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Stalk this Saints Row: The Third 'Bloodsucker' DLC trailer
What kinda vampire are you going to be: super-evil Kiefer Sutherland; pensive and regretful Brad Pitt; or sparkly and seductive whoever-that-guy-is from the Twilight movies?
Saints Row: The Third takes gangstas to space ... today!
Forget about EA sending copies of Mass Effect 3 into space -- that's child's play. THQ is taking things one step further and sending the Steelport gangstas into space with the latest Saints Row: The Third DLC pack. It's included if you have a Season Pass, otherwise it goes for 560 MS Points ($7).%Gallery-148115%
THQ moving away from 'kids licensed entertainment;' Saints Row: The Third ships 3.8 million
In the wake of a rumor that THQ had relinquished a publishing deal with Disney for a variety of children's properties, the ailing publisher released a statement this morning renewing its focus on "core game franchises" over "traditional kids' licensed video games." The company will also be focusing on "digital initiatives" going forward, though we're not sure how that'll be possible after the closure of THQ's digital studio in the UK.The release specifically cites UFC, Darksiders, Company of Heroes, Insane, Saints Row, Warhammer 40K, and Patrice Desilets' currently-in-production project as "key franchises" for the company going forward, and promises more information will be offered on next thursday's financial call.Alongside news of the realignment, THQ announced that 3.8 million copies of its latest release, Saints Row: The Third, have shipped to retail since launch in November 2011. The publisher expects lifetimes sales to reach between five and six million units, and believes that its season pass plan will help that play out.3.8 million copies means there are quite a few large purple dildo bats out in the wild, folks, but will it be enough to keep THQ going after a major miss with the uDraw Tablet and a rough past few years? That remains to be seen.
Saints Row: The Third straps on Team Fortress 2 hats
Saints Row: The Third is about to get some big-headed Valve love from Team Fortress 2. A set of Team Fortress 2 masks will be added to the Steam version of Saints Row: The Third this Tuesday, January 17, as revealed on the Saints Row website. The masks will be added via an automatic update, so anyone with a Steam copy should get the masks upon starting the game after the update is launched. Now, if only we could get a Team Fortress 2 voice pack, we'd be in business. Boink!
Saints Row: The Third's Genkibowl VII DLC is just as batshit crazy as you'd expect
As is the case with most things involving Saints Row: The Third, writing about the latest trailer for upcoming DLC "Genkibowl VII" would really do it no justice. To experience the madness, you must see if for yourself, which is why we've got this trailer for you just above.
Joystiq Top 10 of 2011: Saints Row: The Third
If there's hope for mainstream video games, it's represented by Saints Row: The Third. Yes, I know, it has dildo bats and treats women like objects and maybe leans a bit too hard on gags aimed squarely at Fratty McKegbeer, but look just beneath the surface and you'll find a game that loves and respects its player. Saints Row: The Third plays fast and loose with the standards of good taste, but it's never willing to be reckless with your time.
More than a few graphical issues for some Saints Row: The Third players
We liked Saints Row: The Third. Like, an awful lot. And this time around, after an awful port of Saints Row 2, Volition even went the extra mile, developing the PC version of Saints Row: The Third in-house, leading to much rejoicing over what's generally considered the best version of the game. But, as is often the case, not everyone is having a great time. It seems there's a rather vocal group of users on the official Saints Row: The Third forums and the official Steam threads for the game having major performance issues in outdoor areas. This is a problem, given that the open-world parts of open-world games tend to, you know, be in the open areas of the world. Outdoors. The performance problems appear to be spread across AMD and Nvidia hardware. Volition is soliciting users for their configurations and dxdiag files (don't ask!), and is working with with the GPU manufacturers on possible solutions. Having perused some of the message board threads in question, a more common configuration aspect for those affected is an overclocked CPU or GPU, which can cause negative performance issues on certain titles. Meanwhile, Volition has stated that it's still looking into the issue, one patch later.
Steam Holiday Sale has Saint's Row: The Third at 33 percent off
You'd be missing out if you made it all the way through 2011 without experiencing the intense thrill of throwing a jar-contained toot into the dropped top of a rival gang member's hot rod. Today's Steam discount will help you do so by letting you grab Saint's Row: The Third for $33.49.
Saints Row: The Third 'Warrior Pack' DLC caters to the fashionistas
What good is a fat green guy with orange hair and body paint if you can't dress him up like a warrior princess? The Warrior Pack DLC for Saints Row: The Third lets players do just that for 240 MS Points ($3).
Saints Row: The Third site adds interactive stats and leaderboards
SaintsRow.com has added a whole slew of new metagame features for chaos simulator Saints Row: The Third, available now by logging in to the website. In addition to standard stats like playtime and the number and type of kills, you can also check out leaderboards on various categories to see how you rate either among your friends or around the world. There's also an interactive map of the city, which will routinely add in player achievements, screenshots, and even custom hints from other players in the game, all displayed right on the spot where it happened. All of the updates are free to use, but of course you've got to create a THQ account and sign in to it with the game itself. And Volition is promising even more features in the future -- trust us, no purple dildos will hit a single head in Steelport without you knowing about it by the time they're done.
Redeem PS3 Saints Row 3 online pass, get free Saints Row 2
Two days ago, we observed that the PS3-exclusive Saints Row: The Third content never happened. THQ didn't comment on the lack of exclusive materials when we asked, and now we can assume it didn't want to spoil the surprise. Or that it scrambled to find something after we asked. Anyway, we're not going to question motives too closely, because free stuff. If you redeem the Online Pass for a copy of Saints Row: The Third before February 13, THQ announced today, you'll get a free PSN download of Saints Row 2. The free copies will be available "early next week," THQ said. Not that you'll actually be finished with all the content in The Third by then.
