HumbleBundle, 5 dollars for 7 games.

Another great deal is available at humblebundle.com, a deal made for you and for charity. HumbleBundle is known for giving you some great games for some incredible prices so for about 5 bucks or so you can get some triple A games to add to your collection.  Don't worry though, you have 13 days to think about adding these games to your library.


,

Read more »

New Saints Row DLC Will Bring Back Johnny Gat?

If you've played the first two Saints Row games long before the third title was announced like me, then I'm sure you were absolutely torn at the death of the beloved Johnny Gat. However, the next upcoming dlc for Saints Row the Third might be bringing him back, key word MIGHT.



Volition has released a new trailer of the upcoming "Trouble with clones" mission pack, which will actually be available tomorrow.



The pack will be available for $6.99 (560 MS points) or free if you actually got the season pass. This is a definite purchase for me if it actually plans to bring back Johnny.

Read more »

Saints Row the Third Gangstas in Space

Volition is excited to bring you the second mission DLC pack for Saints Row the Third titled: Gangstas in Space.


the story takes place after the "good" ending of the main game, where your will be filming the last scene of the Saint's movie "Gangstas in Space". This pack will feature new missions, outfits weapons, vehicles and achievements. While I decided not to get the last one this may be interesting so I might have to check it out. In the mean time watch the new trailer.



"Gangstas in Space" is available right now on all platforms for only $6.99 (560 MS points).

Read more »

Saints Row Genki Bowl VII and TF2 items

Yesterday was the official release of Saints Row the Third's first DLC Genki Bowl VII, which is available for 800 MS points (free with a season pass) have a look at it's trailer if you're curious on what to expect.



Unfortunately I wont be downloading this due to lost of interest of Saints Row the Third and I'm really enjoying the Fenix Rising DLC and Skyrim as of right now But that's not all that's going on in the world of Saints Row.

Those who own the Steam Version of Steam can get 9 bobble-head masks of Valves favorite mercenaries, the classes of Team Fortress 2!


These masks will be available for free of charge and is downloaded just like a patch. Then you can blow up people wearing only the demoman mask, or headshot people as Sniper with blue skin. Anything is possible, makes me wish I has the game on steam now...

Read more »

Review: Saints Row the Third

Volition wanted to make the Saints Row series stand out amongst other sandbox games by being the craziest, irreverent guilty-pleasure you ever played. But the problem is that the series was already unique before that and what made the first two games amazing was ignored and pushed aside in this title, Saints Row the Third.


The Good
- Improved gameplay and controls
-Great voice acting
-Hilarious quirks throughout the game
-Some new characters are interesting
-the respect system is very well done
The Bad
-Story is messy, rushed and lacks depth
-Customization and player choice is way limited compared to its predecessors
-Endings are confusing, irrelevant and leaves questions unanswered
-some activities get repetitive and boring (mainly some returning ones)
-buying landmarks are useless and a waste of money
-weapon upgrades are very uncreative and in most cases useless
The Ugly
Most cases I would find one thing that just doesn't work out at all in the game but the worst thing about this title can't be fit into one sentence. Johnny Gat, your character's second in command and most trusted friend has made his mark into the hearts of all fans of this series for his wit, total disregard for human life, blood lust and being a total, unrelenting and fearless bad-ass. Gat truly became the face of the Saints Row series, however lead writer Drew Holmes decided it was a good idea to kill off Johnny. But it's not just him dying that angered me, it was how insignificant his death felt like. We didn't get to see his final moments, his body afterwards, or even his funeral. And they way he died. Gat took a shotgun blast to the leg, was sentenced to death and had a sword shoved through his abdomen and managed to get back on his feet stronger than ever but was killed by a little gun fire. This was a huge misstep for Volition and better plan on fixing this or Saints Row will be dead to me.

R.I.P. Johnny Gat 2006-2011

Story
Saints Row 1 and 2 had a thoroughly enjoyable story. While nothing was too complex the gang-war scene was a nice change of pace and was entertaining. Mainly because the two games had fun and enjoyable characters who you really grew a bond to and learn about them. However this seemed primarily absent in Saints Row the Third. While we got new and colorful characters like Zimos, chain smoking pimp with a voice box that made him always talk in auto tune and Oleg Kirrlov, a gigantic Russian gentleman who is as smart as he is strong, many others were boring and had no motive. Phillipe Loren, for example, was advertised to be your main antagonist throughout the game and was said to be absolutely ruthless, but showed no sense of this so called toughness and you kill him at the end of the first act. And while in the past we saw more backstory of the your enemies to make them seem more interesting and threatening, this game provided no history of them and gave us no motive to hit them where it hurts other than them killing Johnny.

