DMM GAMES will release the open world climb action "Saints Row The Third: Remastered" on October 29th. The compatible platform is PlayStation 4, and the price is 4800 yen (excluding tax). This work is a remastered version of "Saints Row: The Third" released for PC / PS3 / Xbox 360 in 2011. This time, we received the remastered version of the game code ahead of DMM GAMES. Therefore, in this article, while introducing the contents of the game, I will describe the impressions I had through the actual play.
Before going into the review, I would like to touch on the original version of "Saints Row The Third". The game was released in 2011 as the third installment in the open-world action game "Saints Row" series. The charm of the past series is inherited, such as a story centered on the conflict between gangsters, an outlaw world view, and a variety of activities. On the other hand, stupidity is scaled up in every aspect. Although the crime element is set as the main, the gameplay is developed with a cheerful full throttle over the whole story. It was also the first series work to establish the line as a so-called stupid game, and its stance was taken over by the sequel "Saints Row IV".
The work that reconstructed such an original version for the current generation machine is "Saints Row The Third: Remastered" to be reviewed this time. The graphic expression has been renewed in this work while keeping the messy gameplay and world view as mentioned above. Specifically, weapon models, vehicle designs, city textures, etc. have been recreated from scratch.
Regarding these visual enhancements, the first thing I felt when I actually played was that the texture of the characters, including the main character, was more realistic. In the original version, it is a character model that has been made comical in appearance along with strengthening the stupid line, but in this work the face modeling is greatly natural. In addition, the texture of the clothes is expressed in more detail, and the appearance has evolved so that the characteristics of the material of the fabric can be understood.
And above all, the expression on the map has evolved so that you can clearly see the difference from the original version at a glance. First of all, the depiction of the distant view is clear, and the impression that the density of the city is increasing is strong. In addition to that, if you look closely, the rust and dirt of the road and the iron bridge are expressed in detail, and the air that is considerably more realistic than the original version is brought to Steelport, which is the stage of this work. Furthermore, it seems that the expression of light has been strengthened, and the sunlight illuminates the car body and asphalt brightly during the day, and the street lights and neon lights shine brightly at night. As a whole, the difference between light and dark is clearer than the original version, and not only the people but also the cityscape has been upgraded to a more realistic direction.
In addition, the blast expression and the number of people and objects on the map have also improved, making the game richer overall than the original version. The activity "Mayhem" was the one that felt the benefits most. The activity will destroy a large number of objects, but I got the impression that the power and density of vehicles and NPCs at that time have greatly evolved. Originally chaotic, it can be said that remastering has made it possible to enjoy even more chaotic gameplay.
From here, we will introduce the game content of "Saints Row The Third: Remastered". Since this work is a remastered work, the basic content is the same as the original version. Therefore, it may be all the information already known to those who played at that time. In that case, I would appreciate it if you could use this article as a review of the game content.
The story of this work begins a few years after "Saints Row 2", the predecessor of the original version. The street gang "Third Street Saints" led by the main character has now climbed to become a major organization that has made a name for itself in the world. The public praised Saints as a symbol of pop culture, as several gang groups gazed at Stillwater. The momentum is unstoppable, involving the media, such as developing an original brand and producing a movie about Saints. Meanwhile, there are countless criminal organizations aiming for the illustrious position of Saints. It was only a matter of time before a group of fighters appeared in Saints.
The telop of such story contents flows first when the main part of the game starts, but at this point the evil glue peculiar to this work is fully opened. With the famous classical song "Zaratustra wa Kaku Naruki" as the background, a telop is played with a production that clearly resembles the opening roll of a certain space movie. Yes, the ridiculousness that is the identity of this work probably includes parody homages from various entertainment works, with a "Saints Row" style arrangement of "I saw it somewhere." "A certain production" is scattered everywhere. Rather than grinning without thinking that he knew the origin of the parody, there were many ways to show it as if he was fluffy, and the author was relaxed in the parody production until it was refreshing several times. These elements are packed into the movie, especially in the main mission, and will give the player a good sense of weakness as a role to emphasize the humorous world view of this work.
