You’re naked, drugged, and stumbling around in an underground crypt shooting hookers with a machinegun…and this particular mission doesn’t even rank in the top five of Saints Row: The Third’s biggest “WTF?!” moments. In fact, it might not even crack the top 10.

Since launching as a very good but obvious Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas clone in the early days of the Xbox 360 — back when we were starving for our first next-gen sandbox experience — Saints Row has matured into a series that embraces the over-the-top and the absurd in a way that even GTA could never dream of, and this third iteration perfects the formula by emphasizing fun above all else, realism be damned.

In fact, Saints Row: The Third is like a Saturday-morning-cartoon version of San Andreas. Celebrities make strange cameos that are somehow justified within the context of the game, tanks fall from the sky, a hungry tiger gets locked in your car with you, and virtual reality literally transforms you into a toilet (see below).

This game shouldn’t be dismissed as dumb fun, though. Sure, you can punch anyone in the groin, sprint at them and press RT to do a showboating takedown, or wipe out a crowd of people with bizarre weapons like the Penetrator (a sex-toy-turned-blunt-instrument) or the airstrike gun. But The Third brilliantly evolves a number of open-world failings, leaving a smartly designed experience that’s free of filler and packed with nothing but grin-inducing good times. One seemingly small decision that plays big is the placement of the GPS turn-indicator arrows smack-dab in the middle of the gameplay world, as if it were a racetrack in Burnout. Is this realistic? No, but instead of staring mostly at the mini-map in the lower corner of the screen any time you’re driving somewhere, you can pay attention to the other 95% of your TV, enjoying the ride and learning the lay of the land in the process.

Elsewhere, The Third builds upon the economy and upgrade system introduced in Saints Row 2 and makes it a core component of the experience. Completing missions and Activities (more on those shortly) earns you cash and Respect. Use cash, in turn, to buy weapons, gear, and myriad abilities, such as extra health, sidekicks to aid you in battle, unlimited sprint, and dozens more. In fact, you’ve got so much to choose from — and many of the best abilities don’t unlock until you advance your Respect level into the 20s and 30s — that no two Saints heroes are likely to be the same. Buying property, meanwhile, increases your control over each neighborhood while also returning a certain hourly cash flow, helping to keep the money coming in to fund your next car customization or ability upgrade.