What also made this story a train wreck was how linear it was. In the first two we were given the choice which gang we wanted focus on and had their own story missions making it feel more like our choice and added depth to each gang. In this one the story is all one experience and it gets boring as you don't learn much about each gang, what their specialties are and where they came from. At the end of certain missions we are given a choice on the outcome, none of them affect the outcome of the story except for the final choice which alters then ending. The ending I chose was absolutely stupid as it was nothing more than a filming of a movie called "Gangsters in Space" and the only reason I chose this one is because I did not want to let Shaundi die so it seemed like the lesser of two evils. This ending felt lazily rushed, served no purpose to the story and left some unanswered questions.

Story Grade: F

Graphics

While the first two suffered from poor visuals and awful framerate Saints Row is finally up to par with its graphics department. While they're nothing special, its cartoony look fits into the world of Steelport and feels right. Speaking of Steelport, the city can be sprawling with life and activity but sometimes is just bland. Certain areas of the city can be beautiful at night as neon lights cover the area but some spots feel like they were just copy and pasted in another part of the city. Clothing and Hair has also received their long deserved motion physics, whats even better is that they actually react to exactly how you move instead of just swaying back and forth.

Some items also have these physics...unfortunately...

Whats also interesting is the realistic looks when car crashes. In previous titles driving into a wall would, for some reason, also cause dents into the back of the car. Now bangs and dents in cars look more real truly bend where you hit it, and when you run a tank over the hood of a car, that hood gets squashed like a pancake, a nice visual treat. Saints Row the Third wont win any awards for beauty but its a step up.

However, during cutscenes there were significant graphical problems from your character becoming blurry and pixelated to white outline appearing around the characters, sadly this problem seemed prominent through the entire game.

Graphics Grade: C+

Sound
Music can make a game when it comes to sandbox titles, half of the songs are amazing and the other half I've never heard of and made me go "WTF is this?". People will certainly enjoy hearing your character and Pierce sing along together to Sublime's "What I got" and will feel like a true bad-ass leader when you skydive from a helicopter into a penthouse pool and start shooting all the Syndicate member, interrupting their party when Kanye West's "Power is boosting through your speakers. Previous Saints Row games never put licensed music into their missions so this was a nice and welcome addition.

Voice Acting was very well done in this game. Hulk Hogan and porn star Sasha Grey deliver great performances but no one can beat Burt Reynolds himself making a cameo in this game.

That's Mayor Burt Reynolds to you.

But they aren't the only one who can deliver. My characters British accent was very well done and uses real cockney terms to make it feel authentic.

Sound Effects are also well done. Each weapon has their own unique sound effect and sounds great when you're shooting it, detonating it or even bludgeoning someone to death with it. And every cars motor makes its own sound whether you're hearing the purr of an exotic sports car or the roaring engine of an American muscle car, each one is unique.

Sound Grade: B+

Gameplay

While Volition has improved a lot of gameplay elements, some of the best qualities of previous Saints Row titles suffered for it. The control scheme has drastically changed in this title, however it still feels natural and less arcadey. Whether you're on foot or in a vehicle the controls are nice. While fans of the old game might need a little getting used to, they're still easy to pick up.

Mission are more scripted this time around giving them a little more freedom to throw the crazy at us. While this means we don't have much room for experimentation, they're still pretty action packed. However a good chunk of missions in the main story are just tutorials of the activities.

Just another day in Steelport

While customization is still a large part of this game, it's only a fraction of how in-depth the customization was in Saints Row 2. One of the biggest changes was clothing. In SR2 we can choose multiple layers of clothing from undershirts, overshirts to coats and allowed us to pick each layer. We were also able to choose multiple piercings on each ear, eyebrow and the mouth too. With Character customization the only way to make your person look drastically from the default look is to make them as hideous as possible.

