This week for the holiday recap I played through two games wildly different in tone, but with the same basic strength. The over-the-top action set-pieces of “Saints Row: The Third” and “Uncharted 3” define the experience for each game, and include some of the most memorable moments of the year.
    
“Saints Row” feels like what Rockstar would have been if they had turned left, instead of right, when creating a follow-up to “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.” “Grand Theft Auto IV” eliminated the silliness prevalent in “San Andreas” in order to craft a serious crime drama. Removing elements like skydiving and piloting a jet pack served the new tone of “GTA IV,” but took away from the overall fun of the game.
   
 “GTA IV” abandoned features found in “San Andreas” like character customization and RPG upgrade mechanics, in favor of a more cohesive narrative. “Saints Row” fleshes those features out to an absurd degree and makes no attempt at a cohesive narrative. Everything the game does is in service of creating fun; it doesn’t bother with making sense. The overall arc of the story is somewhat bland, but the events within it are captivating in their lunacy. One mission sends your character into cyberspace, Matrix-style, to take on a hacker gang leader. The mission features new environments, weapons and enemies created just for that 20-minute chunk of the game. The boss even simulates Internet lag as you fight him. This level of dedication is shown throughout the game which never does anything halfway. That dedication can even be found in smaller moments like when two characters sing along to Sublime’s “What I Got” while driving to a mission. If you drive around the block a few times before getting to the mission, the characters will actually sing along to the entire song while reminiscing about the good ol’ days.
    
The arsenal of weapons found in “Saints Row” lives up to the insanity of its surroundings. The truck-mounted human launcher and shark firing shotgun don’t seem out of place in the game’s universe. More standard firearms are also available, which can be upgraded into cartoonishly powerful killing machines. Even the standard pistol will blast enemies across a room when fully upgraded. Your character’s appearance can be fully customized at any point, including gender, and the hundreds of clothing options offer plenty of ridiculous options.
    
New character upgrades can be purchased as you complete missions that earn you respect. These upgrades are in line with the over-the-top spirit of the game, but make it extraordinarily easy towards the end. The upgrades most responsible are those that lessen the impact of various sources of damage like bullets, explosions or gravity. With the higher level upgrades there is no need for concern with taking cover or avoiding damage, but after purchasing the highest level upgrades your character is literally invincible. It’s unlikely that a player would reach the respect level required for total invincibility before beating the game, but it’s certainly possible. In most games this would bother me, but here it just meant that I moved on to the next crazy moment more efficiently. The gunplay isn’t terrible, and is certainly more entertaining than what’s offered in most other open-world crime games, but players should come to “Saints Row” for the spectacle, not the shooting.
    
Calling a video game ‘cinematic’ has become a bit of a cliché in the gaming press this console generation. High production values and pre-rendered cut-scenes are often enough to earn the label. “Uncharted 2” was the first game I ever encountered that actually succeeded in creating a genuinely cinematic interactive experience. “Uncharted 3” is not the paradigm shift its predecessor was, but expecting developer Naughty Dog to once again alter our notions of what video games can be, would be unreasonable. The game could be accused of being more of the same, but “Uncharted 2” was so unique among action games that playing through this very similar sequel never felt stale.
    
By far the strongest feature in “Uncharted 3” is its excellence in all areas of presentation. Famously gorgeous graphics are captured by what often seems to be a Hollywood film crew. The camera system is a major reason I found the game authentically cinematic. Early in the adventure a chase scene has Drake sprinting through narrow hallways with 90-degree turns. The camera seems barely able to keep up with Drake and slams into walls while rounding the sharp turns. Small touches in how characters animate go a long way toward making them appear human. Drake raises his hands to cushion himself for impact if you navigate him into a wall. In one scene when a young boy sprints up a set of stairs, he bounds up using hands and feet like I always did as a kid, and sometimes still do as an adult. These details in seemingly unimportant animations are things few developers would concern themselves with, and give “Uncharted 3” an air of superior craftsmanship.
    
The orchestral score does a commendable job of matching the intensity of the action, while reinforcing the PG-13 action adventure movie vibe. The tracks would not sound at all out of place on the soundtrack to “Indiana Jones.” Video game voice acting is at its best when you play through a game without ever thinking about it. If I think about a game’s voice acting while playing it, it is because it’s distracting enough to grab my attention. There are no bad apples in the game’s crop of voice actors, and Nolan North is as charming as ever as the voice of Nathan Drake.
   
 The narrative of “Uncharted 3” is a well-executed, though unambitious, adventure romp in the style of “Indiana Jones.” Characters are largely established action movie archetypes, and there are some instances of extraordinary coincidence and luck to further the plot. While it may elicit a few eye rolls, the story is never boring and provides plenty of excuses for the outrageous action scenes that made “Uncharted” one of this generation’s most popular new franchises.