disappointing and quite jarring. Musically the game is a bit hit and miss. With most of the tunes provided by the in-vehicle radio stations, which, whilst certainly not poor, fail to really stand out in any memorable way. There are of course the story-based news updates that provide a good snippet of humour, but there’s nothing to the quality found in the likes of Grand Theft Auto.

Alongside the cash you earn from missions and similar events, there’s also an extensive upgrade system which is coupled with your Respect level. As well as earning some mular, your character will earn respect from missions, activities or a variety of other escapades – such as driving with a bit of flair, which help you level up and gain access to a selection of upgrades. These range from health upgrades, reduced damage, gang improvements and much more. Weapons and cars can also be upgraded adding another layer to the already impressive diverse environment of customisation that Volition has created.

“It is packed full with awesome set pieces and laugh out loud moments, with solid gameplay mechanics and a glistening appearance.”

There’s a plethora of stats at your disposal – which are also accessible via the official website, which can be found in the new smart phone styled menu system. Here you’ll find you map, upgrades, missions, and more; allowing you to start a new mission from anywhere, avoiding a lot of unnecessary traversal.

It’s a shame that the AI seemingly dropped its brain on the sidewalk somewhere, as all of the computer controlled characters are utterly moronic. They will stand out in the open to be shot, get stuck behinds walls and consistently drive in a zig-zag as though they are warming up their tyres for a formula one grand prix. Not that you’ll do much better either, as with anything other than a sports car it’ll feel like you’re a dominatrix trying to wrestle with your favourite hog.

There’s also ‘Whored’ mode, the play-on-words version of ‘Horde’ mode, which sees you survive wave upon wave of enemies, in a variety of strange contexts. Unfortunately, it’s incredibly easy, even until the latter stages, and lacks the real pizzazz that the campaign brings.

Saints Row has, since it’s inception, drawn comparisons to the hugely successful Grand Theft Auto series, as despite its flamboyant style, there are obvious similarities between the two. Although the latest outing from Rockstar may have had the technical edge on Saints Row 2, that’s hard to say this time around. Not that it matters though as The Third brings a freshness and a personality that the genre was desperately in need of. It is packed full with awesome set pieces and laugh out loud moments, with solid gameplay mechanics and a glistening appearance. Just like the ever-present gimps within the game, it doesn’t care what people’s preconceptions are, nor whether it matches any expectations; it just wants to ensure you have a good time.