June 12, 2013 by Paul Curtin
With the last Saints Row game being released less than two years ago, the Saints series is beginning to feel a bit played out with its fourth title already set for release this August. To combat Saints fatigue in the next installment, the developers have somehow found a way to make the new game even crazier than the last. Known for being the game that makes Grand Theft Auto look tame, the latest is distancing itself even further from Rockstar’s acclaimed GTA franchise.
Instead of trying to make the game more and more realistic, Deep Silver (who have purchased the rights to Saints Row from THQ) are introducing aliens into their open world and allowing players to assume the role of the President of the United States. But don’t expect to play as Obama (unless you make your character look like him) because this president is not only the leader of the free world, he’s also the leader of the Saints.
We got to check out two different parts of the game during our hands-on time with the game. The first part showed us how the game starts off with a look at the day in the life of being Mr. President. Of course, with the President being the leader of the Saints too, the White House is filled with all sorts of crazy things like tiger pets, girl dancers, and even Keith David playing the role of Keith David.
After signing off on a bill to end cancer and punching a dick senator in the dick because he was trying to filibuster said bill, aliens invade and it’s your job as the commander-in-chief to kick some alien ass and save the world. It feels a lot like Duke Nukem with the whole alien invasion angle and the never-ending wisecracks from the protagonist, but without the game feeling like it’s been in development hell for over a decade.
The next part of our demo took us back to the open world environment that you would expect in a Saints Row game and where the President now has superpowers – apparently it’s just a simulation he’s in… I don’t know… but what I do know is that the gameplay was very smooth, and despite now having superpowers, almost everything still felt very much like the old Saints Row games with all your goofy events and weaponry (just with a sci-fi twist), such as a Dubstep gun and Black Hole gun.
Saints Row 4 feels like a weird mashup of the old Saints games mixed with games like Crackdown and Prototype. The Saints series is known for being weird, so it’s a perfect for the series to introduce even crazier concepts to keep gameplay feeling fresh. Saints Row 4 is set for release on August 20, 2013, for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.
