Saint's Row The Third DLC Review

Genkibowl VII (1 out of 5)
Genkibowl VII is a half-assed excuse for dlc and an insult to those who excitedly bought the Saint's Row The Third Season Pass hoping to receive more content in line with what's on display in the core game. Genkibowl consists of a meager collection of three new side activities, not even fully fledged side-missions, all of which are poorly designed distractions that tarnish the good will accrued with Volition's latest release. The activities include an escort missions in which you drive recklessly for Prof. Genki amusement, in a flamethrower equipped car to be fair, but uninspired otherwise. A repeat of the ATV demolition activity, here replaced with a giant ball of twine, a buggy and unwieldy unique vehicle that inspires frustration more than any enjoyment. And finally a sky diving event in which you fall through rings and fight mascots on rooftops, an other poorly thought out half-baked idea to round out the trifecta of a disappointing first effort from the crazy minds at Volition.

Gangstas in Space (2 out of 5) 

Gangstas in Space delivers a series of increasingly tedious action heavy levels with a ludicrous premise that never fully grasps its potential. Tasked with starring in a feature film the protagonist teams up with an increasingly berated co-star in a cheesy sci-fi action film. Unfortunately the film grain filter they apply to every mission and a few neat unique weapons and vehicles are the only interesting things about this measly hour long romp. Some of the setups are amusing but the director of the feature is a character so loud and repetitive I found most jokes simply annoyed. Too many misfired  and repeated jokes and boring monotonous combat scenarios drive home the fact that no thought and very little effort went into making this bite-sized sorry excuses for Saint's Row dlc.

The Trouble with Clones (2 out of 5)

The Trouble with Clones is another seemingly great premise with unused potential. As a Saint's fan creates a clone of the recently deceased Gat. Unfortunately this uber-fan is the focus of most of the games jokes and dialogue and is an obnoxious character that grates on the player to insufferable lengths. The final mission however is one of the most empowering moments to be featured in a Saint's Row game. An unrelenting spectacle of sheer power, from super human speed, fireball projectiles and comic book inspired POW exclamations from every downed enemy. All of which is unceremoniously cut short, with only a single mission in which any of these abilities are in effect, marking the only redeeming moment in the entire dlc.


Consensus - The Saint's Row The Third dlc is some of the most disappointing in the medium, with such a strong core game it's a shame developer Volition didn't think to deliver a more fully realized series of mini-expansion. Instead what players get are roughly hour long half-baked ideas that never coalesce into a greater whole. I hope this was simply a consequence of Volition being unfamiliar with dlc, and that for the eagerly anticipated next great entry in the Saint's Row franchise they've learned their lesson and will hopefully deliver more fantastic content that they so clearly have a penchant for but is inexplicably absent here.