In many ways the Saints Row games are the antidote to the
serious nerdism displayed by hardcore gamers who have become so immersed in
their virtual worlds that they forget the principal rule that games are
supposed to be fun.
So the Saints Row team have dipped into several genres,
including shooters, gangster, stealth, superhero, etc., and given them a
bizarre, absurd or just plain silly spin in a world where you can make up the
rules as you go.
The only problem with this mad tongue-in-cheek approach is
that you have to come up with enough new gags to keep your fans hooked. This
time round they've kicked off by making the leader of the Saints gang the
President of the United States, complete with trademark purple outfits,
gun-toting bodyguards and babes in skimpy outfits.
However, within seconds of the game getting under way, Earth
is invaded by aliens and the President is grabbed and then held prisoner in an
AI simulation of Steelport. From then on the battle is waged in both the virtual
world (in the familiar Saints Row fashion) and on board spaceships in the
'real' world.
The major change in the Steelport gameplay is that you can
acquire extra powers in a Neo/Matrix manner so you can leap over tall
buildings, run at incredible speed, hurl fire and ice, ground stomp and use
telepathy to tackle your enemies. Your aim is to gradually take over more and
more of the map and destabilise the simulation so that the alien leader
Zinyak's power is broken.
Fans of the series will enjoy familiar traits such as crazy
weapons, outrageous clothing, car customising and using the phone to call up
vehicles and gang members. One handy novelty is that you can remove any
accumulated notoriety by destroying one of the golden alien orbs that zap round
the streets.
Contained in the game are campaign missions, side-missions
and mini-games that range from humdrum stealing vehicles and blowing up
property with tanks to the more bizarre Mind Over Murder telepathy game show,
smashing yourself at oncoming traffic and fighting a giant can of fizzy drink.
You do get to a point where the battles become repetitive
even with all the zany humour but if you want to relieve some stress by spending
several hours blowing away humans and aliens with over-the-top weaponry and
acting like a hyped up superhero, then Saints Row IV is an ideal choice.
Score: 4/5
