THE BEST GAME IN THE WORLD EVAH!!! Saints Row 3

[Art Blade]

totally agree on the fun factor and indeed, it is different.. not what I had expected, either. Much, much better :)

[Art Blade]

Still an amazing game and LOADS of fun to play both single player and coop. What I really like is that you can seamlessly switch between SP and coop: Your current game progress, a SP savegame, can be joined by a friend and he can continue together with you whatever you were about to do. Works both ways and the individual XP levels and achievements stay individual so both may progress their own game even if it was in someone else's game. If you already bought a building and your friend hasn't yet, he may do it in your game, save and exit, and continue with his savegame where only his own progress plus what he did in your game will be available. Extremely cool  :-X

Binnatics and I keep having fun and joining each other's game :-D

Some screenshots..
[smg id=6449 type=preview align=center caption="gun shop"]
[smg id=6450 type=preview align=center caption="nice gun"]
[smg id=6451 type=preview align=center caption="surgery"]
[smg id=6452 type=preview align=center caption="my gang"]
[smg id=6453 type=preview align=center caption="and my rucksack"]
[smg id=6454 type=preview align=center caption="customised gang car"]
[smg id=6455 type=preview align=center caption="base jump"]
[smg id=6456 type=preview align=center caption="cutscene with character"]
[smg id=6458 type=preview align=center caption="coop war zone"]
[smg id=6457 type=preview align=center caption="coop war zone 2"]
[smg id=6459 type=preview align=center caption="coop war zone 3"]
[smg id=6460 type=preview align=center caption="they can fly"]
[smg id=6461 type=preview align=center caption="flat out"]

[PZ]

Graphics look good!

[Art Blade]

yep :) And the game is open world with customisation options on end.  :-X

Here a ninja-packed heavily modded golf kart with nitrous injection

[smg id=6462 type=preview align=center caption="ninja kart"]

[fragger]

That's quite the fembot army you've got there mate :-D

What are the system requirements like for that game?

[Art Blade]

hehe  :-()

SysReq (long text, hence spoiler)

Spoiler

---------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1  MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
---------------------------------------------------------------------


   OS:          Windows® XP

   Processor:    2GHz Dual Core Processor
         (Intel® Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon™ X2) or higher

   Memory:      2GB System RAM or more

   Graphics:     320MB Video RAM
         GPU w/ Shader Model 3.0 support
         NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800 series or better
                   ATI Radeon™ HD3800 series or better

   DirectX®:      DirectX® 9.0c

   Hard Drive:    10 GB

   Sound:       100% DirectX® 9.0C compliant sound card or equivalent onboard sound

   Steam:       Online Steam Account

   DVD ROM:     (for physical copy only)


---------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2  RECOMMENDED SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS
---------------------------------------------------------------------


   OS:       Microsoft® Windows® 7

   Processor:   Any Quad Core Processor (Intel® Core i5 or AMD Phenom™ II X4)
         or 3.0+ Dual Core CPU

   Memory:      4GB System RAM or more

   Graphics:   1GB Video RAM
         GPU w/ Shader Model 4.0 support
         NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 400 series or better
         ATI Radeon™ HD5000 series or better
         
   DirectX®:      DirectX® 11

   Hard Drive:   10 GB

   Sound:      100% DirectX® 9.0C compliant sound card or equivalent onboard sound

   Steam:       Online Steam Account

   DVD ROM:     (for physical copy only)

[Binnatics]

Great pictures Art!I like the one with the base jump and the flying body!! :-X :)

And an excellent picture of that modded gangcar. It looks really cool, but aren't the wheels a bit TOO big :o :-D

+1 for those ;)

[Art Blade]

thank you, Binnatics :)

Yes, they're a bit big. :-D

[fragger]

Thanks for the specs Art :)

I reckon my rig could handle that :-D

[Art Blade]

only one way to find out  :-()

[Art Blade]

By the way, I finished my first playthrough some days ago and have a 2nd playthrough going. The one that's completed stays open world and there I still have many challenges, actually hundreds of them, to do. Here is one of them in progress, steal a jet ski. My co-driver has quite an arsenal of fine weaponry at her disposal, one of which a guided missile rocket launcher.  >:D

[smg id=6468 type=preview align=center caption="armed jet ski"]

During the game, part of the city is under quarantine and bridges are up.. but traffic ignores it. Causes quite some stunt jumps if you have to cross. The AI, however, fails miserably.. either they blow up on top or after landing on the other side  The police car will blow up on landing, I got a screenie of that, too, but I decided it'd look too faked or produced by those rocket launchers. So here, moments before.. :)

[smg id=6469 type=preview align=center caption="bridge crossing"]

One of the most fascinating aspects of customisation is the character creation. I've seen countless examples in online galleries proving abundantly that you can screw up pretty well. However, here's one of mine. And I like "her" :)

[smg id=6470 type=preview align=center caption="image as designed"]

[PZ]

Looks cool!  :-X

[fragger]

The face remodelling options in Art's cap look almost as comprehensive as Poser's :-X

Make that woman's hair blonde and she'd look like Annie Lennox :-()

[Art Blade]

 

[Art Blade]

just did a rating  :)

[Art Blade]

The probably funniest moment in this game.

I have upgraded flashbangs which, at the highest upgrade level 4, turn into what they call a "fart in a jar" thrown weapon that blows up in a green cloud of stinking mist and everybody in it immediately start to puke their guts out, rendering them incapacitated and helpless. However, I had the idea to see whether I could throw one at a helicopter and guess what, they came jumping out trying to avoid the stench 

[smg id=6472 type=preview align=center caption="fart in a jar"]

[Binnatics]

  :-X

Great screeny on that Farty business heheh

[PZ]

  :-X +1 for that funny!

