I feel that Saints Row 3 is disappointing when compared to Saints Row 2. The majority of the problems I have with saints Row 3 come from the story. Some May say that the Saints Row games have a silly stupid fun kind of atmosphere and thus the story cant be taken seriously. But I felt that the story in SR2 was great with a varied cast of characters who got characterized enough that when one of them died it really left an impact.
That being said sense most of my complaints are of the story I will put them in a spoiler tag.
All that being said the game is still decent. Average overall like a 5/10 compared to SR2s 9/10.
That being said sense most of my complaints are of the story I will put them in a spoiler tag.
1.Length
OK this isn't directly related to story but I wanted all my reasons in one area. The game is only about 10-15 hours for the main quests. Which for a sandbox game in general is kinda short, but compared to SR2s 30-40 hours it seems criminally short. This is compounded by the fact that half the missions are filler "lets show you some of the non-story activities" missions.
2.Inappropriate use of character death.
There are multiple times when story characters die. This happened in SR2 as well but in SR3 the characters and there death aren't built up as much. The most glaring example is when the kill the longest lasting story character of the series Johnny Gat in the second mission off screen. And his death is not built up or meaningful at all, it just kinda happens. And while I hold out hope that he's not dead somehow, he doesn't show up again in the main game. (there is a lot of DLC planed but I'll get to that).
3.They bring in the "Big Bad" to soon.
In SR2 the Big Bad is hinted at through out the game, but you only really fight them once the other 3 gangs are dealt with. In SR3 there brought in about half way through and this really diminishes the threat of the other gangs. Honestly at this point they are clearly the biggest problem and it feels like a waste of time going up against the gangs who now feel like petty annoyances is comparison.
4.The two endings.
OK, through out the game one of the things that brought up is that the saints have gone soft. They used to be hardcore gang bangers and now there celebrities with clothing lines and energy drinks. So in the epilogue depending on which choice you make in the last mission you either go back to your celebrity life style or take over steel port and declare it it's own dependent nation. Here's the thing though, the choice you make does not reflect this. Mainly because one of the choices involves saving your friends.
OK, here's the setup, the last gang leader, Killbane, is getting away on his private jet. At the same time STAG (the military organization) Is going to blow up what is essentially the statue of liberty and frame you for it. And there going to frame you for it by having your friends, other main story characters, blow up with it. First off this choice makes no sense, you still do have friends that could do one while you do the other. And I can't see why I would not rescue my friends. First of Killbane is a shell of his former self, I took his mask, I doubt he'll cause much trouble. Second, I could always get a chance to kill him later, while if my friends die, there dead for good. Third, while you may be a psychotic killer, I feel your still loyal and honorable to your comrades.What would make this better is if they took your friends out of the equation entirely. So it would be your reputation at stake vs your friends lives. Which would make much more sense as that is the choice that gets you the celebrity ending.
5.DLC
and lastly there is "40 weeks" of DLC planed. And while this isn't story related, it may explain the length and the rushed feel of the game. Also unless this DLC is free it's BS, because the game is already full price and feels half done. I can only assume the other half is the DLC.
OK this isn't directly related to story but I wanted all my reasons in one area. The game is only about 10-15 hours for the main quests. Which for a sandbox game in general is kinda short, but compared to SR2s 30-40 hours it seems criminally short. This is compounded by the fact that half the missions are filler "lets show you some of the non-story activities" missions.
2.Inappropriate use of character death.
There are multiple times when story characters die. This happened in SR2 as well but in SR3 the characters and there death aren't built up as much. The most glaring example is when the kill the longest lasting story character of the series Johnny Gat in the second mission off screen. And his death is not built up or meaningful at all, it just kinda happens. And while I hold out hope that he's not dead somehow, he doesn't show up again in the main game. (there is a lot of DLC planed but I'll get to that).
3.They bring in the "Big Bad" to soon.
In SR2 the Big Bad is hinted at through out the game, but you only really fight them once the other 3 gangs are dealt with. In SR3 there brought in about half way through and this really diminishes the threat of the other gangs. Honestly at this point they are clearly the biggest problem and it feels like a waste of time going up against the gangs who now feel like petty annoyances is comparison.
4.The two endings.
OK, through out the game one of the things that brought up is that the saints have gone soft. They used to be hardcore gang bangers and now there celebrities with clothing lines and energy drinks. So in the epilogue depending on which choice you make in the last mission you either go back to your celebrity life style or take over steel port and declare it it's own dependent nation. Here's the thing though, the choice you make does not reflect this. Mainly because one of the choices involves saving your friends.
OK, here's the setup, the last gang leader, Killbane, is getting away on his private jet. At the same time STAG (the military organization) Is going to blow up what is essentially the statue of liberty and frame you for it. And there going to frame you for it by having your friends, other main story characters, blow up with it. First off this choice makes no sense, you still do have friends that could do one while you do the other. And I can't see why I would not rescue my friends. First of Killbane is a shell of his former self, I took his mask, I doubt he'll cause much trouble. Second, I could always get a chance to kill him later, while if my friends die, there dead for good. Third, while you may be a psychotic killer, I feel your still loyal and honorable to your comrades.What would make this better is if they took your friends out of the equation entirely. So it would be your reputation at stake vs your friends lives. Which would make much more sense as that is the choice that gets you the celebrity ending.
5.DLC
and lastly there is "40 weeks" of DLC planed. And while this isn't story related, it may explain the length and the rushed feel of the game. Also unless this DLC is free it's BS, because the game is already full price and feels half done. I can only assume the other half is the DLC.
All that being said the game is still decent. Average overall like a 5/10 compared to SR2s 9/10.
