A "Fun" Game: Saints Row: The Third (no really!)

This game has its own energy drink. INSANITY!!!

Games, whether mechanically, or artistically, has grown substantially as a medium since its inception. There's perhaps too many degrees of input methods (and yes I'm counting motion controls) that can cause frustration rather than enjoyment when playing, and of course the huge leaps in graphical fidelity has skyrocketed development costs, and less resources being invested into the length of the games themselves typically. But most of all...games have become just too "serious" for my liking.

So, it was a great surprise to check out, the latest Saints Row game over the holiday break, and honestly... I was expecting a lot of crass poor taste pop culture jokes, and lame gameplay mechanics to go along with it. But defying all expectations, what I got to play instead were the blend of solid gameplay mechanics that managed to always elevate a level of insanity, that really catered to the crazy scenarios and the freedom that open world games are supposed to encourage rather than inhibit (GTA IV being an obvious example). My favourite level from the game, pretty much emulated the feeling of Tron, right down to the visual aesthetic, and of course, paid great homage to old pc games of the past and the frustrations of pc game lag... by simulating it!

And that's what I really look for in games, being able to craft scenarios that somehow sound crazy on paper... but is playable and creates that sensation of "fun"!