I’m finding myself at almost a loss writing about the graphics because despite not being top shelf, they’re not bottom shelf either–and more importantly what should look good, does, and in the places where the graphics let slide a bit, it doesn’t really matter anyway. While the graphics are a step up from it’s predecessors, Saints Row: The Third is no Battlefield 3–and it doesn’t need to be. "Volition embraces the absurdist and openly playful nature of Saints Row and it succeeds" Presentation and Graphics It creating not only a great experience, but one that is strikingly distinct in it’s approach to both humor and open-world gameplay.
This iteration in the series seems to say “Hey, we are ribald and goofy as hell, and maybe we should just embrace it!” Volition embraces the absurdist and openly playful nature of Saints Row and it succeeds. I liked the raunchy sense of humor, but felt it tried too hard to be taken seriously–which is hard when your selling points are dildo-based, or feces-spraying weapons– in that weird middle ground I enjoyed what was there but the experience felt stale all too quickly. When I first played Saints Row 2 I was intrigued by its signature mechanics, such as cruise control that made drive-bys and other vehicle-based antics a breeze and the crazy physics that would launch the residents of the city off the hood of my car and flailing absurdly into the air.