SAINTS ROW IV (PS3)
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Publisher: Deep Silver.
Developer: Volition. Released: August 2013. Genre: Sandbox. Other versions: X360; PC; PS4; XONE. Posted 7th August 2015. By Tom Clare © 2015 |
Picture the scene; cruising virtual Steelport (yes, I’ll get to that shortly), the boss of the Saints hears the opening refrains of Paula Abdul’s “Opposites Attract” filtering through the airwaves. He/she understandably wants a singalong, and when hapless homie Kinzie demonstrates rather less enthusiasm for an impromptu duet, she’s excitedly told that she can “be the cat!”. If you’re old enough to remember the cat in question, and indeed for the aforementioned gag to have resonated, then Saints Row IV will be right on your wavelength. Ironically, such moments will likely have been wasted on the game’s young-adult target audience, catered for once again in fine style with all the dodgy innuendo, pixelated nudity and action-flick explosions you could ever want from a video game. But no matter, you don’t need a pretext to enjoy SRIV.
Since the last game, the Boss (again named and shaped in the player’s own image) has become President of the USA. Yep. Only the player isn’t given long to bask in the finery of the Oval Office as within minutes the White House, and indeed much of the wider world, is abruptly raised to the ground by an invading alien race known as the Zin. Zapped up to the mothership, a number of the gang find refuge in their own vessel. Battling the Zin and wresting back control of allies’ minds requires tackling missions in a simulation of Steelport, as well as beating the oft-diverse manifestations of their worst fears.
It runs, looks and plays much like its direct predecessor. SRIV remains fairly attractive, with a colourful and detailed open world to explore, even if a few signs of age and untidiness have started to seep in. It has the same glorious explosions and grand special effects that made the Saints Row: The Third such a blast, but once again suffers from lag during the more strenuous sequences, and is prone to crashing. Whilst the imposing alien fleet makes for a neat visual addition to Steelport, the pixelated fuzzing effect, presumably representing gaps or bugs in the simulation itself, is a rather ugly and distracting one. The weapons are still riotous fun though. You can’t beat the Black Hole launcher for sheer unadulterated, vacuum-based carnage, though the Abductor, which simply zaps your luckless target into the sky, is mighty satisfying too. The new Dubstep gun could have been a little more potent but it’s certainly unusual, sending out barbs of music that dispatch, and sees all those in the vicinity forced to dance along to your crazed charade.
Relatively restrained clothing by Saints' usual standards
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Not as big as your usual Saints Row arsenal... but it will do
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If all that doesn’t give you a clear enough indication: Saints Row IV is still as dumb, overblown and lovable as ever. Underneath its clowning façade however beats the heart of an assured, quality sandbox game that nails most of what it attempts. Whilst many open-world games feel like a pastiche of either gangster flicks or superhero comics, SRIV delivers a truly remarkable range of pop culture references that are far more shrewd than many give it credit for.
And for the vast majority of the time, it’s on the money. The opening sequence reaches a fittingly overblown conclusion as the player leaps on to a launching missile (SRIV doesn’t do subtle, and it doesn't do quiet either). Right on cue, Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” pipes up, accompanied by a sequence of brilliantly awkward, faux-farewells from your homies. Ghostbusters gets a nod in unforgettable style as, in Pierre’s nightmare scenario, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man meets his match in a skyscraper-sized, demonic Saints Soda can named Paul. And then there’s the new and eminently potent array of powers, trialled in a training program that bears more than a passing resemblance to the building roofs where Neo learns his craft in The Matrix.
Speaking of powers, there’s a joyous array of skills made possible in the simulation. Attaining and upgrading abilities so as you can leap as high as buildings, run up walls, sprint at super speeds and glide for hundreds of metres lends things a remarkable sense of progression. Taking cues from inFAMOUS 2, the game sees you able to project fire and ice attacks, as well as causing tremors with the uber-satisfying Super Stomp. The mix of powers is ridiculously good fun, making SRIV feel less of a sandbox than a toy box. Such dynamic platforming completely alters the feel of the game so that, whilst the Steelport location is very much a redressing of Saints Row: The Third, its gameplay is closer to a Prototype than a GTA.
