Saints Row IV is a game that I really wish I played earlier. I had dismissed it for so long being just more Saints Row 3, so when I finally picked it up I was pleasantly surprised to see… More of Saints Row 3. But better. Saints Row IV has the same location and similar weapons to Saints Row 3, but it makes everything at least ten times better, making it one of the best video game experiences I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying.
Saints Row IV’s story picks up after Saints Row 3’s, with the Boss going after Cyrus Temple. After killing Cyrus, the Boss becomes president of the United States. Which is then blow up by aliens. With a cast of characters from the three previous Saints Row games and newcomers such as Keith David and Asha, Saints Row IV is the craziest yet.
The writing is a great standout, somehow ranging from insane to heartfelt. While the games does have a lot of zany comedy, there are some moments that can really draw out some emotions. Normally, I would avoid spoiling the return of Johnny Gat, but he is forced into promotional artwork so much that it’s not even a surprise.
Yes, Saints Row 2’s brilliant character Johnny Gat is alive and well.
And he’s amazing.
Johnny’s death in Saints Row 3 was one of my main complaints with the game, killing off one of my favorite video game characters I’ve ever seen in an open world game. Now that he’s back, he can reconnect with the Boss in both hysterical and heartfelt ways. The two are clearly best friends, and hearing them make up for lost time is one of my favorite parts of the game.
The humorous scenes inside of simulations are some of the best comedic scenes that I’ve played through in gaming. From an arcade-style beat ‘em up to playing through a horrible fanfiction, there is plenty of humor in the game to go around. Sadly, the Call of Duty and Metal Gear Solid parodies seem to be aiming for some low hanging fruits and not doing anything particularly clever.
Saints Row IV’s use of music is brilliant, playing just the right tracks at just the right time. Standout moments include shooting through enemies with your long lost best friend to the tune of “The Boys are Back in Town” and “The Touch” kicking in when flying into the lair of your mortal enemy. I never knew I wanted to hear those songs used in such a way, but now that I’ve heard them, these moments have been occupying my thoughts for a very long time.
The gunplay is unchanged from Saints Row 3, but new weapons completely change the way you approach combat. From the black-hole creating Singularity Gun to the wonderfully stupid Dubstep Gun to the area-clearing Bounce Rifle, new weapons change the way the game is played in a big way.
Even the more grounded weapons can become insane with crazy upgrades and nerdy skins. At one point in the game I was running around with an armor-piercing phaser, a lightning shooting Auto-9, an Aliens pulse rifle, and a fully automatic version of Anton’s shotgun from No Country For Old Men. Other skins include a rubber band gun, the titular tentacle from Day of the Tentacle, Han Solo’s pistol, and Harrison Ford’s pistol in Blade Runner.
Of course, the biggest change to combat and overall gameplay is the inclusion of super powers. There are 8 unique powers in total, all with varying degrees of usefulness. Powers such as super dive and blast were enough to soften up most enemies during combat encounters, while moves like Telekinesis and Buff remained somewhat untouched. However, the most useful powers by far are Super Run and Super Jump.
Super Run makes the Boss outrun basically any vehicle in the game, and Super Jump can make you leap over buildings in a single bound. They can even be upgraded for unlimited Super Sprint, gliding, running on water, running on walls, and being able to extend your jump height to dwarf skyscrapers. While these powers are a blast, they do make cars and helicopters somewhat useless.
The odd thing about the superpowers is that so many story missions strip them away from you. About half of the story missions will leave you without powers, which frustrated me to no end. When the game gives you so many cool powers, I hate to see them taken all away for plot convenience.
This next complaint might sound odd, but I’ve found it to be the truth. Once you play Saints Row IV, you will never be able to go back to previous Saints Row titles. Of course, this isn’t a knock against the game, as it’s completely idiotic to insult a game for being too good, but I’d sincerely recommend playing the other games first if you want to enjoy them to their fullest.
Saints Row 4 had me hooked, and I still crave to play it some more. Even with 22 hours and the best ending under my belt, I still crave to play more. The game has gripped me to an unbelievable extent, unlike that of a superhero game I’ve ever played in my life. This is how you make not just an example of a quality superhero game, a quality humor game, or a quality open world experience. This game has set the bar for all three, and I’m waiting for when a game can catch up.
+Wickedly fun
+Couldn’t put the controller down
+Best soundtrack in any open world game. Ever.
+Superpowers are finally done right
+Great balance of humor and character building
-Cars rendered useless with super speed
-The moments without Superpowers can leave you disappointed
-You can never go back to previous Saints games.
-Some parodies are overdone
-Not all powers are created equal
Quality: 9.5/10
Fun: 9.75/10