Years after taking Stilwater for their own, the Third Street Saints have evolved from street gang to household brand name, with Saints sneakers, Saints energy drinks and Johnny Gat bobble head dolls all available at a store near you. The Saints are kings of Stilwater, but their celebrity status has not gone unnoticed. The Syndicate, a legendary criminal fraternity with pawns in play all over the globe, has turned its eye on the Saints and demands tribute.Refusing to kneel to the Syndicate, you take the fight to a new city, playing out the most outlandish gameplay scenarios ever seen in Saints Row: The Third, the third chapter in the blockbuster open-city action series. Strap it on.
The Third continues the story of the 3rd Street Saints gang developed in the previous two games. Having defeated the rival gangs of Stilwater at the end of Saints Row 2 and overthrown the influence of the Ultor corporation on the city services, the Saints have found themselves with free control of the city. They target a bank, attempting to airlift the vault out of it, but the plan goes awry, and the Saints are incarcerated. In prison, they come to learn that a powerful international crime agency called the Syndicate, led by Phillipe Loren, has taken over many of the banks (including the one the Saints struck) and bribed the Stilwater police force. Loren smuggles the Saints' leader (the player-character), Johnny Gat, and Shaundi out of jail onto his private jet, and while in-flight, tells them they will be allowed to live if they turn over two-thirds of their gangs. The leader of the Saints rejects this offer, and a gunfight breaks out; ultimately, the player-character, Gat, and Shaundi all fall out the cargo hold of the plane, safely recovering parachutes, and lands safely.
With the Syndicate in full control of Stilwater, the Saints relocate themselves to the city of Steelport. Steelport is a city that was created as factories flourished with little city planning, and since has suffered from economic failure, contrasting the glamour of Stilwater. The Syndicate has already begun to take control of some parts of Steelport, focusing on vices like gambling and prostitution. To extend their reach, the Syndicate had divided their control of the city through three gangs. The Morning Star, lead by Loren directly, are typically European men with impeccable taste, selling guns and handling the prostitution rings. The Mexican wrestler Killbane controls the Luchadores who deal with selling drugs and gambling. The Deckers, led by hacktivist Matt Miller, are computer geniuses, and handle the money laundering. The Saints see the opportunity to wrest control of Steelport from these groups, and engage them to start to take control of the downtrodden city. As the gang war intensifies, a fourth group, the Special Tactical Anti-Gang (STAG) units from the government will attempt to halt any gang activity whether it be the Saints or the Syndicate.
In previous Saints Row games, the player would be able to approach each of the three rival gangs along separate storylines that ultimately culminated into a final conclusion. In The Third, the storylines between the three gangs are interconnected, and decisions that the player makes in dealing with one faction may alter the behavior of the other factors towards the player or missions that may be available later.

The Third retains the blend of third-person action and driving sequences in open world, urban warfare format that is traditional in the Saints Row series. The player, as the leader of the Third Street Saints, can explore the city of Steelport, performing main missions that progress the game's story, and side missions. These side missions include Activities, mini-games played on the streets of Steelport, Strongholds, rival gang bases that can be taken over to control a section of Steelport, and Flashpoints, on-the-spot gang warfare. Successful completion of missions can earn the player in-game money, weapons, cars, and gang respect. Unlike the previous games where respect was used to unlock new missions, The Third uses respect similar to experience points which the player can then spend to improve specific attributes of their character, such as melee combat or firearms skills. Money can be used to purchase clothing items, weapons and cars, or may be used to upgrade weapons and cars with unique features, such as adding scopes or extra barrels to a weapon, which then can be stored in the Saints' arsenal. Money can also be used to upgrade the Saints gang, customizing their appearance, outfits, and headquarters. Within The Third, the player can set up to four different appearance styles for their gang. Finally, money is also used to purchase shops and other properties within Steelport, which in turn will become a steady stream of incoming for the gang over time.
While completing some missions, the player may be given a choice of options to finalize the mission. For example, they may opt to destroy a rival gang's boat, including the prostitutes aboard, or instead capture it, and sending the prostitutes to the Saints' headquarters to boost the gang's morale. In another case, the player has the option of using a gigantic bomb to demolish one of the skyscrappers in the city; though they will gain a great deal of respect for the action, it will alter the city's skyline for the rest of the game and cause non-player characters to react differently to the Saints, while leaving the building standing allows it to be used as a headquarters for the Saints. New Activities, optional missions that can gain the player money and respect, include "Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax", a game show that combines the ideas of The Running Man and Japanese game shows, Tank Mayhem where players are tasked with taking out high value targets using a tank, and Guardian Angel, where the player must drive around the city while a tiger is in the backseat of the car.
In addition to the regular arsenal of tradition and novel weapons, players will gain the ability to call down airstrikes on encamped enemies, or to use an remote control electric bug to control other vehicles such as for remotely delivering a car full of explosives to an enemies hideout. Unlike the first two games, there are no health recovery items in favor of improving the grenade throwing system; in exchange, the player's health will regenerate at a faster rate as long as they stay out of the line of fire. Nearly all actions in the game can be sped up by holding down a second controller button, dubbed by Volition as the "awesome button"; for example, when carjacking, holding down this button will cause the player-character to missile-kick the driver out of the seat in short order.
In addition to the single-player mode, the game can be played co-operatively with at least one other player. As in Saints Row 2, the second player can participate in all missions and activities, earning credit for their completion. Certain activities provide different rules when a second player is present; for example, in the Guardian Angel activity, the second player will have to control the tiger in the backseat while the first player drives. Because of their focus on the single player and co-operative experience, Volition has removed competitive multiplayer from the title.

