Just Cause 2 vs Saints Row: The Third
Just Cause 2 is an FPS open-world game from Avalanche Studios (2010) while Saints Row: The Third is an action-adventure open-world game (2011).
Quick answer: Just Cause 2 and Saints Row: The Third are too close, or too thinly reviewed, to separate on the numbers; the table below shows what each holds.
What each one is
Just Cause 2 is filed under FPS and Open-World. In contrast, Saints Row: The Third under Action-Adventure and Open-World.
Dive into an adrenaline-fuelled free-roaming adventure with 400 square miles of rugged terrain and hundreds of weapons and vehicles.
Get ready for the most out-landish gameplay scenarios ever seen as the Third Street Saints take on the Syndicate!
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Four years after Just Cause , Rico Rodriguez is dropped into Panau to find his former handler Tom Sheldon, who is suspected of going rogue and aligning himself with the country's dictator Pandak "Baby" Panay. With the aid of intelligence asset Karl Blaine and a weapons dealer only known as the Sloth Demon, Rico allies with the island's three dominant criminal gangs and factions: the Roaches, an organized crime syndicate; the Reapers, an insurgent… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Just Cause 2 received generally positive reviews upon release, with critics praising its gameplay, graphics and open world; the game was widely regarded as a significant improvement to its predecessor. It was nominated for Best Action Game at the 28th Golden Joystick Awards , losing to Assassin’s Creed II . Eric Neigher of 1UP. (Wikipedia)
Plot
Three years after the events of Saints Row 2 , the 3rd Street Saints have merged with the Ultor Corporation to become a media and consumer empire with their own brand. While robbing a bank in Stilwater to promote an upcoming film about themselves, the Boss ( Troy Baker , Kenn Michael , Robin Atkin Downes , Laura Bailey , Tara Platt , Rebecca Sanabria or Steve Blum ) and the Saints' top lieutenants, Shaundi ( Danielle Nicolet ) and Johnny Gat ( Daniel Dae… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Saints Row: The Third reviews The game received "generally favorable" reviews, according to video game review score aggregator Metacritic . Some said the game did not try to be more than a good time, and described it as a variant of "ridiculous", "zany", or "absurd". In another way, others called it "juvenile". (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Just Cause 2 | Saints Row: The Third | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.1/10 | 8.1/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (91%, 51,583) | Overwhelmingly Positive (96%, 69,665) |
| Critic aggregate | 84/100 | 84/100 |
| Price | $14.99 | $2.49 |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | verified | playable |
| Released | 2010 | 2011 |
| Developer | Avalanche Studios | — |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Just Cause 2 vs Saints Row: The Third, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Just Cause 2FPS open-world gameSaints Row: The ThirdAction-adventure open-world gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Just Cause 2Open World, Action, SandboxSaints Row: The ThirdOpen World, Action, ComedyThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Just Cause 2Score 8.1 · 91% on Steam · 84 criticSaints Row: The ThirdScore 8.1 · 96% on Steam · 84 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Just Cause 251,583 reviews · 8 add-onsSaints Row: The Third69,665 reviews · 20 add-onsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Just Cause 2$14.99Saints Row: The Third ✓$2.49Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Just Cause 2 ✓VerifiedSaints Row: The ThirdPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 1 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueJust Cause 2 and Saints Row: The Third on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Nintendo
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The cheaper right now: Saints Row: The Third ($2.49)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Just Cause 2 (verified)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
Open WorldActionSandboxThird PersonMultiplayerAdventureThird-Person ShooterShooter
Where they differ
DestructionExplorationModdableBeautifulPhysicsAtmospheric
Character CustomizationOnline Co-OpGreat SoundtrackCrimeFemale ProtagonistSatire
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Just Cause 2 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Saints Row: The Third is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Just Cause 2 | Saints Row: The Third | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | DX10 compatible graphics card with 256 MB of | 320MB Video RAM GPU w/ Shader Model 3.0 support. NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800 series |
| Minimum CPU | Dual-core CPU with SSE3 (Athlon 64 X2 4200 / Pentium D 3GHz) | 2GHz Dual Core Processor (Intel® Core 2 Duo |
| Minimum RAM | 2 GB | 2 GB |
| Install size | — | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Just Cause 2 · Saints Row: The Third.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 6 accessibility features for Just Cause 2 and 1 for Saints Row: The Third. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Just Cause 2 and Saints Row: The Third in scope?
Just Cause 2 has drawn 51,583 Steam reviews and ships 8 add-ons. Saints Row: The Third has drawn 69,665 Steam reviews and ships 20 add-ons.
Is Just Cause 2 or Saints Row: The Third better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Just Cause 2 rates higher (8.1 to 8.1). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Just Cause 2 or Saints Row: The Third?
Saints Row: The Third is cheaper right now at $2.49, against $14.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Just Cause 2 or Saints Row: The Third?
Just Cause 2 and Saints Row: The Third are too close, or too thinly reviewed, to separate on the numbers; the table below shows what each holds. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.