ShareThis"Saints Row: The Third"
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Genre: Action
Publisher: THQ
ESRB Rating: M, for Mature
Grade: 4 stars (out of 5)
Many games strive for an open world in which the gameplay is what you choose to make it. "The Third" accomplishes this like no other game has, and does so by imbuing the action with heaping gobs of absurdity.
Perhaps you enjoy your absurdity in the form of a main campaign. Here, you take the characters from running their home turf of Stilwater and move them to being bottom-feeders in the metropolis of Steelport. This shift means starting from scratch, Tony Montana-style, and becoming kingpins of the city through hilarious and audacious gangster plots.
When you feel like taking a break from the campaign, hundreds of little side missions await. The genius of "The Third" is that unlike other open-world games, everything is available to you right away, no unlocking necessary. Chasing helicopters, using a missile launcher as a sniper rifle or assassinating key targets, a host of missions is always nearby. This edition of "Saints Row" also constantly doles out rewards and upgrades, motivating you to press forward.
"The Third" is not perfect, but its plentiful madcap action covers any blemishes.
"Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3"
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Genre: Fighting
Publisher: Capcom
ESRB Rating: T, for Teen
Grade: 4 stars
If you're thinking, "Wait, didn't 'Marvel vs. Capcom 3' just come out?," you're not losing your marbles. Just eight months have passed since "Fate of Two Worlds" was released, and for those who plopped down the cash for that game, I'm sorry to report you got a raw deal. "Ultimate" is a superior game.
"Ultimate" features a fresher roster of characters, better combat and a few tweaks everyone clamored for (but didn't get) in "Fate." The 12 new characters do double duty, serving to both expand the range of fight styles and level the playing field. Hard-core gamers learned in "Fate" to rely on a few melee-centric characters, leading to total domination and lots of jeering toward Capcom for favoring one style over all others.
Now, a screen already bursting with graphics, explosions and eye-piercing stimuli gets thrown into further chaos. Ranged attacks are just as valuable, and the timing to tag in team members is more precarious since fights can swing wildly with just a few button taps. The online system is vastly improved, too.
It's a shame to spend almost $100 to finally get the game that should have been offered in the first place, but alas, fans will kick themselves if they don't own this one.
(Follow Chris Campbell at twitter.com/campbler or email him at game_on_games(at)mac.com.)
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