Saints Row: The Third

Saints Row: The Third is a 2011 open world action-adventure video game developed by Volition and published by THQ. It is the third title in the Saints Row series. As in the previous games, the player-character leads the Third Streets Saints gang in a turf war against three rival gangs using a variety of weapons and vehicles in single-player and cooperative play. The series, and especially this title, is known for its crazy scenarios and lighthearted gameplay.[2] It was released on November 15, 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, and later abroad.

Game development began by late 2008. There was high staff turnover from the previous Saints Row team with one-fifth of the final 100-person staff having worked on a previous title in the series. They aimed to improve on the series by giving the game a coherent tone, and found it in films such as Hot Fuzz and the game's signature sex toy bat. Saints Row: The Third was built in the Havok physics engine.

The game received "generally favorable" reviews, according to video game review score aggregator Metacritic.[3][4][5] Reviewers noted its general zaniness and praised its customization options. Critics thought the setting was insipid and that its humor occasionally fell flat, and others thought the game perfected the Saints Row formula. It was a nominee for Best Narrative at the 2012 Game Developers Conference, an IGN Editor's Choice, and a recipient of perfect scores from GamesRadar and G4. A complete edition including the three downloadable content packs was released a year after the original release, and its planned Enter the Dominatrix expansion became the game's sequel, Saints Row IV.