Better Late Than Never Reviews: Saints Row IV (PS3, 360, PC) Review

Released last August, but just hitting Japan this past week, Saints Row IV is the latest in the series that started out as Grand Theft Auto Lite. Now, the series has come into its own, and this time the Saints have not only executive powers but superpowers as well. Here's our review of Saints Row IV.

The Superpowered Saints Go Marching In

Saints Row: The Third made plenty of steps to ensure that the series would step away from trying to become another Grand Theft Auto clone, which the game's previous two titles had been heavily compared to. Saints Row IV takes the craziness switch and pulls it into uncharted territory! With superpowers and a load of kooky missions, Saints Row IV is an open world game that feels more like Crackdown than Grand Theft Auto, and it's hard to deny that this change is good.

Beginning with a mission that ends with you riding a warhead into the night sky, trying to dismantle it, while Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" plays, Saints Row IV lays on the wackiness quite earlier. What follows five years later is info that the Saints have made it into the White House. The boss, the once silent and stoic main character from the original Saints Row, serves as President, and his cabinet-- rather your cabinet-- is made up of members from the Saints gang. Suddenly, during a press conference, an alien race known as the Zin invades the Earth and sends your character into a virtual simulation exactly like Steelport from the third game. However, this Steelport has depictions of the Zin leader Zinyak plastered all over, as well as signs mentioning the Saints' doom and futility of their actions.

Steelport sure is looking different these days.

The humor of Saints Row IV is always there, and that is due to some incredible writing. Sure, some of it is quite juvenile and dirty, but I couldn't help but laugh or have a stupid smile on my face playing the game regardless. How can you not laugh at real life actor Keith David serving on your cabinet? How about a scenario where you're riding in a car with Pierce and you both start singing to Biz Markie's "Just a Friend", only to become very pissed off when the always-watching antagonist Zinyak starts singing along to the rap song's chorus as if it were opera. Then there's having a voice for male characters literally titled "Nolan North", perhaps poking fun at Western studios putting his voice in nearly every game imaginable (some exaggeration may be present in the last statement). Case in point, Saints Row IV does not take itself seriously whatsoever, and that is without a doubt a good thing.

Because just having one gun is for bustas. 

The humor and whimsy of Saints Row IV doesn't end with the writing, either. The story-related missions of the game, of which there are around 35, take you on a trip through sheer madness. From participating in a parody of Metal Gear Solid, complete with the infamous guard alert noise and hiding inside cardboard boxes, to fighting in a stone statue against a giant can of soda named Paul, Saints Row IV shows that the developers want players to have fun and they made a game that shows they had a lot of fun making it as well. After all, shouldn't fun be the most important part of a video game?

!

The fun factor is accentuated by the powers that you acquire through these missions in a way to hack the simulation and help bend it towards your will. Doing this enables various upgrade-able superpowers for your character to use. Early powers include the ability to leap high into the air, run at blazing fast speed, and freeze enemies temporarily, allowing enough time to shatter their frozen bodies. By collecting Clusters, scattered all around the simulated Steelport, you can upgrade these powers to allow for faster recharging, more stamina to use for running, among other things. Your character can have his or her abilities upgraded as well, whether that's immunity to fire, higher ammo capacity for the game's different guns, and much more.

It's a faster way of getting around Steelport,
which makes it difficult to want to drive.

The weapons of Saints Row IV are definitely otherworldly. What else can you say about a gun that launches black holes, sucking in nearby characters and objects, as well as a gun that emits a light that abducts whoever walks into it? These weapons are amazingly fun to use, though combat in general can sometimes get a bit repetitive, even with the superpowers involved. Like the superpowers and your character, weapons can be upgraded, also.

Girls' night out

Outside of Saints Row IV's story missions, the series' activities return, too. Standbys like Fraud and Mayhem return. Fraud has you making your body limp in front of cars, in hopes that they run into you, hurling your body into the air for points, while Mayhem requires you to cause a certain dollar amount of pure damage, whether it's with a tank, a UFO, robot armor, or just yourself.

Talk about a mech assault!

New activities have been included to make great use of your character's superpowers. One has you racing through the city streets, jumping on rooftops and speeding through alleyways from waypoint to waypoint. Another has you using your Telekinesis to pick up cars and people, and throwing them through the designated rings. Then there's fighting inside an arena, trying to kill your opponents before time runs out. All of these new activities in addition to new takes on classic ones and optional objectives like collecting all of the Clusters and audio logs, as well as destroying all Zinyak statues have it so this simulated version of Steelport has a large amount of things to do long after the credits have rolled.

For my next trick, I will turn
water into wine!

Steelport itself wasn't that memorable of an open world area in Saints Row: The Third, so it is a bit disappointing that Volition, the developer, decided to reuse it for Saints Row IV. This also makes it so Saints Row IV feels more like an expansion of Saints Row: The Third rather than a wholly original and fresh take on the series.