[Art Blade]

:-D

cheers, PZ  :)

I thought I'd create a male Hispanic character that matches my female one and here's a closeup (I found out that choosing "earrings" is the best option for closeups) Kind of an over the top hero model guy  :-() Fun to play with your own characters.  :-X

[smg id=6473 type=preview align=center caption="my hispanic male avatar"]

OK. The game even allows for smart play, I mean outsmarting the game with its own weapons. Literally. :-D
There is a "weapon" later in the game to which you will have access that is called RC Possessor -- the name already gives it away, it is a remote control device that allows you to control, release control or blow up vehicles. The cool thing about that possessor is that the game does not accuse you when you remotely blow up a vehicle.. helps to get rid of pursuers without adding wanted level. After you fired the weapon at a vehicle in your vicinity, you have a camera floating above and behind it so you can watch your remotely controlled vehicle. The reach is limited but upgrading the weapon gives it quite a nice operating distance of perhaps 100 metres and by upgrading it to level 4 it will have the ability to control military vehicles. Which is what sparked an idea.  :-D

There are side missions that require you to steal and deliver vehicles for XP (here it's called "respect") and money. One of those mission givers is fond of military vehicles which means a lot of hassle involved with cops, SWAT and military after you, including battle ship helicopters and tanks.. I like to avoid that :-D

One particular job was to steal a tank from within a military zone, a restricted area of course. Getting in there already gives you a three star wanted level and entering the tank raises it to five stars, maximum. They all want to stop you. A tank may be a tank but is not indestructible and I had quite some trouble getting the job done. I already had a good idea: start a war in front of one of my cribs (a safehouse) and steal a tank just of the same type my employer wanted and put it into my garage. Once you enter your crib, you lose all wanted level and retrieving any vehicle from your garage is without wanted level, either, but no luck. I drove it to the place I knew it had to be delivered to but no marker there.. It just has to be exactly that one designated in that military zone. Oh well..  ::)

Here's what I did.. I remotely drove it out of the restricted zone at three stars and had three of my guys (you can assign a maximum of three random gang members to form some sort of a personal escort) shoot all the enemies until the wanted level was back to zero -- another trick I learned: if your gang kills enemies, it doesn't affect your own wanted level. Which means, if they keep killing and you don't, the game assumes that you have retreated and slowly reduces your wanted level. You need to stay out of trouble and alive, though :-D I helped my gang with my RC possessor, instantly blowing up any approaching vehicles with it. All that helped to get back to zero in a very short time. :)

The next problem: you don't see the destination on the map unless you enter the tank which in return will put you on five stars.. exactly what I wanted to avoid. However, I checked during a prior attempt when I had got into the tank where I needed to go when it was visible on my map, it was in the airport area in front of a "humanitarian aid, inc" building. Of all things.  :-D But I knew where to go.  ;)

Now the really smart trick. Rather than having to shoot the RC possessor every few seconds and drive the tank a hundred metres, run a hundred metres to the tank and keep repeating that.. I jumped on top of the tank and then shot it with my RC possessor. Like that I virtually stayed in control all the time and chauffeured myself across the city watching myself doing it 

So here in pictures.. Having arrived at the airport without any hassle, me on top of the tank, surrounded by my gang. Note there is only the white silhouette on the mini map, not a destination. Also, no wanted level.
[smg id=6474 type=preview align=center caption="rc tank trick 01"]

Here the same position, only this time I shot the tank with my RC possessor. This is what it looks like and what I saw when driving around like that.
[smg id=6475 type=preview align=center caption="rc tank trick 02"]

Now I entered the tank. See the thin blue luminescent pole right in front of the tank, the mission marker, also visible on the mini map. Also, all of a sudden, a five star wanted level and a tank behind and some other enemy ahead (and a lot more to come within seconds). Funny how oh so close I was to the mission marker  ^-^
[smg id=6476 type=preview align=center caption="rc tank trick 03"]

And a tap on the gas.. drove about 1m into the marker.. mission accomplished 
[smg id=6477 type=preview align=center caption="rc tank trick 04"]

That's how my newly created character inspired me, here a "thumbs up" -- apparently he enjoyed to be remotely controlled by me  :-()
[smg id=6478 type=preview align=center caption="rc tank trick 05"]

[Art Blade]

Oh, and I also enjoy playing as "Marcellus" (Pulp Fiction, anyone? Reminded me of him when I created this one :-D )
[smg id=6479 type=preview align=center caption="Marcellus"]

[Art Blade]

Just by the way, that tank mission.. there IS an easy solution.

Spoiler

use your mobile phone and call "police forgiveness" -- removes those five stars. You need to unlock it first, though.  ;)

[PZ]

You always make the most out of a game, AB!  :-X

[Art Blade]

thanks, PZ :) Yet only if the game allows for it. This one definitely does  :-()

[Binnatics]

Oh, and I also enjoy playing as "Marcellus" (Pulp Fiction, anyone? Reminded me of him when I created this one :-D )
[smg id=6479 type=preview align=center caption="Marcellus"]

Mister Wallace... isn't that the one that got butt-fucked by Zed?

"Zed? Who's Zed?" "Zed's dead baby, Zed's dead" ^-^ :-X

VERY cleaver approach on that tank mission Art! While reading I was indeed thinking of the ability to use the "police forgiveness" phone number, but you can only use it once until it reappears in your phone book. Doesn't the wanted lvl come back when staying in the tank?

[Art Blade]

cheers :) No, only if you exit and re-enter it.