You'll get to spank your Jawa a little earlier than anticipated - Old Republic early access starts on December 13

It seems BioWare has become overwhelmed by the spirit of the season and decided to give everyone eagerly anticipating getting their lightsaber on a little bit of an early Christmas gift.
The early access for Star Wars: The Old republic, which is available to anyone that has preordered the game, has been moved forwards from December 15 to December 13. So we now have two days less to get our affairs settled, before our free time is swallowed up like a hot Twi'lek dancer by a hungry Rancor.

Just look how happy Darth Malgus is at this news!

Of course the same rules that BioWare have already laid out for early access still applies. This means that BioWare is letting in early access people in waves, which are supposed to be based on when you placed your preorder. So people that preorder the game early will be let in first and then more and more players will gradually be let loose on the servers until everyone is playing.

The next Horus Heresy book, "Deliverance Lost" is up for preorder

I was just browsing around over at The Black Library and I noticed that the next book in the Horus Heresy is now available for preorder.

"Deliverance Lost" is the title and it seems like this book will move the main story of the Horus Heresy meaningfully forward. The book will tell the tale of Corax, Primarch of the Raven Guard, as he returns to Terra after escaping the massacre on Isstvan V. But among the returning Raven Guards is a member of the Alpha Legion, who has infiltrated the broken legion and is hoping to learn the secrets of the defense of Terra. Secrets that Horus the Warmaster could use to devastating effect in his imminent full out attack on the capital of the Imperium.

He's got a giant skull strapped across his crotch, so you know he means business

The last Horus Heresy book, "The Outcast Dead", which I have previously reviewed here on the site, was a very enjoyable book, so I hope that Deliverance Lost will continue on the high note set by this previous entry in the series.
I'm also really excited about finally seeing the main story move forward instead of more books detailing various events that all took place at the beginning of Horus' treachery.

There's also a small excerpt from the book available for your immediate consumption, which I think looks fairly promising. The release date is currently stated as being January 2012, so look forward to this heretical piece of 41st millennium goodness quite soon.



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Light Speed Gaming Sci-Fi Game of the Year 2011 - Top 5 - 3

Last week saw us through the top 10-6 sci-fi games of 2011, from the disappointment of Red Faction: Armageddon, to the beauty of Crysis 2.

Now it's time to continue on down the list and take a look at the games that made it into the top 5-3 places. These are some of my favorite video games of 2011 and if you are an avid gamer then every one of them is worth checking out.

5: Warhammer 40k: Space Marine
I'm sure many people will shrug their shoulders at Space Marine and dismiss it as nothing but a passable Gears of War clone.
I can certainly agree that Space Marine did not revolutionize 3rd person shooters in any way, but that does not mean that it is not a ton of fun.

Granted my love of all things Warhammer 40k may be influencing my judgement, however I truly think that the visceral combat that this game offered us is an experience that you can't find in very many other games of 2011. As I wrote in my review of Warhammer 40k: Space Marine it feels great to blast Orks to pieces with your hefty bolter from afar, only to then charge straight at the filthy greenskins and carve them to pieces with your whirring chainsword.

Even with my weakness for power armored Space Marines I can't overlook some of the issues with this game, though. Even though the combat felt pretty satisfying, the monotony of the gameplay did start to drag towards the end of the game.
I'd also really have appreciated less corridor shooting sequences and have had some more big battles to fight in, which would really have given us the chance to immerse ourselves into the role of a Space Marine in the middle of a large war.
Oh well, maybe something for the sequel I guess?

Just look at that screenshot and tell me that doesn't look fun!

Skyrim Review - Here be dragons. And a crap ton of other stuff!

The cart rolls into the Imperial camp. I look at my fellow prisoners and take solace in the fact that at least I’ll be dying alongside someone famous, the rebel leader Ulfric Stormcloak. Hey, if you gotta die then at least you can go out alongside a big shot and not just pickpocket Johnny Noname.

The first prisoner is brought forward and, with the sickening sound of meat and bone being cleaved, his head is parted from his body. I’m glad I had a light lunch.

As I stand around wondering how a Breton magician apprentice from High Rock ended up in such a fine mess I am distracted by a passing shadow and the sound of giant flapping wings.

