Release Date: August 20, 2013
Developer: Volition
Publisher: Deep Silver
Genre: Action Adventure/Sandbox
There's a certain set of typical ideas people think about when they hear the word president. Leadership, charisma, honesty, and law-abiding are a few characteristics that most people believe a president should have. However, Deep Silver and Volition aren't most people, as you'll soon learn when you pick up their newest title, Saints Row IV.
In Saints Row IV, the top dog of the Saints has been elected as the U.S. President, and if that isn't crazy enough for you, prepare for a catastrophic alien invasion that will completely change the way we look at the Saints Row franchise, courtesy of an alien patriarch named Zinyak. Zinyak has transported the Saints into a strange simulation, littered with the alien presence, hyper-active police officers, unique enemies, and alien technology for your use.
Players can utilize a number of alien powers that they unlock along the way, beginning soon after a few "fluff" introductory missions. Characters can use powers such as blasts that freeze your enemies, super speed and super jump. The powers make the game feel similar to Prototype, but with an element of Crackdown mixed in. You won't be collecting orbs, but instead will be collecting data clusters that you'll use to upgrade your super abilities. Saints Row IV will definitely fill the void left by Crackdown, and you'll easily get at least 30 hours of gameplay. There's always something to do, and the city is pretty large.
Character customization is surprisingly deep, and there are a number of options to use that will undoubtedly make your character stand out, even in the strange world created by Zinyak. You unlock more clothing along the way. The character I made felt like a fatter, well-dressed version of Mr. T, but with an almost luminescent green skin. You can make your character as normal and socially acceptable as you'd like, though, but what is the fun in that?
There are also a wide variety of weapons contained in Saints Row IV, ranging from a simple hand pistol to a dub step gun that makes your enemies dance . Whether you're looking for guns containing cool alien technology or just a powerful gun you've seen before, SRIV has it, and will allow you to customize it. And, changing the appearance of your gun changes its sound (see: Dubstep Gun).
Also noteworthy is the amount of different types of cars at your disposal. There's everything from motorcycles, sports cars and trucks to alien tanks and flying alien aircrafts (which is a lot of fun, by the way). One of the surprising stars in the line-up of vehicles is a small, energy efficient car; it drives like a dream!
The variety of gameplay that Saints Row IV offers is unprecedented. There are story missions, stores to hack, alien bases to defeat, a large energy drink can to shoot, tanks to cause mayhem in, cars to steal and return to a base to unlock the car, and so much more. Co-op is also a treat, if you have the right friend aboard.
The game's biggest flaw comes within its first half hour of gameplay; the first few missions. These missions felt like a slow walk through mud compared to the high octane feel of the rest of the game. But, once you get into the main portion of the game, you'll likely forget all about it. It isn't the only flaw, though. While there are a plethora of missions to choose from scattered all around the city, I wanted to see more of the fight club missions than were available, as they were pretty cool, not donkey beer cool, but pretty cool. And, sure, there are some minor bugs in the game (during one of the fight clubs, the boss actually got stuck inside of a building), but nothing game-breaking or truly annoying.
It's undeniable that the game is certainly “out there”, but in a good way. Saint's Row IV is at its best when you're causing mayhem in the streets, and at its worst in the first half hour of the game. If you can muscle through the first bit of missions, there's an awesome sandbox superhero-esque game in hiding for you to dive into. It's unlike any other Saints Row title to date (a good thing, in my opinion), and this is the best iteration in the franchise so far. Even though it has a few minor flaws, Saints Row IV took me completely by surprise, and if you don't take it seriously (like it's meant to not be taken seriously), there's tons of enjoyment to be had under the rule of Zinyak.
Story – 8/10
Gameplay – 8/10
Graphics – 8/10
Soundtrack – 8/10
Multiplayer - 8/10
Replayability – 8/10
Overall - 8.0/10
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