And for the vast majority of the time, it’s on the money. The opening sequence reaches a fittingly overblown conclusion as the player leaps on to a launching missile (SRIV doesn’t do subtle, and it doesn't do quiet either). Right on cue, Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” pipes up, accompanied by a sequence of brilliantly awkward, faux-farewells from your homies. Ghostbusters gets a nod in unforgettable style as, in Pierre’s nightmare scenario, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man meets his match in a skyscraper-sized, demonic Saints Soda can named Paul. And then there’s the new and eminently potent array of powers, trialled in a training program that bears more than a passing resemblance to the building roofs where Neo learns his craft in The Matrix.
Speaking of powers, there’s a joyous array of skills made possible in the simulation. Attaining and upgrading abilities so as you can leap as high as buildings, run up walls, sprint at super speeds and glide for hundreds of metres lends things a remarkable sense of progression. Taking cues from inFAMOUS 2, the game sees you able to project fire and ice attacks, as well as causing tremors with the uber-satisfying Super Stomp. The mix of powers is ridiculously good fun, making SRIV feel less of a sandbox than a toy box. Such dynamic platforming completely alters the feel of the game so that, whilst the Steelport location is very much a redressing of Saints Row: The Third, its gameplay is closer to a Prototype than a GTA.
Melee attacks get so powerful, you can send aliens to another postcode
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Dancing is one of the President's biggest vices
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Spoofing films is one thing, but it takes a gutsy game to parody other games. Once again though, Saints Row IV’s quality build means it’s able to seamlessly achieve this without any embarrassments. It’s impossible not to smile as it ribs Metal Gear Solid’s cardboard box antics, as well as some of the guard’s proclamations, which include complaints about walking in set patterns “until something interesting happens”. Elsewhere, there’s time for some low-res scrolling beat ‘em up fun taking inspiration from Double Dragon, and a fun moment where the Boss laments temporarily having to pilot a tank using a hitherto unfamiliar top-down perspective. More modern gaming trends haven’t escaped notice either, with Volition devising a hilariously blunt take on the affinity/love systems that have been doing the rounds recently. This time around, you even have the option to give your character Nolan North’s voice. And let’s face it, there’s no more gamey a gaming reference than that!
Exploring Steelport is great. Using the same locale as SR: The Third however causes something of imbalance, as the array of vehicles, and indeed tuning and customisation options, are rendered somewhat superfluous by the frenetic platforming. There’s rarely any cause to drive and, aside from occasional vehicle drops that see you returning a new vehicle to a garage, there’s barely a single dedicated side mission or race that features cars. Most of the simulation events, which include ledge-hopping platforming against the clock and a telekinetic variant on archery, make for likable though inessential distractions. The highlights remain the city challenges however, where Mayhem encourages you to rack up considerable destruction counts, and Fraud, a quintessentially Saints Row style endeavour that sees the player using ragdoll physics to hurl the President into oncoming traffic, racking up as big an insurance claim as possible.
There’s somewhere between 25 and 30 hours play to be had if you plan on being really thorough, so the lifespan is fairly strong. Whilst some will be disappointed at the lack of new environs, the new story, side-missions and powers make for an outing that’s appreciably different to the last. For all its juvenile tendencies, few games are as laugh-out-loud funny, and so unerringly focused on delivering stupid fun as Saints Row IV.
Exploring Steelport is great. Using the same locale as SR: The Third however causes something of imbalance, as the array of vehicles, and indeed tuning and customisation options, are rendered somewhat superfluous by the frenetic platforming. There’s rarely any cause to drive and, aside from occasional vehicle drops that see you returning a new vehicle to a garage, there’s barely a single dedicated side mission or race that features cars. Most of the simulation events, which include ledge-hopping platforming against the clock and a telekinetic variant on archery, make for likable though inessential distractions. The highlights remain the city challenges however, where Mayhem encourages you to rack up considerable destruction counts, and Fraud, a quintessentially Saints Row style endeavour that sees the player using ragdoll physics to hurl the President into oncoming traffic, racking up as big an insurance claim as possible.
There’s somewhere between 25 and 30 hours play to be had if you plan on being really thorough, so the lifespan is fairly strong. Whilst some will be disappointed at the lack of new environs, the new story, side-missions and powers make for an outing that’s appreciably different to the last. For all its juvenile tendencies, few games are as laugh-out-loud funny, and so unerringly focused on delivering stupid fun as Saints Row IV.
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VERDICT
Visual: 6/10
Audio: 8/10 Gameplay: 7/10 Longevity: 7/10 OVERALL: 7/10 |