I look up and see something that I know is impossible, but yet there it is. A dragon!

Oh, I don't think these carts are going to Disneyland...

During the chaos of the dragon attack I escaped my captors. Though all sanity in my body screams for me to get out of Skyrim as fast as possible, I feel compelled to delve further into the mystery of the returning dragons. The splendid city of Whiterun is my first port of call and I soon find myself talking to the Jarl of the city himself.

By an incredible coincidence I am around at the exact moment that reports come in of a new dragon attack. Bolstered by some unknown source of courage, I volunteer to help repel the dragon and join a small force of guards, heading out to kill a dragon (I wish I was back at the warm inn studying my arcane books, what madness is this?).

We manage to kill the dragon. Well “we” mostly being the guards. My contribution was mostly approaching the dragon as it was distracted by the guards, briefly draining all my magic resources for a magical flame attack and then running behind the nearest rock to hide.

As the dragon lay dead on the ground something incredible happened. White light erupted from the dragon and shot straight at me. Panic filled my very being, but I quickly realized that I was somehow being… empowered by this light. I have no idea what happened but some of the guards claimed that it showed that I was something they called “Dragonborn”. I don’t know what to make of all this…

Skyrim is a game that you don’t play as much as you *live*.

When Skyrim is at its best it feels like you are walking through Lord of the Rings helping citizens in need, slaying mighty beasts, crafting mighty armor or going on epic quests and saving the world.

The "fairness" of comparing "The Old Republic" to "World of Warcraft"

I've been doing my little MMOCrunch writing again and I've spat out an opinionated article on the crazy crap that gamers sometimes use as arguments to protect their favorite new or upcoming MMO games from criticism.

You see, I am sick and tired of hearing gamers cry foul when people compare a new MMO to an old and long running one. Lately I've been seeing a lot of people getting angry at people that point out some issues that they have found in Star Wars: The Old Republic and which World of Warcraft has managed to solve.

This is what a gaming forum looks like after a flame fest between SWTOR and WoW fanboys...

The people that are upset with these kinds of legitimate observations claim that it is "unfair" to compare SWTOR to WoW, since WoW has been around for 7 years and thus has had a lot more time to have had issues fixed and features add.

Head over to my article on MMOCrunch to find out why I think that is a weird argument to make and why I think that it is ultimately completely missing the point.



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Update on Readers Choice Sci-Fi Game of the Year 2011 - Help your favorite game win!

I have already kicked off the Light Speed Gaming Sci-Fi Game of the Year 2011 by revealing the top 10-6 sci-fi games of this year. But besides my personal rants about what games I think were the top of the heap there is also the matter of the "Readers Choice" of best sci-fi video game of the year.

Right now we've got Deus Ex: Human Revolution out in front, with just a single vote lead.
Snapping at it's cybernetic heels we find Portal 2 and, rather surprisingly to me, Dawn of War 2: Retribution.

Adam Jensen is doing some nasty takedowns on the competing sci-fi games of 2011 so far

While I certainly agree that the standalone expansion pack for Dawn of War 2 was a great addition to the Warhammer 40k RTS, I was not expecting it to stand much of a chance against competition like Gears of War 3, Crysis 2 or Dead Space 2, but it's always nice to be surprised!

Crysis 2 has also managed to score itself a few points and Dead Space 2 and Rage are both the proud owners of a single vote from our readership.

Sitting around sulking in the back we find Red Faction: Armageddon, Gears of War 3, Bulletstorm and Warhammer 40k: Space Marine, who have all so far gotten the grand total of 0 votes.

There are still 7 days left on the poll, so hurry up and add your opinion to the poll (You'll find it in the top right corner of the site, just underneath "This is Light Speed Gaming" and "More info on Light Speed Gaming").



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Coming up on the week of December 5 on Light Speed Gaming

Another week has buzzed by at light speed and it's time to sum up the highlights and look forward to next weeks basket of delicious gaming and science fiction nuggets.

We started off the week with impressions of the much talked about space missions from Star Wars: The Old Republic. Missions that I had the dubious pleasure of experiencing in last weekend's beta test.

I also kicked off the Light Speed Gaming Sci-Fi Game of the Year 2011 awards, with the first post covering the top 10-6 places on the list.