Saints Row: The Third DLC kicks off with invincibility, 'Shark-o-Matic'
You've had a full day to let the madness that is Saints Row: The Third sink in. Now what? Well you'll need a gun that shoots fish guts, obviously. Volition is delivering just that for $1.99 in the "Shark-o-Matic" gun, along with a separate $2.99 cheats pack for dirty, dirty cheaters. Shacknews spotted both packs popping up -- alongside the expected $20 "season pass" -- in all three versions of the title as of this morning, kicking off what is said to be a whopping 40 weeks of additional content. Beyond the upcoming (free) CheapyD DLC, we know of three mission packs -– "Genkibowl VII," "Gangstas In Space," and "The Trouble With Clones" -– as well as the Nyte Blayde DLC pack that THQ has in store for SR3 players. Presumably we'll see more ... uh ... next week!
Saints Row: The Third launch trailer demonstrates more of the madness
It's very likely that this is the first and only trailer you'll see in which a driver is attacked by a tiger from the back seat. You have Saints Row: The Third and developer Volition Inc to thank for this moment.
Saints Row The Third review: Walking the talk
"There's nothing like this game. In fact, I'm not sure there should be anything like this game. There's no concern for taste, no concern for morals -- it's all about the fun factor." That was THQ's VP of "Core Games," Danny Bilson, at a preview event for Saints Row: The Third just last month. Bilson has lead THQ's "hardcore games" push, attempting to reinvent the once-embattled publisher by reinvesting in "core" brands. That didn't work out so well, as we found out this past year. I'm glad to say that, with Saints Row: The Third, Bilson's "Core Games" group is finally on solid ground. And in that respect, actually walking some of the big talk we've heard so much in the past few years. Beyond the now-infamous weaponized dildo and the inclusion of certifiable jams like Kanye West's "Power," there's so, so much to love and enjoy about Saints Row: The Third. For starters, there's totally a hoverbike.%Gallery-136917%
CheapAssGamer's CheapyD will be your homie (in Saints Row: The Third)
You folks know CheapyD, right? He's the owner and proprietor of gaming deals site CheapAssGamer, as well as a swell dude and friend of the site. He's also a big fan of the Saints Row series -- so much so, in fact, that he donated a heap of change to the Ashley Ames Foundation last summer in order to become a character in Saints Row: The Third. What began as a bit role (a random pedestrian) turned into a full-on downloadable pack, adding Cheapy to the game as a "homie." Like in Saints Row 2, homies can be called to help out during missions or whenever you may need them. Cheapy says he recorded "approximately 150 lines" for the character, all done from his Tokyo, Japan apartment with direction over Skype from Volition devs. He's not sure when the pack will be available (though he's been told it's coming out sooner than later), and it'll be free for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC players. [Image of CheapyD's custom character in Saints Row 2, via MTV Multiplayer]
Saints Row: The Third exclusive PlayStation 3 content amounts to ... nothing, actually
After vaguely announcing "an exclusive mode on the PS3 utilizing [Saints Row: The Thirds's] signature weapon" back at E3, we never actually heard what that game mode would be. As it turns out, Volition and THQ apparenly never settled on one, and the exclusive content deal seemingly didn't pan out. We discovered as much when retail copies of Saints Row: The Third arrived for review on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 last week. After booting up each and looking around thoroughly, we can assure you that there's no content difference between the two versions. We contacted THQ, who today offered a "No comment" to our inquiry. It stands to reason that the "exclusive mode" -- which apparently featured the game's "signature weapon" (a dildo bat, naturally) -- could have once been the game's take on wave-based co-op multiplayer: "Whored Mode." That mode is currently a part of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC versions of the game. The publisher would neither confirm nor deny this suggestion.
Saints Row: The Third's amazing 'What I Got' singalong, with all seven characters
We thought briefly about not spoiling the incredible scene from Saints Row: The Third above, and all its variations, but then we thought about how wonderful the clip is and how it'd be unfair if you missed it. So ... uh ... don't miss it!
Saints Row: The Third online co-op campaign and 'Whored Mode' gated with online pass
If you're considering postponing your purchase of Saints Row: The Third until sometime after next Tuesday in hopes of snagging a less expensive used copy, but also yearn for online cooperative mayhem, beware: an online pass is required before taking to the Information Superhighway. Included in new copies of both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Saints Row: The Third are one-time use codes for redemption upon initial launch of any online multiplayer, prompting users to otherwise purchase a pass for an undisclosed amount (we've asked THQ for clarification). Unfortunately, despite having both 360 and PS3 copies available for review at Joystiq, the 360 pass won't activate until launch and very few reviewers have PS3 code. Rest assured, we'll have our own review of Saints Row: The Third -- co-op or not -- by early next week.
THQ announces the first Saints Row: The Third season pass
Ah, gaming. There's always something new to be excited about! Last year, it was the online pass, which has become standard practice for almost any game with a meaningful multiplayer component released in 2011. But publishers are always looking to innovate, and this year has seen the rise of the Season Pass. The newest game to boldly ask for your money in advance? Saints Row: The Third! Offering a full fifteen percent off of the DLC if you were to buy all four releases separately, the Saints Row: The Third season pass will get you three mission packs – "Genkibowl VII," "Gangstas In Space," and "The Trouble With Clones" – and the Nyte Blayde DLC pack, which comes with a sweet "vampire-hunting sports car." No word on if the car does the hunting by itself, but with Saints Row there's no way to be sure. The DLC covered by the season pass will release between January of 2011 and "Spring 2011." You can find the full details and press release after the break.
Saints Row: The Third trailer jumps off building, lands on hover plane, does barrel roll
With a little under a week before launch, Saints Row: The Third is whipping out all the crazy to turn the sinful masses into Saints. This in-game footage has the player doing some crazy aerial acrobatics.