Respect used to be a currency system that allowed you to play missions and the only way to earn respect was to play activities or perform certain things around Stillwater. Now respect is a leveling up system. Respect is experience that you earn by playing missions, activities performing stunts and wreaking havok in the city. This is one of the better additions and is very well thought out. Everytime you level up you unlock certain perks and upgrades from increased ammo capacity, more health, and can even give your crew rocket launchers. However you need money to purchase these upgrade so every penny counts.

Activities return again but are different this time around. Completing each activity gives you control of an area of the city and the harder the difficulty, the more turf you get. Some activities are really fun like Insurance Fraud and Professor Genki's super ethical reality climax but some can get frustrating and repetitive like Drug Trafficking and Escort. And most of the bad ones are returning from SR2 while better ones like fight club and septic avenger were cut.

Shooting furries and mascots shouldn't be this much fun

Gameplay Grade: B

Replay

Saints Row the Third has some things to offer that will keep you playing. If you have yet to control the city there's still activities, gang operations, contracts to do. Or you can jump into co-op with a friend and help him out and there's still just going around killing everyone in your path with your over-the-top weapons, and it's even funner with a buddy. Or you guys can try the new Whored mode, an obvious parody of Gears of War 2's Horde mode where you kill waves of whores, pimps, gimps and mascots with each wave giving you a certain objective or weapons at your disposal. I have yet to try it but it seems crazy enough to give it a whirl.

The main problem is that you are no longer able to replay missions and cutscenes after you have already beaten them, why Volition did that I do not know.

Replay Grade: B-

Despite this games nice visuals and overall madness, It feels like it was only trying to masks the disappointment that was waiting for me in the back. It certainly plays better than the first two but the experience doesn't feel like I'm playing the Saints Row I love. Without Johnny, multiple clothing layers or even the option to change my sideburns to mutton-chops that doesn't counts as facial hair. People new to the series will certainly enjoy the quirks this game has to offer but older fans will be saddened by its disjointed story and unable to do the things we used to do like playing cutscenes and change what we wear under our jacket which will lead them to possibly putting back in their old copy of Saints Row 2 and pretend that Gat's still alive. The Saints feel like they've lost their way with this title but with the fourth game already on the drawing board we can still hope that Volition can fix these problems.

Overall Grade: C+

Read more »

Saints Row will need a pass to play co-op

Volition wanted to focus on single player and co-op for Saints Row the Third by completely scrapping the competitive multiplayer. However they also want to urge people to buy new copies by pulling off a corporate scheme that too-many companies these days are pulling off.

Pay up or play alone...

If you want to play online co-op then you'll need to put in a single-use code that can be found in every new copy of Saints Row the Third. If you want to join a buddy then you can either buy full price or wait till it drops. It's a cheap marketing scheme that companies take full advantage of and I'm appalled that Volition would pull off something like that. Especially when co-op will have a huge role in this games success.

Read more »

When Team Fortress 2 Collides With Saints Row, You Get Items And A Hat

One of the latest Team Fortress 2 updates added promotional items which left people wondering what the items were, well it's been announced on the Team Fortress blog that Saint's Row: The Third will be in Team Fortress 2 via items and hats!

Pre-Ordering Saints Row: The Third on Steam before November 15 will grant you the access to the Cold War Luchador, Mark of the Saint and Apoco--Fists that will be Genuine.

Cold War Luchador

Mark of the Saints

Apoco-Fists

Read more »

Saints Row Gets Season Pass

First Gears of War, then Call of Duty now Saints Row will be getting their own season pass.

For an easy 20 dollars (1600 MS points) you can get the season pass which will give you access to these three DLC packs for absolutely free:

Genkibowl VII (January 2012)
"The wide world of Genki takes over Steelport for a sporting tradition unlike anyother."

The trouble with clones (spring 2012)
"Copy-cat killing at its finest"

Gangstas in Space (winter 2012)
"The Saints go intergalactic in this sci-fi misadventure"

Purchasing the season pass will also give you exclusive access to the Nyteblade pack (pictured above) which gives you:

-Vampire Hunting Car
-Bloody Canoness Bike
-Altar boy outfit
-Bloody Canoness Outfit

Not sure if I want to get this yet but it seems like a good deal considering you can get it for free. The season pass will be available on launch on all platforms the game will be available on.

Read more »

Saints Row 4 already in the works

Saints Row the Third has still yet to be released (only one week to go!) but Volition has already announced that the next installment in the series is already on the drawing board. Senior Vice President Danny Bilson was interviewed on G4 concerning the fourth game.

