Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Saints Row: The Third
I’ve been excited about Saints Row: The Third ever since I visited Volition while writing our cover story on the game. The team promised a high level of over-the-top violence and crazy setpieces, and my glimpse at the game’s first mission makes me even more confident in their ability to deliver.
Senior producer Greg Donovan was at the controls as the Saints attempted to rob a bank in their old stomping grounds. Donning gigantic Johnny Gat bobblehead-esque masks, the gang entered with guns blazing. Swarms of security guards were taken out with shotguns, grenades, assault rifles, and a sex toy bat as the gang made their way upstairs to the vault.
Security ramped up in the upper floors, as helicopters fired miniguns and dropped down wave after wave of cops. During the firefight, it became apparent what the final plan for the heist was. The player character went into the bank’s vault, as a friendly helicopter hovered overhead amidst the chaos. As it attempted to airlift the vault directly out of the top of the bank, the action got even more intense. More and more helicopters arrived, and more and more security guards took aim at the Saints and their helicopter.
Despite their best efforts in pulling off their bold robbery, the Saints plans fail when their chopper finally takes too much damage and crashes. The player character pulls himself onto the roof, where he’s immediately taken into custody.
The mission ended at that point, but Donovan continued playing to show me the VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) vehicle. It’s essentially a Warhawk, with the ability to hover or switch into jet mode. Two weapons are available: a continuous laser beam or chargeable swarm missiles. Both were more than capable of wreaking havoc on the pedestrians and cars on the streets of Steelport.
It’s great to see Saints Row: The Third embrace insanity even more than its predecessor. With its gleeful willingness to go as over-the-top as possible, it should be an awesome experience when it releases on November 15th.
Products In This Article
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
