SAINT'S ROW: THE THIRD

SAINT'S ROW: THE THIRD is a console videogame, the third in a series in which you play as a gang member in a contemporary American setting, this time a crime-ridden town called Steelport. Your aim is to build up your gang empire, kill your enemies and try to evade the police. The game was classified '18' for strong bloody violence, language and criminal themes.

The strong violence occurs frequently throughout the game, with shootings resulting in large spurts of blood, although no realistic injury detail is shown. It is possible to carry on attacking corpses, resulting in more blood effects. Innocents can be attacked and killed, with little or no consequence. However, if you target police officers, reinforcements quickly arrive and impede your progress. Although violence is the main element of gameplay, there are some missions focussing on driving skills, for example. The tone of the game is cartoonish and over-the-top, and also features levels where you can fight against less realistic enemies such as hordes of zombies. Attacking them results in more dramatic gore than fights against human opponents, and some weapons will reduce enemies to big pools of blood and flesh. The BBFC's Guidelines at '15' state 'Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable'. The frequent focus on strong bloody violence means the game is more appropriately classified at '18'.

The game also features a strong focus on the player-character committing criminal acts in order to advance through the game successfully. Some sections, for example, focus on building up a series of brothels, and many of the female characters encountered are prostitutes. There are some sections where characters are naked, but any breast or genital detail is completely obscured with pixillation. There are no sex scenes, but there are some strong verbal sex references.

The game also features frequent use of strong language throughout.