After the opening roll mentioned above, the next step is a bank robbery mission that doubles as a tutorial. The player aims to unlock the safe with his partner Johnny, female executive Seandy, choreographer (?) Pierce, and conceited drama actor Josh. In this scene, a shooting battle with the enemy is also unfolded, and the player learns the basic operations related to movement and shooting through the actual battle. During that time, unique conversations and crazy productions will be developed one after another, so you will be drawn into the world of gangsters from the tutorial stage. Especially after the main characters switched to "Plan B", I didn't have time to breathe.
After the rather intense tutorial, it's time to move on to the character create screen. The high customizability of the main character, which is also a feature common to the series, is alive and well in this work. There is a wide range of adjustments for each part of the face, not to mention body shape and age, and there are 20 sliders for the nose, including the height and size of the nasal cavity. In addition, there are plenty of basic items such as nail color, face makeup, and iris color, and you can also adjust the sex appeal that can make "that and this" bigger or smaller. The combinations are endless, and depending on your skill, you can create famous Hollywood stars, game characters, or even a hero who looks just like you or someone around you. For some people, character makeup alone may take hours.
After the character make-up is over, I can finally go out to the city ... Not that. There are various things from bank robbery, and the main character and the Saints gang will now carry out the mission in the jet plane. After that, it finally descends to the city through a series of flows, but the development up to that point is also fully open to the Saints section. To be honest, I am stunned by the appearance of the hero who challenges the dangerous situation of the movie "Mission: Impossible" (or maybe more). It's messy but stylish. There is no doubt that you will be thrilled by the super-development of a flashy Hollywood action movie.
After completing two missions including the tutorial, we finally arrive at Steelport, the stage of this work. The city is broadly divided into four districts, with different criminal groups in each area aiming to expand their power. Downtown in the center is full of business and is lined with many skyscrapers. On the other hand, in the eastern district, the red-light district is shining with glaring desires, and there are many buildings for adults such as strip theaters and SM clubs. In addition, the scenery of the city is diverse, such as the airport area and the isolated island where the Statue of Liberty was built. However, the city where gangsters live. Basically, there are lots of graffiti and prostitutes walking around, and most of the places seem to be insecure.
For the gameplay of this game, the main mission can be started by calling a friend. Through the main mission, conflicts with enemy gangsters, encounters with friends, and light conversations with allies are unfolded, and requests and operations are carried out with a very light glue that can not be thought of as a gangster. Of particular note is the richness of its variations. If you think that you skipped it in the tutorial mentioned at the beginning and the battle in the aircraft, the missions after that are full of chaos. The situation changes rapidly, with a battle with a big man who blows away a car, a car chase with a rickshaw, and a dive into cyberspace. In many missions, there was a ton demo deployment waiting for me, and I was driven by the desire to see the next scenario as soon as possible during play.
On the other hand, the volume of the main scenario is a little unsatisfactory compared to the recent blockbuster open world games. Perhaps if you follow only the main mission, you can reach the ending in 3 days. However, depending on the difficulty level, the length to clear may go up or down a little more. This work has three difficulty levels of EASY / NORMAL / HARD, and the physical strength and attack power of the enemy increase as the difficulty level increases. I played NORMAL from beginning to end, but there was no particular point to get stuck. However, in some missions, there are scenes where I felt that it was necessary to acquire many of the skills described below. The difficulty level can be changed at any time during the game, so it's a good idea to choose the difficulty level that suits you for each mission.
In addition to the main mission, various activities are also prepared for this work. Various activities are scattered all over Steelport, and the contents are quite unique. "Insurance fraud" where you intentionally hit a moving vehicle and earn a target amount. "Tiger Escort" that drives at high speed so as not to offend the tiger on the back seat. "Mayhem", which is familiar to the series, destroys the city using firearms and knocks out the total damage. Players can challenge a number of side games that have been blown away from the concept, such as "Dr. Genius Genius's Transcendental Ecstatic Institutional Review Board" participating in a Japanese comedy program-like crazy TV show, at any time. (Some activities do not appear unless you advance the main mission).