How can it get crazier than this?

"I already know what Saint's Row 4 is about, and it is wilder than this one. It's a good example of how you take what you have and you say, 'What can happen in the next?'"

Bilson's interview and more on Saints Row 4 can be seen here.

Read more »

Pimps, Gimps and Burt Reynolds all in the brand new Saints Row trailer

Two weeks left until we can finally rejoin the Saints but Volition is still letting us see just how wild things will get with this brand new trailer. Featuring reaper drones, farts in a jar, a pile of sleeping whores and the mayor of Steelport, the great Burt Reynolds himself, take a look.

Read more »

Saints Row Initiation Station is now live! [UPDATE]

For those who pre-ordered Red Faction: Armmagedon can now access the official Saints Row Initiation Station at this very moment. To get it, submit your pre-order code at SaintsRow.com and an e-mail will be sent to you account that lets you download it on your system of choice.


For those who didn't pre-order will have to wait till next week to download it on either Steam, Xbox Live or the Playstation Network. Your custom character can be shared on the Saints Row website and can even be transferred onto the full game on November 15th. Can't Wait to make my old character from SR2! In the mean time, enjoy this new trailer, showcasing the character creator.

\

[UPDATE]

The Initiation Station is now officially open to the entire public so for those with PSN, Xbox Live gold and/or Steam can now download and play the Initiation Station!

Read more »

Latest Saints Row trailer spoofs Modern Warfare 3 [UPDATE]

The people at Volition plan to make a fool out of everybody (even themselves) with the coming of Saints Row the Third, and this new trailer pokes fun at the war between Activision's Modern Warfare 3 and EA's Battlefield 3.

However, this trailer isn't about either of those games, no, its about the Saints newest enemy, the S.T.A.G. Last time I showed you what kind of weapons these bad boys will be using, now we see the face of the enemy and what kind of threat they pose on the Third Street Saints.



UPDATE
Okay, so the first video I posted was pulled due to it being leaked but Volition has finally posted their own. sorry for those who couldn't see it earlier.

Read more »

Insurance Fraud, Mascot Massacre and Streakers all in the City of Steelport

Unless you live under a rock, then you already know by now that Saints Row the Third is going to be the most lewd, crude and outright craziest game of the decade. It's also my most anticipated game of the year. If you don't believe me, then check out these recent videos showing how nuts its going to be.

Shooting an energy drink mascot is only fun when you can juggle him in the air


Developers Blog - Creating the deckers gang


Insurance Fraud - a returning activity that lets you do physical harm to yourself and earn cash doing it!


Streaking - Run around the city butt-naked for respect.


Only one month to go and all this craziness will be ours...

Read more »

Win BIG by pre-ordering Saints Row the Third

THQ and Gamestop are giving you the chance to win a mega ton of prizes just for pre-ordering Saints Row the Third. If you pre-order the game from now till November 14th at participating Gamestops, your name will be entered for a chance to win:

- Mistubishi 92 in. 3D Home cinema TV
- Premium surround sound system
- Home theater Chair
- Two next gen consoles (most likely a 360 and PS3)
- Saints Row the Third collectors edition for BOTH systems (see?)
- Four Collectible limited edition Saints Row posters


Full details on the giveaway can be seen here.

I have nowhere in my room to put that TV but a surround sound system and chair would be so nice. If you want to win big enter now!

Read more »

Saints Row Community Q&A 2, Streaking and PC release date

The team at Volition has released a new Q&A video to answer all your questions relating to Saints Row the Third. And although they're trying to answer questions that wont spoil too much the ones in this video are just plain silly, as in the answer was obvious or had no point. But you can see some nifty footage so it's worth something.



for some real news, IGN released a new video of the returning streaking diversion. Fans of Saints Row 2 will remember you could remove all your clothes from your wardrobe and activate streaking to earn respect. It'll be returning just as it was before except there will be some real genitalia present. (don't worry, it's censored)



The whole video can be seen on IGN's website

And lastly, while many companies have delayed the release date of the PC version for multi-platform games, however Volition wanted to reassure their fans that Saints Row the Third on PC will still be released on November 15th with the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. Good to see that some companies stay true to their fans.