Closing out the week was another deep dive into my SWTOR beta experiences as I tickled my memory organs and dug up my memories of my time spent playing the Bounty Hunter class.

Finally there was also time for another entry in the Sci-Fi Do Want series, this time I threw my love on the unsung workhorse of the Dune universe, the Spacing Guild Highliners.

Notice the season appropriate red and green lightsabers!

As we look into next week I'm sure you'll need some entertainment to distract you from the fact that Christmas is already less than three weeks away (Yes, surprised the hell of me as well..). Luckily I will be standing by to throw out some digital lifesavers to quell the worst of your anxiety attacks.

A look at Skyrim's Civil War questlines - Commentated video of Fort Amol assault

I mentioned in my last Skyrim Journal post that I have been playing through the civil war quest line. After deciding that Ulfric Stormcloak was an Elf hating racist bastard I joined up with the Imperials and set about maiming and murdering Stormcloak soldiers where ever I found them.

I followed the quest line and I quickly discovered that there is a pattern to the way that the civil war quest line works. You'll be sent out to an Imperial camp where you'll be given a couple of missions, such as blackmailing a local person of power into helping the Imperial cause or freeing some captured soldiers.

Standing back and performing the role of human artillery is quite fun during a fort assault

After these quests you'll finish up the area by assaulting a fort filled by enemy soldiers. This ends up as fairly large battles where you'll be supported by 5-10 allied soldiers and your goal is to simply murder every fool that is crazy enough to not run away when you start throwing fireballs in their general direction (turns out most of the Stormcloaks are crazy fools).

Sci-Fi Do Want: Dune Spacing Guild Highliner

After our last couple of Sci-Fi Do Wants focusing on a some death dealing pieces of futuristic gadgetry, the last of which saw me pay homage to the awesomeness that is the Chainsword from Warhammer 40k, I thought it would be appropriate to cast my loving gaze on something a bit less destructive.

Back when I started Light Speed Gaming I proclaimed my love for the Dune universe. Much like Warhammer 40k the Dune universe is a fairly bleak place for the most part. Filled with scheming houses of nobility that are all constantly trying to grab as much power as possible using whatever underhand methods that will get the job done.

The Machiavellian plotting is not just a favorite pastime activity of the various noble houses, it is also something that the many other powerful political factions of the universe partake in.
One of these factions is the Spacing Guild. Made up of humans that have been hideously mutated by prolonged exposure to huge amounts of the mystical Dune substance "Spice", they are the only beings that are capable of navigating spaceships safely through folded space, which is the only means of faster than light space travel in the Dune universe.

For these trips through folded space the Spacing Guild use gigantic freighters called "Highlingers". These massive cylindrical transports are over 20 kilometers long and able to hold absolutely enormous amounts of cargo.

The Guild Highliners have a simple and utilitarian quality to them. Which just makes them all the more impressive

"Okay, so it's a big container ship basically, why is that so cool?", you may be asking right now as you shrug your shoulders and roll your eyes, impatiently doodling laser pistols on a post it note while you wait for me to get on with it.

The Old Republic Bounty Hunter Impressions - Jetpacks and wrist rockets make everything better

Earlier this week I gave you my opinion on the Space Combat Missions of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Now I'm back with more impressions from last weekend's beta test, this time I'm going to talk about my experience of playing the Bounty Hunter class that I played from level 1-17 and got to Balmorra, which was the third planet on my journey. Read on to find out how I liked my stint as a Boba Fett wannabe.
Unfortunately the screen capture feature is still disabled in SWTOR, so you're gonna have to make do with some stock Bounty Hunter screens.

I made a Rattataki Bounty Hunter like the one in this picture. The bald scalp is practical for those unfortunate flamethrower haywire moments

The Bounty Hunter is a ranged class that is all about blasting his enemies with various high tech gadgetry. You'll immediately be treated to the ability to fire a wrist mounted rocket, which explodes and knocks the target and anyone nearby to the ground. Perfect for giving you a little extra time to pepper them with some more blaster shots before they have a chance to fight back.