Most activities have multiple difficulty levels, and the higher the level, the more luxurious the reward for clearing. In addition to money, rewards also include experience points called respect. By accumulating respect, the hero will level up. As the level goes up, the types of skills that can be selected when upgrading the main character increase. There are many types of skills, from simple ones such as increasing physical strength and ammunition to those that allow you to attach nitro to the vehicle, and skills that strengthen the gang of friends instead of yourself. It is no exaggeration to say that the release of this skill is the essence of this work, and the motivation for the progress of the game is held by the upgrade element of the main character.
The reason is that the main character can be upgraded in a short span. The respect required to release skills is called deversion, as well as challenging actions (vehicle near misses, headshots, drifts, etc.), including purchasing cosmetic items and customizing cars, in addition to clearing the activities and main missions mentioned above. It is also possible to earn money by completing mini-games (robbery, surfing on the roof of the vehicle, striking, etc.), and there are plenty of ways to gain experience points. In other words, the game design makes it easy to accumulate respect while playing, even if you are not particularly conscious of it.
Therefore, the speed to level up is fast, and new skills are released one after another, especially from the beginning to the middle stage. Acquiring the released abilities will change the gameplay itself, such as making it easier to take unreasonable actions and expanding the range of customization. And respect begins to accumulate again, and if you notice it, you will reach the next level. This cycle feels so good that I don't know how to stop. The author felt that the rapid growth of the main character played a role in realizing high-tempo gameplay, and also stimulated the way to the destination, which tends to be monotonous.
In this work, it is important to make money as well as the respect mentioned above. Money is also needed to buy weapons and clothes, modify cars, change appearances, and upgrade the protagonist. Basically, you can earn income by completing missions and activities, and you can also increase regular income by purchasing properties. Some of the properties that can be purchased include stores used by players such as weapon shops and apparel shops, and if you buy them, you will benefit from discounts on items handled and cancellation of bad publicity from gangsters and police. It is also possible. It doesn't matter how much money you have. On the other hand, the speed of earning is slower than respect. We would like to actively invest in buildings in order to raise funds well.
Now that we've talked about the role of respect and money, let's talk about customization elements. In this work, you can freely change the vehicle and clothes, including the character make-up mentioned at the beginning. These customizability are quite wide, and if it is a vehicle, it is possible to upgrade the performance, modify the body, replace the wheel. And as for the clothes of the main character, you can change not only the jacket and bottom, but also shoes, earrings, and underwear. There are quite a lot of base items, but the colors can be finely adjusted, and there are two or three color changes for each item. Moreover, since the number of items for each item is quite abundant, it is no exaggeration to say that the range of customization is infinite.
This high degree of customization is also an aspect that has been cultivated throughout the series, and you can fully enjoy its features in this work as well. However, during the game, it may be developed from the third person perspective, and to be honest, it is difficult to understand the appearance of small parts such as pierced earrings. On the other hand, in cutscenes where the main character is often up, such detailed customization points are also shining. You can change the character makeup mentioned at the beginning at any time by stopping by the orthopedic surgeon during the game. Overall, the customization elements of this game are extremely flexible and have succeeded in deepening the attachment of the player to the main character. In other words, I got the impression that it also helps to satisfy a kind of self-actualization desire to build a style of your own. The emphasis is on the high degree of customization.
High-tempo gameplay and deep customizability are both essential essences when talking about this work, but the basis of the work is still refreshingly stupid. The wind that blows, such as seriousness, the contents of the main missions and activities mentioned so far, and the messy condition are strongly reflected in the weapons and vehicles. For example, "suspicious bat". According to the in-game introduction, it looks like a lethal bat with a peculiar suspicion, but judging from its appearance and swelling movement, it might have been a problem if the shape was not regulated. not.
