Saints Row: The Third/Recap

With no more gangs, corporations or individuals to combat the 3rd Street Saints, the gang has gone from a small-time gang from the Row to a household brand name in Stilwater (complete with 3rd Street Saints merchandise as well as a movie deal in the works). Furthermore, with Vogel gone, the 3rd Street Saints have partnered with former nemesis Ultor, and have become the "Saints/Ultor Media Group", now that Eric Gryphon has firmly secured his position as Chief Executive.

The game begins with the 3rd Street Saints planning to rob a bank in Stilwater. After the execution of the plan goes awry the Boss, Shaundi and Johnny Gat find themselves in prison, only to be bailed out by Viola and Kiki DeWynter following the orders of Phillipe Loren, the leader of a multi-national criminal organisation called the Syndicate, as well as its Morningstar division, which makes income through designer guns and prostitution. The Luchadores are another third of the Syndicate, and are masked wrestlers led by Killbane, who is one himself, and make income through drugs and gambling. The other sector is the Deckers, run by computer genius Matt Miller, and deal in money laundering and cyber-crimes, and leave the Saints broke. It turns out the bank belongs to the Syndicate, and Loren, along with his twin personal assistants Viola and Kiki DeWynter; demand they turn over 66% of their assets in return for their lives. After Gat blatantly refuses, a skirmish leads to Shaundi and the Boss escaping Loren's plane via parachute and land in a new city, Steelport. Gat is seemingly killed by Loren's enforcers while attempting to commandeer the plane back to Stilwater, the Syndicate's hub city. The Saints establish themselves by raiding the Steelport armoury for weapons, stealing a Morningstar penthouse to make it their own HQ, and learning the basics of taking over the city.

After taking over the Morningstar's designer gun store Powder, the Saints hunt Loren. Once at the Syndicate Tower, they discover the source of the giant yet dumb Brutes: Oleg Kirrlov, who was being cloned to make the Brutes, though his exceptional intelligence did not transfer to them. Loren is crushed by a giant steel ball, and the Saints either let the tower be blown up or save it for their own gain. Back in Stilwater, the new Hughes Memorial Bridge is destroyed by the Luchadores, and Senator Monica Hughes vows revenge on gangs for destroying her late husband's bridge. The Saints recruit Kinzie Kensington, Zimos and Angel De LaMuerte to help take down the Syndicate. The three new lieutenants help the Boss combat the three Morningstar factions. After 'hooker assassins' were sent to kill the Saints (the Saints survive), the DeWynters intend to leave the Syndicate, unhappy with Killbane's leadership, however, Kiki is killed by him, and Viola is devastated. After Zimos auctions off the Boss as a sex slave to infiltrate and take over Morningstar-owned BDSM club Safeword, a stranger (Viola) calls the Boss and informs them of an incoming Syndicate shipment of prostitutes. The Saints steal it, but another stranger (Matt) makes the Boss choose between keeping the hos or giving them back for a lump sum payment.

Viola offers her help to the Saints, having defected from the Syndicate to seek vengeance on Killbane. However, they are abruptly interrupted when paramilitary organisation STAG attack them, and flee back to the Saints' HQ. The Saints then attack several STAG bases as a diversion while they move their stuff out of the Saints' HQ, and the Boss destroys STAG's AWACS plane to limit their surveillance capabilities. The Boss and Viola disguise themselves as Nyte Blayde characters to sneak into STAG's PR centre so that they can snatch Josh Birk, who is the star of the vampire TV show, to damage STAG's PR efforts. The Boss lures STAG to the Saints' HQ, where there is a car bomb trap, by causing some chaos at the PR centre. The Saints and STAG have a huge conflict at the HQ, with STAG trying to get Birk back. Eventually, STAG overwhelm the Saints, and STAG Commander Cyrus Temple tells the Saints that their mission is to eradicate Steelport's gangs. They ask the Saints for Birk back in exchange for focusing on the Syndicate; alternatively, the Saints can keep him.

Meanwhile, Killbane trashes the Saints and frames them for the bridge's destruction on radio, so The Boss and Shaundi try to hunt him down. However, Matt hacks the helicopter they are on so they cannot get a clear shot at Killbane. To combat Matt's Deckers, Kinzie asks the Boss and Pierce steal a powerful "learning computer" in STAG's possession that will allow her to access the Deckers' mainframe user net. Since Matt (who is a mortal enemy of Kinzie's) was secretly listening, the Boss and Pierce must fight the Deckers to obtain the computer, which they do. However, Kinzie says that they also need a NEMO (Neurological Electromagnetic Onieroscope) Chair to connect to the Decker Usenet using the supercomputer. The Boss goes with Kinzie to the nuclear power plant and together they find its exact location and disable its routers, allowing them to steal the chair. With both the supercomputer and NEMO chair, Kinzie is ready to broadcast the Boss' subconscious into the Decker Usenet and bring the fight to Matt Miller himself. Once inside the user net, the Boss fends off heavy Deckers resistance and negotiates Matt's hacks to reach the Deckers leader's avatar, which is a large dragon. Once he is defeated Matt offers the Boss discounts on either vehicle customisation or weapons upgrades.