Read more »

Professor Genki's Super Ethical Reality Climax

This guy has become the unofficial mascot for Saints Row the Third. And while Volition has shoved this guy down our throats many time, we've barely seen any footage of his new activity, until now. This new trailer features the Super Ethical Reality Climax in a tv commercial thats wickedly funny. (and blurts out a nasty swear)



Want more Genki goodies? Pre-Order Saints Row the Third and receive the Professor Genki Hyper-Ordinary Pre-order pack which includes:
-Skin Tight Speed suit (cat mask included)
-Super ballistic manapult: a truck that sucks up pedestrians (including you) and can shoot them as a weapon
-Octopus gun: a launcher that shoots octopi at your enemies or civilians and turns them into your allies, then you can blow them up when they're no longer useful


Get your Genki on November 15th.

Read more »

Play as a gaming icon in Saints Row the Third

Customization is going to be near limitless in the upcoming Saints Row game. Wanna be a naked Silver surfer with a gigantic schlong? You can do that! Or maybe Mystique with gigantic bosoms wearing a Lolita outfit? You can do that too! Or maybe you want to play as a celebrity? In SRTT, it's possible. Charlie Sheen, Marylin Monroe, hell even Mike Tyson with his weird face tattoo.

During their first showing of the game at E3 a certain big shot from Japan was intrigued by its overall craziness and in-your-face attitude. He liked it so much, he even went to Volition and asked to be in the game. Unfortunately it wasn't Shigeru Miyamoto but it's the next best thing. Tomonobu Itagaki, creator of Ninja Gaiden and the Dead or Alive series can be a customizable character in Saints Row the Third. Here's a trailer showcasing Itagaki in action as well as the new and improved Image as Designed.

Read more »

Saints Row Community Q&A!

Do you have questions that need to be answered concerning Saints Row the Third (that does not involve the story)? Well then good news! The people at Volition are going to answer almost all those inquiries. How do you ask them? It's easy! Just join the Saints Row community by registering an account (its easy and free) and post up to three questions here.

The team has already released their first answering and a new video will be released every other week. You can see the first one below.

Read more »

Deckers.die Mission preview

Last week I showed you guys the new Deckers gang from Saints Row the Third. The best part of the trailer was seeing the new mission that takes us into a tron-like virtual reality.

Tron Guy would be impressed.

Now Volition is letting us see a preview of the mission first hand. Enjoy!


My favorite line so far. "You know what I see? I'm a fucking toilet."

Read more »

Saints Row the Third Deckers Trailer & Nearly a year of DLC

All Saints Row games had the gangs come in groups of 3. That remains true in the third installment. First we met the Morning Star, Phillipe Lorens personal gang and head of the Syndicate. Then the Luchadores, a group of heavy hitting bangers dressed as masked wrestlers Led by the Large and in charge Killbane. Now we meet the Deckers, a gang of hackers, computer nerds and techno-samurais, led by cyber-sensation Matt Miller.


Like any internet troll, Miller is obnoxious, loud and feels powerful behind the keyboard. But put him in the real world, he's socially awkward and a coward, so he sends his gang to do the fighting for him.

With the Morning Star leading and the Luchadores being the muscle, the Deckers are the brains behind the Syndicate. Using their hacking skills they were able to access the Saint's banking accounts and totally deplete their funds.



The new gangs of Steelport are certainly more colorful than in previous gangs. These guys sports leather jackets with glowing outlines al a Tron, and will feature a mission that you wouldn't have expected. Your character's subconscious is electronically teleported to the Deckers main frame where he takes out bad guys looking like an 80's style video game and having to fight a Final Fantasy-like boss at the end.

The trailer also reveals that the game will be rated M (big surprise) for:
-Blood and Gore
-Drug reference
-Intense Violence
-Partial Nudity
-Sexual Content
-Strong Language

I'm pretty sure if one more thing was added to that list it would be rated AO (Adults Only)

In other Saints Row news, THQ has announced that Volition shall be releasing 40 weeks worth of DLC, keeping us play well after the initial launch. THQ's rian Ferrel revealed the information at the Cloud Gaming USA Conference.

I swear to drunk officer I'm not God...

"We're totally changing how we keep consumers engaged for a very long time," he said. "We intend to create an online digital ecosystem that keeps them interested for a year or more."

What form, amount of content and price of the DLC wasn't explained but expect them to come in many shapes, forms and sizes.

Read more »