Overview

Unlike other games in the series, Saints Row: The Third supplemented its vast licensed soundtracks with a number of original instrumental tracks. The series has always been more about fun over reality — aiming to bring back an old-school crime experience to gamers — and the soundtrack emphasises this. Malcolm Kirby Jr. created only eight tracks for the game — with licensed tracks being featured across the radio stations — but they all complement the image of the game. The soundtrack was released through Sumthing Else Music Works commercially and is also available with the Platinum Edition of the game.

Body

The title track captures the cool yet retro mood of the game. The gritty guitar riffs, kick-focused drums, and retro electronic beats come together to capture the feeling of the American streets. There isn't much of a melody to speak of, which might be a detriment to the stand-alone experience, but all the beats assemble to create a energetic track in the game. "When Good Heists Go Bad" is the grooviest track on the game, bringing some edge to the experience with DJ-style scratching and sudden breaks, while the similarly styled "End Game" accentuates the drama with some electric guitar parts.

Among the more narrative tracks, "The Mission Part 1" and "The Mission Part 2" are played in loops during certain missions. These tracks also inspire memories of old-school crime movies, due to their synth-heavy melodies and retro-sounding beats. The action element is defined by the adrenaline-pumping drums in the background, which are accompanied by the echoing tunes in the foreground. "The Mission Part 2" is more serious and captures the intensification of the game effectively. The themes although enjoyable, lack a bit of uniqueness to them as they kind of sound repetitive and similar.

Bringing a serious element to the tongue-in-cheek experience, "Oleg and Kinzie" moves away from the groovy beats in favour of dark orchestrations. The suspenseful ambient noises and occasional string screeches here may be a staple of horror scoring, but they're bound to have a profound impact in-game. "Killbane and the Syndicate" retains these suspenseful elements, but transitions into a compelling dubstep anthem featuring the album's strongest melodies. To represent a unit that attempts to halt gang activity, "Stag" is a traditional military orchestration at first. But it moves away from these clichéd origins to offer some gritty guitar punctuations too.

Summary

Although brief, the soundtrack has quite a bit to offer. Whether the groovy menu themes, suspenseful mission tracks, or diverse orchestrations, every track complements the image of Saints Row: The Third and, working in parallel with the licensed tracks, bring so much to the in-game experience. That said, the soundtrack won't entirely satisfy on a stand-alone level given many will find the tracks derivative or unmemorable in the wider scheme of things. At ten dollars, this half hour album won't give all listeners their money's worth.