After STAG attacks the Saints' HQ, Cyrus orders his assistant Kia to kidnap Shaundi and bring her to STAG'S aircraft carrier Thermopylae. To rescue Shaundi, the Boss has plastic surgery to look like Cyrus, and boards the Thermopylae with Pierce and Viola. However, the latter two are detained, and once the real Cyrus speaks over intercom, the Boss is forced to evade Kia. The Boss rescues their three captured lieutenants and destroys the ship's reactor, destroying the ship. In reaction, STAG enforces martial law and raises the bridges connecting Loren Square and Sunset Park with other neighbourhoods. Afterwards, the Boss boards a STAG jet that is flying in new gear and troops. They use a sonic boom gun to access the cockpit, but destroys it, and so is forced to hijack a tank. They fight off waves of STAG, then land on Arapice Island, where the falling debris and corpses destroy Ultor containers, which releases green smog that causes the corpses to become zombies. Mayor Burt Reynolds employs the Boss and Viola to clean up the zombie mess. The Boss fights off the zombies and submerges the containers in the ocean using the sonic boom gun, and then either submerges a truck with the zombie virus in return for Reynolds' gratitude and future help, or delivers the truck to Oleg, who creates more zombies to help the Saints.

To force Killbane to fight the Boss in Murderbrawl XXXI, they use Kinzie's RC Possessor to take control of Luchador wrestlers' vehicles and crash them, making their murders look like accidents. Outside Killbane's 3 Count Casino, the Boss challenges Killbane during a press conference, which the latter accepts. The Boss and Angel go to the casino to reclaim Angel's wrestler mask, and Angel 'earns' it by helping the Boss tear up the casino before interrogating the manager. They learn that Killbane placed Angel's mask in the vault behind the teller cages. Angel reclaims his mask and helps the Boss clear the remaining Luchadores out of the casino, claiming it for the Saints. Angel and the Boss fight Killbane in Murderbrawl XXXI, marking Angel's return to the ring after being unmasked by Killbane years prior. Killbane throws Angel out of the ring, forcing the Boss to defend him from Luchadores with a chainsaw. The Boss manages to get Killbane in a headlock, forcing the latter to beg for mercy. The Boss either unmasks him, or spares him in return for the Apoca-Fist melee weapon; either way, Killbane taps out and is dragged away as Angel and the Boss cheer.

When the Boss and Pierce see STAG and the Luchadores fighting on the ground, the decide to intervene. Once they clear the areas where the fighting is worst, Playa receives two phone calls. Angel has learned that Killbane intends to flee Steelport and that if they don't stop him, he will escape, and Kia informs the Boss that she has kidnapped Shaundi, Viola and mayor Reynolds, and aims to blow up the monument on Magarac Island, thus framing the Saints as terrorists. If the Boss goes after the monument, they disarm the bombs around it and kill Kia. The Saints are acknowledged as heroes and Senator Hughes ends STAG's occupation of Steelport, though Killbane escapes. If the Boss goes after Killbane, they go with Angel to the airport, and blow up Killbane's plane. After a short discussion of morals, the Boss fights Killbane, and breaks his neck, thereby officially ending the Syndicate. The bombs on the monument destroy it, and the Boss is left saddened, while Senator Hughes authorises the use of the Daedalus, a massive flying aircraft carrier.

If Shaundi was saved, the final mission immediately autoplays, which is Saints' filming of their movie Gangstas in Space. The Saints fight off General Killbane's army until the Boss reaches him; the Boss kills him, but forgets his lines, requiring another take, before the credits roll. If Killbane was killed, Shaundi's funeral is interrupted by the arrival of the Daedalus. While the other Saints help get civilians to safety, the Boss heads to the Daedalus, with Kinzie guiding them. After destroying some of the main cannons, the Boss lands on the Daedalus and sets four bombs in separate locations. After arming them, they has a climactic fight with Cyrus, who in his VTOL; after defeating and killing him, the Boss escapes the Daedalus as the bombs explode, destroying the aircraft carrier. The Saints interrupt Jane Valderrama's news bulletin to declare Steelport as a city-state. The Boss threatens Senator Hughes and her 'stooges' with death if they again attack Steelport, and offers Pierce the position of mayor.