Professor Genkis Super Ethical Reality Climax

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Volition had us sold on this one from their very first description - The Running Man meets the craziest Japanese game show youve ever seen. Like the awesome Schwarzenegger movie, this show pits several sociopaths against each other in a fight to the death. Weapon drops and fire traps ensure bloodshed, and the hyperactive Japanese announcers will be jabbering away throughout. Expect onscreen graphics like Japanese text and oddities similar to Mortal Kombat IIs Toasty guy as you murder the competition.

Tank Mayhem

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The idea of an infinite-ammo, kill-everything-that-moves minigame in an open world crime game has been around since the birth of a genre. While Saints Row has featured similar Mayhem missions in past games, theyve revolved around property damage. Because of this, rounds of this activity quickly devolved into sprinting around and hunting for fences to destroy. Saints Row: The Third wants to make things a bit more exciting, so Tank Mayhem places you in a tank instead of behind the sights of an assault rifle or RPG launcher. Various high-value targets will appear while youre going all Goldeneye on the city, including a parade of strippers. Send a shell their
way or get them tangled in your treads, and youll be raking in the cash and respect.

Guardian Angel

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Your buddy Angel hates the Syndicate just as much as you do, and he wants to make sure youre tough enough to take them on. In this activity, he forces you to drive a car around while a tiger sits in the backseat. Get into a fender bender or run into a stop sign, and hell start mauling you. Its a definite test of your driving ability, but a co-op partner can sit in the backseat and try to tame the tiger if things get too tough.
Tying Guardian Angel into the war on the Syndicate is part of a more broad goal to make Saints Row: The Third a more cohesive experience. Activities in previous installments were often random and had no ties to the narrative. This time around, youll be rewarded with destroying Syndicate-owned property in activities like Tank Mayhem. Even the goofier ones like Insurance Fraud and Guardian Angel are billed as training exercises to toughen your character up so hes ready to wage war on the crime ring. It doesnt make the activities any less over-the-top or insane, but it does remind players what the overall goal of Saints Row: The Third is.

Phillipe Loren: Phillipe Loren is the leader of the Syndicate, in particular the gang called the Morning Star, says Steve Jaros, lead writer of Saints Row: The Third. Hes kind of like a Bond villain. Hes statuesque and poised and elegant, and hes a total gentleman. Hes not a fophes not effeminateand hes not going to play to that European stereotype. Hes coldly logical and dangerous and very savvy

KillBane: The wrestling-masked Luchadores are one of the more flamboyant criminal organizations in Steelport, so its only appropriate that the gang is led by someone equally peculiar. Killbane is a former professional wrestler who also founded the Luchadors with his tag-team partner, Angel. Killbane became jealous of his partners success, which led him to publicly unmask and shame his former friend. Eventually, Killbane was banished to Mexico after he killed an opponent in the ring. That exile didnt last, and the grappler is back and running his group.

Matt Miller: Matt Miller is the Syndicates go-to guy for those instances. As leader of the Deckers, Miller (no relation) is in charge of the citys cybercrime. As with a lot of folks bolstered by the anonymity of the Internet, Miller is all swagger when hes at his keyboard. Take him out of his element, and its another story. The thing thats interesting about him is that when hes by himself he thinks that hes god, says Steve Jaros, the games lead writer. Hes super cocky and kind of obnoxious and is very self-assured in what he does. However, when hes around Killbane or Phillipe, hes like a 15-year-old kid sitting at the big kid table.

Zimos:After being rescued by the player, the temporarily gimp-suited Zimos becomes an important ally. His ties to the criminal underworld are critical in the players early days in Steelport, and hes a great guide to the city. In general, hes kind of like the lovable granddad of the Saints, says lead writer Steve Jaros. Hes too old to care, he has a lot of swagger. Pretty much hes seen it all, hes done it all, and hes too cool to be scared or offended.
In addition to the role of de facto tour guide, Zimos provides plenty of comic relief. He has had a tracheotomy, though that hasnt stopped him from smoking through the subsequent hole in his throat. He speaks using an electronic voice box, which has been autotuned. In other words, everything he says sounds like it was plucked from a T-Pain song. Stay classy, Saints Row.