Saints Row: The Third [Platinum Pack] - Boxed - PS3

Saints Row: The Third. There is an extensive character creator that allows every aspect of the protagonist's appearance to be tuned, along with a choice of seven voices (three male, three female, and Nolan North).

Saints Row IV continues its predecessor's course towards over-the-top action and humour. The game's twist is that the protagonist gains superpowers within the simulation, such as super jump, super sprint, or telekinesis, helping them move quickly and kill aliens who have replaced the cops as law enforcers. These powers make driving practically unnecessary, but the player can still hijack and use cars. Third-person combat with melee and ranged weapons continues to play an important role.

Like all Saints Row games, it offers various side activities that can be triggered at certain points in the game world. The game then switches to a minigame, and upon completion the player is rated with a bronze, silver, or gold medal depending on performance. While some of the games are familiar from previous instalments, such as Fraud or Tank Mayhem, most are new and revolve around the superpowers. For example, there's a race where the player must complete a running course as fast as possible, and another where you have to jump precisely between platforms. While these minigames were an essential part of the main missions in earlier Saints Row games, this time they're only needed for the teammates' side quests. The main storyline offers varied missions, mostly involving moving to a point and killing everything in sight, but also various sequences parodying other genres such as side-scrolling brawlers or top-down shooters. There are also additional side activities, such as collecting audio diaries or destroying alien infrastructure points.

While team members must be rescued from their nightmares within the simulation, they are physically trapped on the main alien ship. To rescue them, the protagonist visits the ship a few times during the main storyline without superpowers available - but sometimes with a mech instead. Otherwise, the real world plays only a minor role: the simulation can be left to walk around the ship and talk to teammates. Besides starting missions, the only purpose is to parody the Mass Effect series and its romances.

There are rewards for progressing in the game: experience points (for unlocking personal upgrades such as better damage resistance or more damage with certain weapons) and cache (for buying weapons, ammo, and weapon upgrades) are earned for all actions in the game, though completing missions and activities is naturally the most profitable. New superpowers are automatically unlocked as the story progresses, but they also have upgrades, such as gliding through the air after a super jump or dealing more explosion damage. These upgrades require another currency: small glowing orbs found all over the city that must be collected. Some powers can also have their effect changed, e.g. explosions can be set to fire or ice. With the phone, players can summon unlocked cars and unlocked homie helpers (the main crew gain superpowers when they complete their side quests), check the map, or play licensed music in the background.

Multiplayer is either playing in co-op mode during the campaign (the second player essentially replaces the homie) or starting one of two competitive activities. More