One of the optional things you can do
is traverse these tall towers.

Saints Row IV generally runs well, but there are occasional hiccups in the framerate, massive amounts of pop-in, and even some freezing that soil the experience slightly. Other than those issues, Saints Row IV plays admirably. When pertaining to sound, Saints Row IV hits all of the high notes with superb voice acting and a licensed soundtrack that spans 109 songs. From classical to alternative rock, there's most likely a station for any given player. I particularly found The Mix to be my personal favorite. You can even create a mixtape of selected songs you have chosen and hear them while moving around Steelport-- in and out of vehicles.

Let this be a lesson to you kids out there:
Always help out your homies.

Saints Row IV was pure fun and hilarity from beginning to end. While many games, particularly from the West, take themselves overly seriously to the point of near self-parody, Saints Row IV doesn't pretend it is anything but a game. It might not push the art form of gaming forward, or even make an actual argument for it, but it's hard to deny that you won't find an open world game as zany and insane from any developer. It's with this that makes me ready to see where the Saints will go next.

[SPC Says: 8.5/10]

Top Ten Open World Settings

We're fresh off the heels of the release of Saints Row IV, and many have fallen in love with the game. Of course, the big open world game is releasing in just a handful of weeks, Grand Theft Auto V. While we have a breather between those two games SuperPhillip Central has come up with a list of our favorite open world settings. These are ones that were a ton of fun to explore, ones we got absolute lost in (the good kind of lost), and ones that took our breaths away. Now, make note that these aren't necessarily the best-- they're simply our personal favorites. We hope this list is satisfactory, but if not, please set us straight in the comments section once you've read the rationale for our selections.

10) Willamette Mall - Dead Rising (360)

Many of the open worlds on this list will feature expansive areas. However, we're picking quality over quantity with this first pick, Willamette Mall from Dead Rising, one of the best Xbox 360 exclusives. What does one do in a town situated in Colorado that doesn't have much going for it? Why, you head to the mall for entertainment, and what a mall the quaint little town of Willamette has! If you can ignore the thousands of zombies eagerly awaiting to get a taste of your flesh, you can visit one of six unique areas (the North Plaza is under construction, so pardon the mess!), close to eighty incredible stores, a food court to give you that beer belly you've always been wanting, a movie theater (a great place for human sacrifices), and even a supermarket. Using every tool at Frank West's disposal, you could cut a swath through the zombie masses as you fought for your life to stay alive for that next news tip from Otis, to defeat that one nasty psychopath, or rescue that unlucky survivor. Willamette Mall has an immense amount of variety for such a [relatively] small space to work with. Who knew malls could be so much fun?

9) Stilwater - Saints Row 2 (PS3, 360, PC)

This pick might be favoritism, as it comes from one of our most loved GTA-inspired titles of the past two generations. It's Stilwater (that's with one "L") from Saints Row 2, offering a city of vices, gang activity, and crime. Fun for the whole family! Stilwater is divided up into two main islands, split up by a large river. The bottom half is where the player starts, and it is home to the titular Saints Row, contains decidedly lower-class buildings and communities, the airport, the stadium, and a refinery. Meanwhile, the top half of Stilwater encompasses a higher lifestyle with an urban skyscraper jungle in the central and eastern portions and suburban life in the western segments. Perhaps why we love Stilwater so much is because of the times we played online with friends and just screwed around, running into traffic, getting the po-po after us, and just going hog wild. Stilwater is truly a fun place.

8) Skyrim - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PS3, 360, PC)

Are you like us and have a strong resistance to frost? Then you will get along well with the Nords, the race of people that make up the majority of the population in the massive land of Skyrim. Skyrim is a region at the northmost point of the continent of Tamriel. It features a wide array of terrain, including frosty fjords, tundras, plains (mostly to the west), forests, and highlands. However, it's important to note that the majority of Skyrim is highly mountainous, featuring plenty of caverns, cliffs and other forms of verticality. Skyrim is full of interesting kingdoms, cities, and lesser towns to journey through, making coming across a new area all the more exciting. While Skyrim is, indeed, large, it can sometimes be a negative, as there is a lot of filler between points of interest. Still, the fine folks at Bethesda managed to create yet another engrossing world to explore.

7) Paradise City - Burnout Paradise (PS3, 360, PC)

Paradise City may be the site of Burnout Paradise, where the goal is to rev one's engine and race, but don't forget to take in the sites. Paradise City is split in two parts, the rural sections make up mountainous terrain in the west, and the urban sections make up the eastside of the city. These two sections are comprised of multiple districts, each with their own set of buildings and landmarks to separate themselves from the next. Those that might think that being a fast car will allow you to speed through all Paradise City has to offer in a few hours will be let known that their assumption is wrong. Paradise City spans approximately twenty-five square miles and over 200 miles of road. It's a playground for racing fans, Burnout Paradise's Paradise City is number seven on our list.

