I need a hero
It has been almost a decade since Saints Row: The Third was first released. It is still one of the best games of its genre and easily my favorite game in the Saints Row franchise. Sure, some of the humor hasn’t aged well and it has cracks in some of its seams, but it is hands-down one of the most enjoyable rides of the last generation. This latest release of the game may not reinvent the wheel, but it does deliver the best way to play this classic title, and for anyone who never had a chance to pick it up for some weird reason, there has never been a better time to experience this classic.
The evolution of the Saints Row series has been interesting. It started as an answer to the GTA series at its peak in popularity. The second game took on more of a comical role and the third game hit the perfect balance and still has some of the most memorable moments of all-time. Playing as a toilet bowl, flying head first into a commercial jet, and the soundtrack, man the soundtrack is so good. It is one of those games that every time I dig back into it I wind up playing for hours. It is just that much fun.
MSRP: $39.99
Platforms: XB1 (reviewed), PS4, PC, Switch
Price I’d Pay: $29.99
It is weird talking about Saints Row: The Third again so soon. The game just received a port to the Nintendo Switch and now it is being remastered for the new consoles. The game is also backward compatible on Xbox One, so those players have had access to the original on their console for a while. Of course, a remaster is going to be better than those old ports, and developer Sperasoft Studio has done some work here.
The first thing I noticed was the difference to the character models. Sure they retain that cartoon-style overall appearance, but they have actually been redone to look so much better. More definition in their faces and expressions. The world of Steelport also feels different, with new lighting and texture work across the board. The game has a completely new polish to it that doesn’t change its aesthetic, but improves upon the original. It feels like the game I remember. It is one of those scenarios that you don’t immediately recognize what has changed until you see it side-by-side with the original.
On base consoles the game runs at a locked 30fps at 1080p and pretty much holds that. This is huge because the original game was a mess technically. Especially on Xbox 360, where screen tearing was absolutely atrocious. For those with the upgraded consoles the game outputs at 1440p and looks great. By default though the game is locked at 30fps, but if you hop into the menus you can unlock that framerate giving it uncapped potential up to 60fps.
The Xbox One X version holds this extremely well. It dips here and there, but this option means when the Series X is released, this version should be the de facto one, as it will run at a locked 60fps. The PS4 Pro version holds at around 45fps most of the time so if that isn’t your cup of tea, you might want to leave that one capped at 30.
Saints Row: The Third Remastered is an impressive return to this title. The developer went out of their way to bring this title back with plenty of upgrades and overhauls to make it feel like we remember. I do wish the game remained locked at 60fps on the newer consoles, even if it sacrificed some of the resolution though. As it stands this is the best version of the game to date and a perfect excuse for me to overrun Steelport once again.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