As you level up you'll be granted lots of interesting new ways with which to blast, blow up, incinerate, pummel or freeze your adversaries (no disintegration though... at least as far as I got). My favorite ability that I managed to get was probably the area of effect attack that lets the Bounty Hunter rise into the air using his jetpack and unleash a volley of rockets, which is a good way of giving a whole group of enemies a really bad start to their day.

Another favorite, if perhaps more for the looks than how much I actually found it useful, was the flamethrower ability that blasts out a cone of flame in front of you, handy for lighting large quantities of birthday candles or for melting faces.

Zero Punctuation Skyrim Review

If you're not already familiar with Zero Punctuation then now is a good time to jump on board and check out his extremely funny game reviews.
He's just had a go at reviewing Skyrim and the results are, as usual, really funny. You can check it out in the video below

The Escapist : Reviews : The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Video Review

While this is not the most informative review of Skyrim that you can find (but really, do you need a review of Skyrim? Just buy it already!), it more than makes up for its lack of finer journalistic qualities with its buckets of humor.

I really recommend checking out more of Zero Punctuation's stuff.



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Video introduction to Light Speed Gaming

With Light Speed Gaming having been up and running for a couple of months now, you will hopefully already have gotten some idea what this site is all about.

However, I thought it might be a good idea to make a little more personal bit on what this place is and what you can expect to find here. So, inspired by Problogger's advice on "talking head videos", I decided to make a talking head video of my own! (Because you should always follow any advice that you see on the internet. It's just common sense)

So without further ado, I bring you... me!

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Light Speed Gaming Sci-Fi Game of the Year 2011 - Top 10 - 6

It's time to kick off the Light Speed Gaming "Sci-Fi Game of the Year 2011". As I have previously discussed, this will be my top 10 of the best science fiction themed video games of 2011.
Remember that you can vote for the "Readers Choice" Sci-Fi Game of the Year by voting in the poll in the top right corner of the site!


In this first round of great sci-fi games of 2011 I'll be going through the games that made it on the list as number 10 through 6.
Most of these games are worth your time and money and I have spent a good number of hours playing the majority of them, but they are lacking just that special something to make their way to the top spots on the list.

10: Red Faction: Armageddon
Okay, so when I just said that almost all the games on the list are worth your time and money... Red Faction: Armageddon is the exception to that. It's on the list because it was a much anticipated release of a fairly large sci-fi franchise that managed to break most of the things that made its predecessor fun.

Gone is the open world levels of Red Faction: Guerrilla in favor of linear cave levels with stupid AI alien enemies. The destructible environments, which have always been a big trademark of the Red Faction franchise, is used to decidedly underwhelming effect in Armageddon, and the whole experience simply leaves you with a sour taste in your mouth and a baffled expression on your face, as you wonder how the series could make such a wrong turn.

Red Faction: Armageddon is a testament to all gaming developers that they need to stay on their toes and continue to make an effort designing quality games even on the larger and established franchises. I hope that Volition is going to make a triumphant return to the Red Faction series and give us a great game that can wash away the unpleasant taste that Armageddon has left me with.

Some genuinely interesting futuristic weaponry is not enough to make Red Faction: Armageddon an enjoyable game

9: Rage
Like Red Faction: Armageddon, I was left somewhat disappointed after playing ID's latest kill-em-up. But unlike Armageddon, it was more of a "oh, is that all there is to it?" disappointment, rather than then "Get this revolting pile of donkey feces out of my console!" type of disappointment.
Rage was hyped up to be something like a cross between Fallout 3 and Crysis. That is, it was meant to offer some meaningful open world gameplay in addition to the satisfying quality first person shooting experience that ID is known for making.

But when the game came out it was clear that the "open world" part was little more than deciding if you wanted to play some different mini games or go to the next linear shooting mission. The whole driving sequence, which was also heavily advertised as a major gaming element, turned out to be a pretty minor gameplay mechanic that allowed you to travel between said linear missions.

Now, all these criticisms aside, ID *did* manage to deliver a very solid and entertaining FPS games in some very good looking surroundings. Rage is not going to win any innovation awards and it's not really advancing the FPS genre, but if you enjoy shooting stuff and like some Fallout-esque wasteland setting in your games, then Rage is perfectly capable of keeping you entertained for the 10 hours or so that it's going to take you to play through the campaign.

