Saints Row IV

[Chazzle.]

Release Date: 20th August 2013 (US) 23rd August (Everywhere Else)

 

In the next open-world installment of Saints Row, Deep Silver Volition continues the story of the Third Street Saints by elevating their status to the highest level - the leaders of the free world. In Saints Row IV, the head honcho of the Saints has been elected to the Presidency of the United States. But the Saints are just getting started. Now the larger-than-life insanity of the Saints series gets a new twist with a catastrophic alien invasion, and the aliens have transported the Saints to a bizarro-Steelport simulation. Wield gargantuan superpowers and fight to free humanity from alien granddaddy Zinyak's mental grasp. Escape the simulation that's trapped the Saints crew, or die trying.

Saints Row IV lets players delve into an arsenal of alien weaponry and technology that will turn each Saint into an ultimate entity of destruction. Utilize out-of-this-world superpowers to fight all the way to the top. With intensified action and enhanced customization, players can use their newfound superpowers and leap over buildings, outrun the fastest sports cars, or send enemies flying with telekinesis in the greatest, most insane installment of Saints Row yet.

Videos:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BWI6iRSLV0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Op5e42IgrA

 

Images:

 

Articles:

It's an unusual experience trying to report on something like Saint's Row 4, because normally games companies are pretty cagey about what sort of thing they'll say as an opener. Not Volition, though. Not by a long shot. They love Saints Row 4, in the same way that parents might love a gifted but obnoxious child. They want to tell us all about it.

They give us so much to write about that there is barely time to look down at my notebook and scratch out a phrase like "DUBSTEP GUN" or "DANCING MECH SUITS" before two other things happen simultaneously on screen, both of them worthy of comment. There's a multicoloured cavalcade of absurdity coming at us, like a bunch of rainbow slinkies tied together and poured out of a bucket onto our heads. This is ridiculous stuff, unashamedly so, and it's presented with a mad, wide-eyed grin from the developers present.

Previous games have dealt with organised crime and how the criminal world can be a bit difficult at times but, essentially, lots of fun when you get down to it. Starting off as a GTA clone and competitor – a contest it was nowhere near good enough to win – the series managed to win over the hearts and minds of gamers after they woke up one 2008 morning to the grim reality that was Grand Theft Auto IV. Saints Row 2 was fun. Saints Row 2 kept the combination of open world, wacky minigames and tongue-in-cheek brutality that made San Andreas perfect, and rolled with it.

Saints Row the Third in 2011 was obviously the last time the series brushed up against reality – and it featured an opening sequence where you skydive out of the same plane twice without stopping – but it's clear from even a casual glance at Saints Row 4 that any allusions to sense are long-gone from the developers minds.


The plot is: you (the main character, gender and features remaining undefined in a remarkably egalitarian move from a studio which tied explosive buttplug chariots to gimps and then had you use them in a car chase) are the US president. You are going to rescue the previous president after they have been kidnapped by aliens. The aliens have somehow drawn you into a virtual version of the city that Saints Row the Third took place in. Because you are in a virtual virtual world and not just a virtual world, you now have superpowers. GO.

The UI is identical to Saint's Row the Third, which is understandable as it's running on the same engine and at this stage in the console generation cycle there's little push to rejig the mechanical workings of a game only for potential players to witness much shinier graphics on the next gen of consoles. What they've changed is the stuff, the grab-bag of weapons and items and objectives, that floats in the purple neon broth that is now Saint's Row.

Case in point: the Dubstep Gun, as mentioned above. There is a gun that shoots dubstep music at people, causing them to explode. Everyonenearby will begin to frantically throw shapes when the gun is fired. Cars will rock back and forth on previous unreferenced hydraulics. Lasers happen. It's the sort of thing that makes you laugh out loud when you see it and immediately wonder why you were laughing once it stops.

In any other game, that would be a fan mod. Or a bonus afterthought, a joke put in for completing the story – Red Faction Armageddon for example, an otherwise fairly serious title, had an unlockable weapon that took the form of a miniature rainbow-farting unicorn, which the protagonist carried around like a rocket launcher – but here, it's the third thing they show us.

(The first is the presidential reveal, illustrated by suplexing a bystander while wearing an Uncle Sam hat. The second is a new gun that inflates people until they pop.)

The demonstration continues, with the developers almost tripping over themselves to tell us about all the cool things they've done in the game – showing off those aforementioned superpowers, for example, by freezing targets solid and then throwing vans into the crowds of bodies so they shatter, or taking the opportunity to drive the sort of customised monster truck that Snoop Lion would drive if he decided to become an African warlord. We're offered brief forays into other content – police officers transforming into aliens, super-powered wrestling, duels with extraterrestrial badasses atop floating sky cities, rocket launchers in guitar cases, a dancing mechanical robot suit that you use to blow up civilians. But it all seems so impossibly daft it's difficult to get a handle on it.


The game is excess – needless, baseless, senseless excess, operating off a base of reality that's obviously well out of sight. There's nothing to transgress against, no expected norms to subvert, nothing to take a break from. The entire game is breaks, and it looks like it might have broken.