6) Bullworth - Bully (360, Wii, PC, PS2, XBX)

Bullworth is just your above average Northeastern coastal town, nestled in New Hampshire. There's of course Bullworth Academy, where Bully's protagonist Jimmy Hopkins struggles to get along with the faculty. There's the commercial district, full of sites to see, stores to shop, a fire station, a bank, a run-down movie theater, an off-limits porno shop, a comic book nook, a motel that the older set can stay for the night... or for an hour to do... grown-up things, and much more. Don't forget the prestigious Old Bullworth Vale, where the Preppies call their home. While Bullworth isn't the largest open world setting, it was absolutely enjoyable to ride around on Jimmy's bike, find rubber band collectibles, and just take in how perfectly Rockstar managed to convey a New England town.

5) Panau - Just Cause 2 (PS3, 360, PC)

The game world of the fictional island of Panau is a terrific open world sandbox setting, allowing players to tackle it any way they see fit. Some would make the option of doing anything impossible. While saying Just Cause 2's open world island allows literally anything possible is a faux pas, a lot can be done. The island has so many components to it: deserts, forests, a colorful city, arctic mountains, beaches, and if you get a bit dry parachuting off a skyscraper, oceans. Panau is a virtual playground where the goal is to create as much chaos as possible. You play Just Cause 2 your way on your terms, and exploring the massive isle of Panau will greatly give you that opportunity.

4) LEGO City - LEGO City Undercover (Wii U)

This selection will probably not be understood, as a lot of the gaming community does not have a Wii U. That's okay. Just let us explain. LEGO City is split up between two halves, much like Saints Row 2's Stilwater. However, instead of being split up horizontally, LEGO City is split up vertically in half. Regardless, there are a myriad amount of districts, each based off different cities around the globe. The first area of the game, Cherry Tree Hills, is heavily reminiscent of San Francisco, what, with its hills and cable car. There's the Times Square-esque Bright Lights Plaza, where we're sure they drop a LEGO stud on New Year's Eve rather than a ball. Then there's Fresco, a dead ringer for Venice, Italy. Nonetheless, that's not what makes LEGO City so great. What makes LEGO City so great is that there is literally something to do on every street corner, every block, every building, every rooftop. Secrets are everywhere, and while players just trying to beat the game and get LEGO City Undercover over with will overlook this, completionists will find an open world that is packed with content and a secret hidden behind every corner.

3) Liberty City - Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, 360, PC)

There were many versions of Liberty City to sort through and figure out which we, as a group, figured would be the best representation of the New York City-inspired metropolis. We finally all agreed on Grand Theft Auto IV's interpretation, featuring the most elements from the Big Apple. This includes its four boroughs, its overreaching into a New Jersey-like area, a Statue of Liberty replacement, and so much more. While Grand Theft Auto IV felt like realism took over the steering wheel and shoved the former driver, fun, in a trunk, there is no denying just how fantastic and real the world of Grand Theft Auto IV feels. It's something few developers have been able to routinely do, and Rockstar North is one of those elite few.

2) Vice City - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2, PC, MAC, IOS)

We love the 80's. It's when Mario was born. It's when some of the greatest sitcoms of all time debuted. It's when some of the worst sitcoms of all time debuted. It's when some interesting music was created. Having an open world setting that took all the majesty and magic of the 80's and made it into a virtual city was no easy task, but if anyone was up to it, it was Rockstar North. They ultimately succeeded in a big way, delivering a Miami-like setting with cool cars, neon lights, and lots of frizzy hair. It was fun driving down the strip in a sports car with Hall and Oates blaring from the speakers. Vice City may be incredibly small in comparison to the other Grand Theft Auto worlds represented on this list, but it is certainly one of the most memorable ones.

1) San Andreas - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, XBX, PC)

Here it is, our choice for our favorite open world setting. It's San Andreas from none other than Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Somehow Rockstar North managed to not make just one, not two, but three separate cities that were fully-realized. Creating just one city that is fun to explore and seems realistic enough to feel lived in is a monumental task, yet somehow, on PS2-level hardware, they managed three. If having a miniature Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas isn't enough, the expanses in between the grand metropolises have their own interesting topography, including mountains, forests, plains and deserts. While our Dead Rising pick had to do with quality over quantity, San Andreas delivers on both ends of the spectrum, showcasing a world that is an absolute blast to mess around in, take in the sites, and hunt after that ever-elusive Bigfoot. Is it any wonder why the upcoming and much hyped Grand Theft Auto V will be taking us back to part of San Andreas?