Despite its shortcomings you can find a very solid shooting experience in Rage

Unnecessary Censorship Makes Skyrim Dialogue Sound Very Dirty

Skyrim is mostly a pretty serious and proper place. Sure there'll be the occasional drunkard that makes a slightly salty remark, but for a brutal medieval society they sure don't swear a lot.

So that's why good fun can be had by putting in completely unneeded censorship bleeps at certain key parts of the dialogue, with hilarious results.

Check out this video from "Normal Difficulty"

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The qualities of "Theme Park" and "Sand Box" MMO's

In the world of MMO's there are roughly two schools of thought that a game can be divided in; On the one hand we have the so called "Theme Park" MMO's that try to provide developer created content for players to engage with. These MMO's often take players by the hand and guide them through the game world, pointing out the important sights and generally trying to ensure that players always have a clear idea of what they should be doing.

World of Warcraft is the most famous and popular "Theme Park" type MMO of them all

On the other hand you have the "Sand Box" MMO's that are much more interested in giving players an open world for them to create their own gameplay in. Here there is often very little developer created content beyond the actual game world and basic mechanics and enemies. The point of these games is that players are truly the masters of their own destiny, able to create the experience that they want.

I wrote an article about these two types of MMO's and their strengths and weaknesses over on MMOCrunch and I encourage you to go check it out.

It's a design dilemma that I think has become very relevant with the impending release of Star Wars: The Old Republic. That game is very clearly in the "Theme Park" category of MMO's, with an extensive main class storyline that drives players forward through the game world.
It will be interesting to see how SWTOR is going to handle the typical problems of "Theme Park" MMO's, particularly the issue of creating a compelling end game experience for the players.



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The Old Republic Space Combat Video and Commentary

I'm currently eking the last drops of Force fueled fun from the Star Wars: The Old Republic beta weekend. I've managed to get a Bounty Hunter up to level 17 and gotten myself a starship. This has allowed me to try out the very controversial "space missions" for myself and see what they're all about.

In this video I take you through a space mission in my Bounty Hunter ship.

As you will have gathered from the video, unless you were watching it with the sound turned off or have the attention span of a goldfish, I am not really very keen on the space missions in SWTOR. I don't understand the design decision to put in on rails shooting missions in a game that is all about immersing you in a believable world filled with player choice.

Coming up on the week of November 28 on Light Speed Gaming

The beginning and the end of this week has been all about Star Wars: The Old Republic. Tuesday brought a full on info blowout on the Sith Inquisitor class, which gave you all the dirt about this lightning endowed Dark Side champion.

I also let you guys know about the Sci-Fi Game of the Year list that I'm doing here on Light Speed Gaming, which will hail the greatest science fiction themed video games of 2011. Remember to vote for *YOUR* favorite sci-fi game of the year in the poll at the top right corner of the site.

Before I descended into the depths of the Old Republic beta weekend, I just had time to do a write up of my impressions of Saints Row: The Third, before closing out the week with another Skyrim journal.

As usual I have already been drafting up the content for next week and here are some of the highlights that will be blasting straight from my cranium, through my hands, onto the keyboard and hitting the internet like a wave of pure awesome.

So much Old Republic. Yet not enough...

I've been spending all of my, sadly all too limited, weekend game time playing the Old Republic beta. I'll be giving you plenty of impressions and opinions about the experience, which is probably going to be spanning a couple of posts.

I'll also kick off the Sci-Fi Game of the Year 2011 by spilling the beans on the games that made it into the 10-6 positions on the list.

There is going to be a new Sci-Fi Do Want striking the page when you least suspect it. This time we're going to leave the science fiction weaponry and look at something a bit less deadly.

Skyrim continues to eat up a lot of my gaming time, and I'll be spicing up my reports from the land of the Nords with a bit of video showing off my magnificent magic powers as I blast apart a Stormcloak held fortress.

All this and more, so stay tuned, hit that refresh button, make that bookmark, subscribe to the RSS feed, follow me on Twitter, stalk me as I do my grocery shopping. Do whatever it takes to make sure you don't miss out on these upcoming posts!



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Further travels in the land of Skyrim - The clothes makes the wizard

Please note that some spoilers of Skyrim content may appear in these posts. I will try to avoid delving into the quest stories and plot details, but I may refer to quest outcomes, so if you're picky about avoiding any potential spoilers you will probably want to avoid reading any further.

