A wise man once said, “There’s a hero in all of us.”
Alright, so it wasn’t really a wise man.
It was Spider-Man.
But he hooked up with Kirsten Dunst, so…I guess he’s doing something right.
Then again, Spider-Man never had to deal with alien warlords who are, for some reason, British.
He just had pointy nipples to deal with.
Turns out Spidey was right, though.
There really is a hero in all of us.
Otherwise, how do you explain this?
The Saints, one of the most dangerous gangs in open-world games about gangs, are back.
Only this time, they hang out in the Oval Office, and kind of run the world.
So when aliens come down and f*ck up the White House lawn, they’re understandably pissed.
That’s what happens when you go legit.
You worry about landscaping.
In fact, Saints Row IV has everything you’d expect from a great White House.
A president who’s not afraid of a filibuster.
A press secretary who answers all the tough questions, and with vigor.
. And a Commander In Chief, who drives it like she stole it.
Because she did.
Also, it wouldn’t be the West Wing without a little walk-and-talk, Josh Lyman style.
And for me, that’s what makes Saints Row IV such an incredibly entertaining experience.
This game parodies everything.
From TV shows and politics, to American culture.
Present and past.
And all this provides a…surprisingly smart backdrop, for a game that also embraces the
absurdity of gaming.
Hey, want your President to look the part?
Make sure you give her a nice pair of…gloves.
And then go blow some sh*t up.
Of course, blowing sh*t up is the backbone of Saints Row IV.
You’re the President, the aliens have attacked, you have to blow them up.
Er go, blowing sh*t up.
This is an open-world action game that is, at least structurally, what you’d expect.
Run around, steal cars, accept missions, take side quests, upgrade and level up.
But it’s the absolutely ridiculous way the game approaches those things—that’s what
makes Saints Row IV so much fun.
Why shoot for realism, when you can shoot aliens, in the face?
Actually, that’s another one of the elements that makes the game stand out.
Saints Row IV is like GTA, but with a heavy dose of inFamous.
See, much of the game takes place in this alien simulation world, so things like…gravity,
physics…they don’t exactly apply.
At least, not after you’ve gotten a couple super powers.
You can run like the Flash, climb up skyscrapers like Spider-Man…you’re kind of like this
superhero.
This completely naked super hero.
Eventually, you become…pretty much unstoppable.
To the point where it’s, like…why even bother with some of the weapon upgrades?
You don’t even need them.
But this isn’t really a game about balance, or challenge.
It gives you all these powers, because all these powers
are fun.
I mean, so what if you feel like an overpowered badass?
Goddammit, you’re the President of the United States, and you have a tremendous rack.
You are an overpowered badass.
If you want to take a break from the missions, there’s plenty of stuff to do on the side.
Side quests, minigames…some of the most ridiculous being the Insurance Fraud missions.
So you have to build up speed, cause an accident…and send yourself flying as far as you can.
With deliberately and hilariously exaggerated physics.
There are also races, as well as some insane platforming missions.
You have to climb these massive alien towers, platform by platform, and it’s definitely
a highlight of these recurring side quests.
And a lot of times, the music sets just the right tone.
Especially this classical station, which creates a great contrast to what’s happening on
the screen.
As far as drawbacks go?
The game doesn’t look all that great, and at times, there are some glitches in the animations.
The missions themselves aren’t terribly exciting, either.
They’re the usual “kill everyone,” “collect this,” “shut down that” kind of thing.
But the game does such an amazing job with the gameplay and the humor, you never really
get bored.
You’re too busy blasting rockets or creating characters, or…you know.
Blowing sh*t up.
No, seriously.
You blow up a lot of sh*t in this game.
And sometimes, that’s all I want from a game.
Action, explosions…simple, old-school fun.
It’s kind of a retro approach, isn’t it?
Actually, Saints Row IV is sort of just a retro game in modern clothing.
That is, when it wears clothing.
Hey.
Weird, awesome, naked…whatever.
In Saints Row IV, it’s all the same to me.