My first impressions of Saints Row IV are a bit mixed. As a casual gamer Saints Row IV is a fun over the top game that is easy to pick up at any point. My problem was that it was just as easy to put down.
Those who have played the previous games in the series may be dismayed at how quickly you go from a struggling street bum to an overpowered juggernaut with a slew of one-hit kill weapons. Even though gaining health depends more heavily on running over health items (dropped from people you kill), it still comes off as too easy.
Also, if you like to collect and customize cars, you can still do so, but driving a vehicle becomes pointless. The best I can compare it to is the game series Crackdown, where various experience orbs are hidden in the streets and on top of buildings littered everywhere, and you have to run, jump, and climb your way to them.
There is some hope for those who like to customize more than just the character. To add to the mix, players can now customize weapons to a degree through pre-made skins.
Instead of simply powering up weapons, there are now several skins for weapons that can change the color of a weapon or completely change its appearance. The Penetrator also comes with a slew of absurd weapons, including a tentacle sword and a gun that abducts people.
Other things have changed as well. While you usually earned cash to purchase new abilities like bullet resistance and dual-wielding, you now have powers like telekinesis and elemental powers, to name a few.
These special powers are not purchased with cash but rather with orbs found on rooftops. Finally, there is also a 3rd tier of items and abilities that can only be gained by completing quests and challenges. So, for those who want to simply amass tons of money and buy their way to invincibility, you have another thing coming.
The storyline is even crazier than it has ever been, but to such a degree that it has lost some of its edge. In Saints Row III, the obscene and ridiculous were everywhere, but it was set in a somewhat more realistic world.
Think of it as the contrast in colors. Without the somewhat realistic world as a backdrop, the obscene and ridiculous would not have nearly as much punch as it did. It is here that Saints Row IV’s problem stands out most.
The scenario and world it is set in are so ridiculous that when you find a tentacle sword or whip a person around like you were the Hulk beating down Loki in the Avengers movie, it does not even make you bat an eye.
Yeah, the game is not what you might expect but if you go into it with no expectations you will find it is a really great game. Saints Row IV provides over the top action and gameplay with a new twist that was not found in its predecessors.
The game has evolved from a gang style GTA to a wacky over the top counter to GTA in Saints III and is now a way more over the top superhero/villain in a city simulator. The game series has been an alternative to GTA for a long time now.
Where GTA became more serious, Saints Row was relaxed and hilarious. As a special note, several homages to the previous Saints games are present.
In the end, while Saints Row IV may not deliver the same gameplay as its predecessors, it is still a game that you will enjoy playing shamelessly as you beat people to death with a giant purple dildo.