By Matthew Battles
So, after months of waiting, speculating and pouring over the slow release of information, the scintillating tidbits that had me and my brother almost buzzing with apprehension, my copy of Saints Row 4 finally arrived. Actually, due to a delivery cock-up, I now have two copies. Let’s just say we wasted no time getting stuck in.
So, after months of waiting, speculating and pouring over the slow release of information, the scintillating tidbits that had me and my brother almost buzzing with apprehension, my copy of Saints Row 4 finally arrived. Actually, due to a delivery cock-up, I now have two copies. Let’s just say we wasted no time getting stuck in.
Since obliterating the syndicate and destroying S.T.A.G General-turned-terrorist Cyrus Temple, The Saints gained a meteoric rise in popularity. All the way to the White House - that’s right, you’re the President of the United - freaking - States. However your presidency is short lived.
Just as you’re about to begin a press conference where you officially cure cancer (or world hunger - your choice) aliens fall from the skies and start wreaking havoc. Needless to say running the country hasn’t softened our leading sociopath at all- he (or she) jumps straight into action and makes a vain attempt to thwart the oncoming invasion.
In an effort to break the Saints’ wills, new leading villain Emperor Zinyak has locked each member of the gang is locked in their own personal hell and it’s your job - after breaking out of your own version of 1950s Suburbia - to bust your buddies out of there! Once free you’re taking refuge on a stolen spaceship and use a VR simulator to jack yourselves into a virtual Steelport where you have, alongside a cache of conventional and alien weaponry, an arsenal of SUPERPOWERS with which to cause chaos and eventually bring the simulation to it’s knees and take the fight to Zinyak.
Just as you’re about to begin a press conference where you officially cure cancer (or world hunger - your choice) aliens fall from the skies and start wreaking havoc. Needless to say running the country hasn’t softened our leading sociopath at all- he (or she) jumps straight into action and makes a vain attempt to thwart the oncoming invasion.
In an effort to break the Saints’ wills, new leading villain Emperor Zinyak has locked each member of the gang is locked in their own personal hell and it’s your job - after breaking out of your own version of 1950s Suburbia - to bust your buddies out of there! Once free you’re taking refuge on a stolen spaceship and use a VR simulator to jack yourselves into a virtual Steelport where you have, alongside a cache of conventional and alien weaponry, an arsenal of SUPERPOWERS with which to cause chaos and eventually bring the simulation to it’s knees and take the fight to Zinyak.
For the most part gameplay is the same as it was in Saints Row 3 you activate your missions using your hub device - along with upgrading your player, powers or gathering your cash - and jump straight in. In this game missions are more or less a series of Activities under the guise of a sustained campaign of chaos. Scattered in there are one or two excursions into the real world to rescue a member of your crew or an ongoing attempt to destroy Zinyak.
Other than that there’s the usual advent of hidden activities; Fight Club, Insurance Fraud, various instances of Mayhem to play your way through. There’s also a new scoring system; Gold, Silver and Bronze rather than the previous Pass/Fail system - giving those who might not be as adept at a certain activity a better chance at passing rather than coming up against a wall they can’t bypass. There’s also the usual array of shops; Rusty’s Needle, Planet Saints and Let’s Pretend, Friendly Fire and Rim Jobs (all renamed something Zinish) to visit.
Graphically this game is almost identical to Saints Row 3 - it never really was a contender for most realistic graphics and continues to follow this trend. There are some nice touches with simulation-Steelport’s graphical glitches. Reminding you that you’re in a computer. Sometimes though, these glitches can sometimes impede vision and actually ruin the experience.
Graphically this game is almost identical to Saints Row 3 - it never really was a contender for most realistic graphics and continues to follow this trend. There are some nice touches with simulation-Steelport’s graphical glitches. Reminding you that you’re in a computer. Sometimes though, these glitches can sometimes impede vision and actually ruin the experience.
Being locked in a virtual prison isn’t as bad as it sounds. With it being a computer program your super-awesome tech homie Kinzie has a trick up her sleeve - re-writing random bits of code to give you super-awesome powers! You get eight powers to play with in total, Four “Active” and four “Passive.” Here’s a brief rundown of what you’ve got:
The “Active” powers are your combat abilities and can give you a bit of an edge while fighting. First up is Blast - pretty simple the ability to throw fire, ice and mind control at your enemies, taking them down faster. Next up is Telekinesis - the ability to pick things up with your mind and throw them at enemies or over great distances. Stomp is a huge stomp of the floor creating a small earthquake, gravity disturbances and a shrink ray and dislodging lost code clusters. Finally there’s Buff a power that surrounds you in a cocoon of fire, ice and lightning which ripples out and hurts those around you.
The “Active” powers are your combat abilities and can give you a bit of an edge while fighting. First up is Blast - pretty simple the ability to throw fire, ice and mind control at your enemies, taking them down faster. Next up is Telekinesis - the ability to pick things up with your mind and throw them at enemies or over great distances. Stomp is a huge stomp of the floor creating a small earthquake, gravity disturbances and a shrink ray and dislodging lost code clusters. Finally there’s Buff a power that surrounds you in a cocoon of fire, ice and lightning which ripples out and hurts those around you.
Passive powers aren’t designed for fighting but they’re a lot more fun! First up is Super Sprint, that’s right - the ability to run really, really fast, the only problem is I spent around 15 minutes of the entire game driving a car. On top of that you can create tornados around you while you run which blasts people and vehicles out of the way. Super Jump is the second passive power - with this enabled you can jump insanely high and glide from one end of the island to the other. Seriously, who needs a car! Death From Above is combined with the jump to plummet towards the ground and destroy your enemies below. Force Shield... Doesn’t seem to do much at all really and basically seems to be there to fill space on the grid... Well there’s always one.
One of my primary concerns following the announcement of this game was that it had originally intended to be a DLC release for Saints Row 3 and might not have been bulked up to be a game in it’s own right. It has. This is definitely a game in it’s own right. Not only that but it feels like the end of a great Saga, with some beautiful throwbacks to previous games as you revisit old landmarks a-la other people’s minds.
On top of this it’s a fantastic fan service re-writing all the mistakes from the previous installment; Gat never died, Shaundi (Fun, sexy Shaundi that is!) also exists inside the simulation and they brought back fight club. I’d also asked for the insanity to be ramped up a notch - it has been - this game is bat shit crazy enough to have Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen running home to mummy!
On top of this it’s a fantastic fan service re-writing all the mistakes from the previous installment; Gat never died, Shaundi (Fun, sexy Shaundi that is!) also exists inside the simulation and they brought back fight club. I’d also asked for the insanity to be ramped up a notch - it has been - this game is bat shit crazy enough to have Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen running home to mummy!
This game was created by geeks and gamers (keep your eyes peeled for an ode to Metal Gear Solid) for geeks and gamers. As far as giving the fans what they want this was the full dinner and a movie experience with mind-blowingly good sex thrown in!
Those of you who’ve listened to the IWGCast will be aware of my brother Brad and his inability to keep his mouth shut! This is what he had to say on the game: “Don’t take the game lightly, even with superpowers you die a lot so make sure you haven’t got shit guns.” Thanks bro!
Those of you who’ve listened to the IWGCast will be aware of my brother Brad and his inability to keep his mouth shut! This is what he had to say on the game: “Don’t take the game lightly, even with superpowers you die a lot so make sure you haven’t got shit guns.” Thanks bro!
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