In my last Skyrim journal post I was still just finding my legs in the cold fantasy winter wonder land of the Nords. Since then I've sunk in another good 10 hours of skyrimming (that sounds downright inappropriate, actually) and I've gotten a much better grasp of the game and world by now.

So come and join me for more tales of Erasmus the daring Breton Mage, hero of a civil war and slayer of many a retarded dragon.

When we last left off I had made my way across half of Skyrim to join up with the mages of the College of Winterhold. I quickly submerged myself into the dusty halls of the college, determined to rise in the ranks and improve my ability to burn things with magical flames.

I won't spoil the storyline of the Winterhold quests, but I will say that I found the quest chain to be a tad on the predictable side, with ancient magical artifacts and an antagonist that could only have been any more obvious if he had been tying a women to a railroad track while twirling his curled mustache.

I made my way through old and peril filled dungeons and proceeded to cleanse my enemies with fire, which was made easier by the presence of my new conjured flame bolt flinging Atronach, unearthing a mysterious device of unknown origin. That said device turned out the be of incredible potency and of interest to the aforementioned obvious antagonist should come as little surprise. Cue a mad dash to prevent the evil misuse of the ancient artifact and a search through yet more old dungeons to find yet another ancient artifact to stop the use of the first artifact (next time you find something immensely old and powerful in a ruin let's just leave it there, alright? These things never turn out well).
I eventually managed to stop the nefarious plans and found myself being hailed as a rather cool guy by the mages of Winterhold, who decided to award me some sweet sweet new robes.

Check out my baller new robe and metal face mask. I'm like a medieval Doctor Doom!

Procrastinating the advancement of the main storyline even further, I decided that I should get involved in the civil war going on in Skyrim. The Imperial forces are fighting for control of Skyrim against the rebellion of Ulfric Stormcloak, who is all about the proud independent traditions of the stoic Nords. Practicing the old religious beliefs and honoring the old warrior ways of his people. Oh, and being mad racist and hating on everyone who is not a Nord.

Commencing The Old Republic Beta Deep Dive

Today is the start of the four day *almost* open beta test that Bioware is conducting for Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Depending on when you signed up for the beta you will be allowed to start testing on different days. I have been lucky enough to get access in the first wave.

Due to a busy schedule for me over the weekend, I will sadly probably not get to play all that much, but I will try to get a decent amount of hours in and report back to you with my impressions and opinions.

Since I'm going to try to squeeze in as many beta hours as possible, this might mean I won't have time to do more posts over the weekend, so if the site is quiet for a couple of days, then you know why!

I hope that any of you that were interested in participating in the open beta weekend have all gotten your invites and are ready to go!



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Saints Row: The Third Impressions - Stupid fun in all the right ways

I had hoped to be able to get a full review of Saints Row: The Third ready for you this week, but unfortunately I’ve only been able to get about half way through the campaign so far. And with The Old Republic beta testing happening this weekend there is a snowballs chance in hell of me spending time on wrapping up the game.

But I have played more than enough to give you my initial impressions of Saints Row: The Third. 


Here’s a hint: It’s pretty crazy

Saints Row has always tried to be the crazy cousin to the Grand Theft Auto series. In Saints Row 2 for example, you were able to steal a sewage truck and spray the innocent citizens with the slushy contents.

That’s the kind of humor that you need to appreciate if you’re going to enjoy Saints Row: The Third. If a giant purple dildo mounted on a baseball bat makes you do the Picard Facepalm rather than chuckle with pubescent amusement, then you need not apply. The wacky and often below-the-belt humor of Saints Row: The Third is a big part of what makes it fun to play, so you got to roll with it or go back to something more somber like Batman: Arkham City (But why so serious?).

Even the logo is silly, with silhouettes of women and guns all over the place 

If you *do* enjoy the crazy humor in Saints Row: The Third however, then you are in for a great experience. So far I’ve skydived onto a penthouse apartment to the tunes of Kanye West’s “Power”, saved a pimp that speaks only in auto tuned sentences from a SM themed brothel and driven a convertible across town with a tiger in the passenger seat.