Saints Row: The Third - Screen Shots

The third instalment of the popular Saints Row franchise is about to grace our consoles, so prepare yourself to hook up with buddies from the Third Street Saints gang and battle the 'Syndicate' who want control the city of Steelport and want to remove the Third Street Saints from the streets.

THQ have released some screenshots which I've added here featuring a skydiving shootout, a massive tank battle on the streets of Steelport, and a showdown with a heavily-armed Mexican wrestling gang. 

Also below is a brief overview of the major players of Steelport who'll you'll meet in the mean streets:

• Phillipe Loren: the cold, calculating leader of the Syndicate.
• Zimos: an old-school pimp who hates Morningstar and what they've done to pimping, mostly because they ran him out of business and pimping ain't easy.
• Killbane: leader of the Luchadores Mexican wrestling gang that has cornered the gambling trade in Steelport.
• Angel de la Muerte: Killbane's former tag-team partner. The relationship did not end well.
• Matt Miller: leader of the Deckers and specialist in high-tech cybercrime

Developed by Volition, Saints Row: The Third is scheduled for release on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Windows PC later this year (I'll keep my ears out for any update on this).

Years after taking Stilwater for their own, the Third Street Saints have evolved from street gang to household brand name, with Saints sneakers, Saints energy drinks and Johnny Gat bobble head dolls all available at a store near you. The Saints are kings of Stilwater, but their celebrity status has not gone unnoticed. The Syndicate, a legendary criminal fraternity with pawns in play all over the globe, has turned its eye on the Saints and demands tribute. Refusing to kneel to the Syndicate, you take the fight to Steelport, a once-proud metropolis reduced to a struggling city of sin under Syndicate control. Take a tank skydiving, call in a satellite-targeted airstrike on a Mexican wrestling gang, and defend yourself against a highly-trained military force using only a sex toy in the most outlandish gameplay scenarios ever seen, igniting a city-wide war that will set Steelport on fire.