The image above shows a vehicle named "Gatmobile". It features a design featuring the face of Saints executive Johnny Gat. First of all, it has a big impact on the appearance, but the functional aspect is also cool. Because the part of the cigarette that Johnny adds is a flamethrower. You can turn the city into a sea of fire anytime, anywhere while driving. Or it may be good to use it in a conflict with an enemy gang. By the way, there is also a mini specification that utters abusive words when the horn is sounded. At this point, it's easy to wonder if it's a weapon rather than a vehicle, but aside from that, it's the perfect mobile to rampage in Steelport.
As mentioned above, many unique weapons and vehicles will appear in this work. The ones I introduced earlier are just a few, and there are plenty of performances and appearances that I still can't understand. For most of them, it's obviously overkill for gangsters to use, but at Steelport, that's just right. The existence of such so-called material weapons and vehicles has refined the stupidity of this work, and it also functions as a motivation for rampaging in the city. It may be said that it is a game experience peculiar to this work that it is driven by the urge to "use this to confuse the city" every time it is discovered.
Of course, there are many standard vehicles and weapons available, and there are many types. Speaking of vehicles, sports cars, boats, jet planes, cyber beagles, etc. Weapons include hand guns, rifles, rocket launchers, and air strike requesters. These weapons can be upgraded in the shop and can be enhanced by spending money. For vehicles, you can turn on the radio on all of them, and listen to real songs of various genres, from rock and techno, 80's to classical, while driving (custom radio stations and playlists). Can be created). In particular, some of the 80's songs are familiar in Japan, and when Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero" is played, I just drive with a slapstick.
In addition, the hero's actions throughout the gameplay have a terrifying essence, for example, even a single hijacking of a vehicle has the motion of breaking through the windowpane and hijacking it. In addition, horse riding attacks across NPCs, professional wrestling techniques, and even actions to poke key points are prepared, and so on. These movements not only entertain with the production, but also lead to the exhilaration of the gameplay, and together with the light operation feeling of the main character and the absurdity of the world view, it gives a stressful and humorous experience.
As mentioned above, this work is packed with a lot of unique elements, and it is extremely stupid in every aspect such as scenarios, NPCs, weapons, vehicles, and staging. On the other hand, the game system itself is pretty simple, good or bad. Players will increase the occupancy rate in each area of Steelport by purchasing buildings and clearing various missions, but in the process, I sometimes felt a little monotonous. After all, in the activities required to increase the occupancy rate, the change in the content is conspicuous compared to the main mission. There are about 10 types of activities available, but all of them repeat similar actions, and it is a fact that I felt some rut as I progressed through the game.
Also, although this work is an open world work, it is undeniable that there is a lack of content in terms of map search. Steelport is lined with many skyscrapers, condominiums and suspicious shops, but the number of facilities you can enter is quite limited. Basically, most of the stores mentioned so far are important in games such as weapons and apparel shops and orthopedics. In other words, since there are few buildings with entertainment and tourism elements, it was difficult for me to motivate myself to explore the map. However, there are collection elements for hidden items and discovery of stunt points, so it is not without search elements at all. However, many of the buildings have attractive appearances, so I felt a little uncomfortable during free roaming.
The above is the impression of playing "Saints Row The Third: Remastered". As anyone who has read this far knows, this game doesn't have a heavy story or an innovative game system. Rather, the gameplay is consistently simple, and given that the original version is about nine years old, it may be unsatisfactory in quality and quantity when compared to today's open world games. However, this work has abundant violence and sexuality that can only be experienced in the world of this work, and they are further edgy by careful remastering.
In addition, the stress-free and exhilarating game design hasn't changed in a good way from the original version. While giving the player a sense of humor, this work, which seeks absurd violence, may be said to be the most attractive as a "game that can be enjoyed without thinking." For those who have played the original version, it is safe but new, and for those who have not played it, a unique experience that is different from other open world games will be waiting for you.
In addition, "Saints Row The Third: Remastered" contains all 30 or more DLCs distributed for the original version. In addition, there is also a multiplayer mode that was in the original version and a "thousands cut mode" that can survive the waves of the enemy, which can be said to be the definitive edition. Such a work is scheduled to be released on October 29 for PS4. From the official website of this work, you can reserve the package version for each store. If you are considering purchasing, check this page.
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