Pulled Into Syndication - Let's Play the Saints Row Quadrilogy

Dane Vogel has been having a very bad day/week/month. He’s one client down, and his new client shoved him out a window so he’s not terrible fond of that one. Thankfully, just about everyone’s on the Saints’ warpath, so that’s a problem that could take care of itself. But on the Saints’ end, getting closer to taking out the Samedi also means getting closer to a new revelation.

After getting an in on the city’s security cameras, the Saints have been on high alert for the General’s limo. If they can stop the vehicle and kill the General, then the Sons of Samedi will be out of the game for good. There won’t be a big window of time to act when they do track that limo down, but that shouldn’t be a problem. The Boss is very creative.

With the Samedi done and dusted, it’s time to set our sights on the definitely final gang in our way. Tensions between the the Saints and the Brotherhood have escalated severely since Maero’s lopsided deal, and today we’ll be putting an end to them with a bang. Or several. We’ve got tons of guns, not explosives.

As far as we know, the other gangs in Stilwater are finished. Now all that remains is to get to the bottom of what happened on that boat five years ago. We’ve already heard the truth: that Julius is the man who set up the bomb. But if we want to do something about it, we’re going to ask someone how to get in contact with him again.

It seems the Saints have finished their business. With the Ronin, Samedi and Brotherhood out of the picture, gang violence shouldn’t be an obstacle. And while Dex is still out there somewhere, we don’t have Julius’s betrayal hanging over our heads anymore. So this seems like the perfect time to hold an event that doesn’t involve violence, right? Well, one problem: we did not explode all the Ronin in that hotel.

We’ve got one Akuji buried and dead, and now we’re looking for the other one to join his son. But considering how aggressive Kazuo can be, it’s not so much a matter of “if” we find him as it is “when.” The only problem is making sure we find him before he can pull off anything big.

The Saints’ rivals are done and dusted, so just what’s in store for the gang now? Well, the other three weren’t the only ones with hold over Stilwater, and with them gone there’s quite the power vacuum left over. And as it turns out, Ultor is more than willing to shove themselves into said vacuum.

Now that Ultor’s on our case, we’ve gotta get creative to take ‘em down. And thanks to this particular DLC episode, we might have a shot. Tera, a scientist who worked for Ultor at their mysterious Pyramid facility, came down with a case of guilty conscience and wants the Saints’ help to expose the horrifying things the company has been doing. And, well, we might as well try something at least once!

Tensions are high at Ultor. Their attempt to put the Boss six feet under failed, and I’m sure the near-reveal of their schemes at the Pyramid have them a little scared at least. Eyes are falling on Dane Vogel, who everyone’s expecting to pull a win against the Saints. Of course, it seems the board of directors isn’t familiar with what happens when you threaten Vogel’s position.

We’ve taken care of a good chunk of Ultor’s board of directors, but there’s still one major threat left in a seat of power: Dane Vogel. Sure, he seems more than willing to let the Saints do his dirty work for him. But there’s no telling if they can stay on his good side forever, especially if control of Stilwater is what both sides are after. Thankfully, overwhelming violence is as effective as it’s always been, and there’s only so much security Mr. Vogel can summon.

With Dane Vogel dead and gone, it seems a power vacuum has opened in Ultor. And wouldn’t you know it, the guy who’s vying for power today is the company’s head of security and our old friend-turned-foe, Dex. Eric Gryphon, the new head of Special Projects after the radical passing of Mr. Vogel, has turned to the Saints for help. It might be a little strange to help Ultor after fighting them tooth and nail, but there’s an old phrase about putting up with guys you don’t like when the alternative is far worse, and that seems applicable here!

Well, it seems like the Saints have a pretty good working relationship with Ultor now. And with a good working relationship comes the sharing of assets. And by assets, I mean assassins. The Saints get to use Ultor’s assassins. Or at least I assume that’s what’s going on, this isn’t exactly a finished game with any cutscenes or story to speak of.

The Saints are back… in pog form!

After the boss’s stunning victory over Ultor, Stilwater hasn’t been the same. After a merger with their former enemies, the Saints have become famous. With freer reigns than ever, and several merchandise deals to continue bankrolling them, the once-small-time gang has become local celebrities. But even now that they’re on top, there are still challengers to their throne. With a movie about the Saints on the horizon, the gang is showing a jackass actor the ropes on how to better play a Saint. However, their planned bank robbery for such training may not go as smoothly as they think. It’ll also go less smoothly than most people would assume a botched robbery would go as well.

Welcome to Saints Row the Third! This one looks a little different! After the success of the first two games, Volition veered ever-further into their own lane. While it’s still very familiar in how it plays, a lot of the game’s plot and progression structures are notably different. So it’s still kinda GTA-like, because that’s just baked into a lot of this genre to some extent. But the style and humor are a lot different, and there’s a lot more spectacle to the main missions. A lot of that has also leaked into the vehicles and weapons of the game, all of which can range from incredibly goofy to over-the-top destructive. It is, to put it simply, a very wild time.

Well, we’re here in Steelport. Things have gone horribly wrong, and now we have neither money nor Gat to get us through. Now seems as good a time as any to ride around the city with Pierce and get our bearings!

Pierce has shown us around a little bit of the city, but we won’t get our bearings until we take a lap around the entirety of Steelport. And hopefully nobody has anything important for us to do afterwards, exploring a city takes a lot out of you.

The Saints have a foot in the door of Steelport, but we can’t say that’s good enough, can we? If we want to show the Syndicate who’s boss, we’ve gotta aim a bit higher. And by that, I mean we take one of the tallest buildings Morningstar’s got that isn’t a highly-defended tower. Surely they’ve got one penthouse around here that can be vacated they’re not using.

With the acquisition of the penthouse, the Saints have a new base, sure. But you know what also helps? The safety deposit box the organization left behind, which lets us steal a lot more than just their apartment. So, let’s have a fun day out with Pierce as we buy up their neighborhood.

Right, so: we’re established in Steelport. We’ve bought a bunch of Morningstar’s properties and kneecapped their operations. So with all that ou of the way, let’s take the final step in fulfilling our promise to end Phillip Loren’s entire ass: actually figuring out where he’s hiding.