Saints Row 4 | Game review

Saints Row 4 is an everyman’s story, it could be the life of any one of us; save the world, become president, get abducted by aliens, be placed in Matrix-style simulation… OK, so maybe it’s a totally ridiculous flight of fancy, but that’s what the franchise is known for and it’s what Saints Row 4 does so beautifully.

Five years on from the end of Saints Row: The Third, we have saved the world and been made president of the United States. This happy scene is ended, however, with alien invasion. The Zin, led by dapper English alien Zinyak, put us in an artificial reality version of Steelport and we must break out and save the human race.

One of the major new elements to the game is the addition of superpowers that you can use in the virtual world. These superpowers are available as four different abilities: freeze, fire, telekinesis and rock (an earthquake-type power) and each is incredibly helpful in killing off the bad guys. But don’t go thinking there’s no room for guns in this game; there’s always room for them in Saints Row! Alongside the usual line-up of shooting suspects, we have an additional cast of alien weapons that shoot lasers and target-seeking projectiles. There’s also the much-talked-about “novelty weapons” such as the dubstep gun, singularity gun or one that makes people’s heads incredibly big and bloaty, Theme Hospital-style.

After the introduction of futuristic technology and crazier storylines in Saints Row: The Third it’s hard to imagine how the franchise could have been furthered, but it has – and it’s been done well. The alien artificial world means the superpowers and abilities are all tied into the game incredibly well; without this it would have felt thrown in as a desperate attempt at making it “crazy”. Everything seems to have a reason for being there and has been thought out well.

The storyline to the game is pretty out there, but it holds your focus and the pace and difficulty (normal mode) of the game are equally engaging. There are twists, revelations and shocks, which all build to form an incredibly engaging game. The graphics aren’t the most lifelike and there are a couple of glitches in which the main character loses his hair a couple of times, but nothing serious. The few glitches in the game turned out to be quite funny, most notably a “bad guy” getting knocked over some railings and being stuck on a ledge, meaning a small section needed to be replayed.

This game isn’t for everyone: if you’re looking for something with a serious plot or if you are someone who is easily offended, you should probably stay away, however if you enjoyed the last game, you will love this one. Saints Row 4 is fun from start to finish and never takes itself too seriously, making it a great game to relax with and co-op with a friend.

Indra Wignall

Saints Row 4 is out on 28^th August for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.