Saints Row returns with a reboot that completely changes its setting and protagonists. As for the tone … well, the apple never falls far from the tree, does it?
As a series, Saints Row he didn’t just jump the shark. She skipped an entire skyscraper. What started out as an ironic GTA clone turned into a superhero action game in which cars became obsolete unless someone was thrown at them. He has had a bigger identity crisis than the one that will come upon you by loading the character editor of the new Saints Row.
Developer Volition solved this problem by bringing the Saints back to the beginning. It’s Saints Row reimagined in a new stellar story for modern times. The story takes us to Santo Ileso, a fictional city in the American Southwest. There are bright lights and big cities, dusty plains, diplodocid statues, and even a replica of theiconic Route 66. We played with it for a few hours and the impression was that of having only seen a postcard.
Obviously, it doesn’t hold a candle to the worlds of Rockstar. And not even with those of Ubisoft, to be honest. It looks more like a sandbox made specifically for fun than a lived-in place, but it absolutely achieves the purpose set by the developers. It’s a world full of exploding things – here’s a rocket launcher. Just do it.
A brand new Saints Row –
The story begins with your first day at work as one of the Marshalls, a private military corporation that follows the TLC code – “technologically advanced weapons, loose morals and a history of conflict”. One moment you are shooting wildly into a gang hideout stylized as the Old West as your buddies die all around you, and the next you are clinging to the side of a jet. He toned down compared to the old Saints Row, we swear. But we didn’t say it’s still not ridiculous.
The formation of the Saints happens a few missions later, after you have set fire to a moving convoy, jumping between cars and truck bodies. When the Marshall boss notices your talents, you are asked to lead security for an event where all hell is predictable. You get fired by the Marshalls, and you and your roommates decide to carve out a slice of the territory of gang of Santa Ileso. Just to pay off your student loans and get you a waffle iron. The usual motives of the crimes.
Unscrewed missions … and more –
Your roommates are quite eclectic. There’s an accountant and burglar drinking white wine spritz, there’s a muscular bisexual hunk who hates t-shirts and has a passion for social media, and there’s a Latin mechanic who drives the fastest of all. They are new age gangsters who listen to self-help podcasts and care about their carbon footprint, but who don’t mind leaving one of blood – especially if on someone’s face.
Once the Saints are founded by conquering a church – of course – the game is all about control of the territories. You will be able to access a war table in your hideout and choose where to build businesses that act as a cover for your operations. You will not only choose where, but also what. From insurance companies to radioactive dumps, there are plenty to unlock as you progress through the game, and each opens up to a range of secondary shots you can participate in – from missions stealing things with a helicopter to scams. insurance companies in which to throw yourself at the machines to make you invest. Yes, the best are back missions of the first Saints Row. There are also activities in your in-game phone, like a Wanted app that allows you to track criminals on the loose if you want some action.
No covers –
As with the old chapters, the fights are run and shoot based, there is no contextual cover system. There is, however, a button dedicated to kicks, brutal contextual takedowns, and more environmental dangers of a child’s room after a LEGO night session. You can aim and fire at things like explosive barrels, but you can also press a button to instantly shoot these objects, which only increases the pace of the action. There is also a move called the Pineapple Express, with which you push a grenade into an enemy’s pants before throwing them at their teammates.
Everything in Saints Row is built around the idea of keeping the pace high. Getting into a car, you will do it with a kind of drop kick by smashing the windows, kicking the driver out in the process. Upon exiting a vehicle, it will almost appear as if you are ejecting yourself. The missions in which to steal cars? Every car you need will be conveniently marked on the map. IS the antithesis of Rockstar’s push for realism, where every single drawer must be opened in real time if you want to get all the loot in a house. Rockstar’s games are adorable, but it’s refreshing to play something so blatantly old-school.
Arcade Guide –
“When it comes to the mechanics of the crossing in our game, we absolutely wanted to make it fun,” explains principal designer Damien Allen. “You can jump into a vehicle, jump to the roof, put on a wingsuit and fly before landing on another vehicle ”. The only thing that knocks Saints Row down a bit is the driving model, which feels a bit like controlling a three-wheeled shopping cart. On an ice skating rink. Drunk. It’s a deliberate choice on the developer’s part, but it doesn’t feel as instantly rewarding as in other open world games.
“We tend more on an arcade feeling for the driving mechanics,” says Allen. It’s more Ridge Racer than Gran Turismo, in other words – driving is dominated by wide skidding and stupid jumps. Accelerate into a car and it will explode in a fireball while you can safely continue your walk. There’s even a specific button you can press to trigger a side crash into another car.
Wrecking ball –
“The side swipe mechanic is something you could theoretically do [senza un pulsante dedicato]”Explains Allen. “You could do the sideswipe against another vehicle and make it skid. But we wanted to make it easy for the player to get your car into vehicle combat without having to move the camera and shoot out the window if you like. But we were looking for the hardest edges and trying to smooth them ”.
You could even drive a tank, no matter what vehicle you’re using – they’re wrecking ball. Saints Row itself is a bit of a wrecking ball: it’s a game built around constant forward movement. The wingsuit also contributes to this feeling: you can drive down a street, jump onto the roof of a car, then take off the wingsuit, land on another car and instantly steal it. By upgrading your skills, you can even use enemies and pedestrians as stepping stones to keep your pace fast. Play Saints Row in two-player co-op, and the possibilities open up even more. It’s pure sandbox fun.
Saints Row, the verdict (for now) –
It makes sense that the moment-to-moment game is as crazy as the missions themselves. It’s a delicate balance to strike because the series lost so many of its early fans when it started playing with alien invasions and voyages to hell, but Saints Row seems to have succeeded, from what we’ve been able to see so far. Not a single jump over a skyscraper in sight. Wingsuits are much more civilized than super-powered legs. We just have to see if it will stand the test of the full game when it releases on August 23.
Written by Kirk McKeand for GLHF
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