Saints Row 4 Review - PS3
rating: 3.5
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At one point during the unequivocal quirkiness of Saints Row IV you are tasked with piloting a shuttle to escape an alien mothership. The dumbfounding yet brilliant kicker is that throughout this sequence of shooting down alien aircraft and maneuvering through tight quarters by performing barrel rolls, What Is Love by Eurodance artist Haddaway blasts over the stereo. Its moments like these that originally caused us to fall in love with the franchise and Saints Row IV has no shortage of them. Realistically, its without a hitch the zaniest entry in the crime sandbox saga. Prior knowledge with the series plotline isnt wholly necessarily but can attribute to certain segments. In actuality though, all you need to know is that your created character has ascended from crime lord pop culture icon to President of the United States. Development studio Volition knows that if they are going to give the keys of America to the player they need villains of even higher intimidation so Saints Row does what Saints Row does best and gleefully ups the ante by pitting the player against a British alien invasion known as the Zin, led by their cocky leader Zinyak. The White House is overrun and you and the Saints are placed in a simulated rendition of Steelport visually screaming The Matrix. If I may pause for a moment to reflect on the evolution of Saints Row, postulate this; we have gone from satirical gang rival antics to mainstream icons to literally fighting freaking aliens. Everything is executed with an unabashed mindset for how absurd it all is too which is exactly why the series is endlessly entertaining. This is a franchise that isnt afraid to take some of the worst songs, puns, or homages ever to grace planet Earth and intertwine those moments with strokes of brilliant gameplay. This is a series that actually lists Nolan North (Nathan Drake, Desmond Miles) as a voice option for your created character without caring if more casual gamers wont get the joke. Volition emits a constant aura that their creative decisions are based upon the principle of flinging the player into the most idiotic of situations whilst self-aware that its a twisted sense of inspired lunacy. With that, its probably a relevant time to mention to anyone unaware of the fact, that yes you are given an assortment of superpowers to fight off the Zin. That bold decision also propels Saints Row IV into a state of certainty that it is a legitimate sequel and not just a different box with an increased numerical value plastered on it. So often do game developers gloat that the next iteration of their fundamental cash-cow franchise will offer upgrades, improvements, and totally new experiences compared to past installments when in reality youre just playing the same damn game in a new coat of paint. The overt disconnect present from a dependency on vehicles in past Saints Row games in traversing the streets, to now holding down a superhuman sprint button complete with wall-running, super-jumping, and glide functions transcends this fourth iteration into something new and refreshing which is a bullet point most games malevolently lie about. Traversing Simulated Steelport at breakneck speeds is both swift and satisfying to a point where I would argue Volition has already bested the competition in similar games such as Infamous and Prototype. Saints Row IV pickpockets a plethora of other tried and true elements too riffing on Mass Effect (you can romance your gang members on a spaceship), side scrolling beat em ups, text adventures, and in some instances itself. An ingenious example is actor Keith David known for a myriad of smaller roles in both film and animation but ostensibly known for playing villain Julius in the original game randomly being back on board for this iteration playing himself as your Vice President just because this is Saints Row. The series has and always will thrive on idiosyncratic lunacy as evident from the traditional weaponry, but once again Saints Row IV outdoes its predecessors by offering an unbelievably ridiculous selection of weapons including black hole guns, inflation guns that cause people to combust, a guitar case shaped rocket launcher, and much more but the standout is hands down a dubstep gun that shoots out colorful and explosive lines emitting wubs. If that wasnt enough you also earn a wider array of superpowers as you progress through the game including freeze blasts, telekinesis, super stomping, and more. It's also quickly worth noting that both your weapons and powers can be upgraded through familiar and new methods. Stores host all your traditional weapon upgrades while improving your powers requires collecting Clusters around Steelport of which there are over 1,000. Early on when you're starting out and fairly weak a sensation to addictively grab any in sight settles in similar to collecting Blast Shards in the Infamous franchise, so if you found that tantalizing say goodbye to your social life here.