Of course, without laying hands on it, it's hard to tell whether it'll keep the pace as well as Saints Row the Third did, which was an excellent if shallow experience – that title held onto the last scraps of rebellion that made SR2 such a wonderful, perfectly-pitched game, and what let it out-Grand Theft Auto Grand Theft Auto. It would be wonderful if it could, but at this stage, things don't look too hopeful.

 

The challenge facing Volition, a year and a half after Saints Row: The Third set a new standard for videogame absurdity, is how they can possibly crank up the ridiculousness for the fourth installment. Apparently, based on the brief look the developers gave press at PAX East, there is no shortage of bizarre ideas at the studio.

Where should we even start? With the fact that the leader of the Third Street Saints is the only President of the United States to walk the streets suplexing random citizens while wearing an Uncle Sam outfit? That he’s also a super-powered vigilante who wields a “dubstep gun” that makes victims dance until they literally drop dead? Or that an alien race called the Zin have abducted him and his gang, and placed them in their own personal Matrix-style nightmare simulations?



If you get the sense nobody at Volition ever says “no,” you’re probably right. But I was glad to hear Volition’s Jim Boone say that the design philosophy that made Saints Row: The Third so successful – constantly reward the player’s actions – remains intact for the new game. This time around, there are more options for weapon and character customization, more variety in optional activities (mech-suit mayhem, anyone?), and more ways to wreak glorious havoc in this fantasy version of Steelport. Take your hero’s superpowers, for example, which include telekinesis, Flash-like speed, and ice blasts a la Sub-Zero. What I saw reminded me of a slicker, funnier, and somehow even more self-aware Crackdown.

Visually, the recorded demo of Saints Row IV I saw felt nearly identical to its predecessor, albeit with a darker palette to reflect the oppressiveness of the simulated Steelport. That resemblance isn’t a bad thing, since Saints Row: The Third had a sleek UI and a punchy art style. And although the two games also appear very similar mechanically, Volition has taken an additive approach in this installment by focusing more resources on developing the optional missions and activities that figure so prominently in the Saints Row experience. Drop-in, drop-out co-op play returns, along with some new co-op modes Volition wasn’t yet ready to discuss.

One of the few elements Volition has cut back on is the gang factions. Saints Row IV is the first game in the series to feature only one enemy faction: the Zin. Boone said the designers tried to ensure lots of variety within the alien race, creating a number of enemy types, including super-powered Zin to rival your super-powered hero. He also said they concentrated on developing a more fleshed-out main antagonist, a creature called, naturally, Zinyak. Given their twisted sense of humor, I’m excited to see what Volition does with their new bad guy.

I’ve never been able to get into the Grand Theft Auto games; maybe the verisimilitude of their worlds gave my destructive actions a little too much unnecessary weight. But as the Saints Row: The Third proved, doubling down on absurdity can inject some much-needed levity into the formula. Saints Row IV does not show any signs of bucking that trend.

 

In the original version of Saints Row IV, you did not play as the President of the United States.

“We wanted Stephen Colbert to be the President,” Volition creative director Steve Jaros tells IGN. “I have concept art that’s amazing. It’s Stephen Colbert on a battlefield holding the American flag, his sleeves are ripped off, he’s got a bald eagle tattoo. That’s Steven Jr.” he says. “It was badass,but finally it was like, *Censored* it, you’re the President. Why give it to someone else?”

Numerous things changed between the initial Saints Row IV concept and what we have now. Stephen Colbert as the President of the United States of America is the least crazy of the lot.


As you may recall, Saints Row The Third’s last add-on content was to be Enter the Dominatrix, an expansion that later rolled up into Saints Row IV, which began production toward the end of its predecessor’s development cycle. Combining the two projects caused problems, however.

“Merging them was not a drag and drop proposition. There were things we were doing on Dominatrix that just wouldn’t make sense in Saints Row IV,” Jaros explains. “Then even the stuff we wanted to take from Dominatrix to move in to Saints Row IV had to be totally redone because the story wouldn’t make any sense.”


So Volition changed the entire cast, cutscenes, dialog, game features, and mission scripting, and trashed a whole script, mo-cap shoots, and voice recordings. “[We] tossed ‘em all, because it wasn’t what we needed,” Jaros says. “That’s where we’re basing the Director’s Cut DLC on – elements we really liked but didn’t make a whole lot of sense to put them in the game.”

Following the release of Saints Row IV, Volition will release an add-on with multiple missing pieces, just for kicks, to show you what might have been. Which of those pieces remains to be seen. Will Colbert make it? Sounds unlikely.

“We tried to make offers,” says Jaros. “Sometimes you get things that come really, really close. Or the money doesn’t work out. Or they’re not interested.”

So what else didn’t make it into this version of Saints Row IV?

“I wrote a State of the Union address that was from the point of view of The Rock,” Jaros explains. He also “really wanted Meryl Streep so badly in Saints Row. I wanted her so badly for this game. There’s a role, I’m not going to tell you what she was going to be, but I think where we ended up is so much of a better joke.”

I ask if there’s anything Volition ever says “no” to.

“We had a gun, and I’m not even shitting you, that summoned monkeys with hammers," Jaros responds.

It gets even sillier.

“Saints Row IV had a dragon." It was ultimately cut because, well, it was too much, and it didn’t really work.

The nonsense included in the current version of Saints Row IV -- including a dubstep gun -- impressed IGN despite the absence of Colbert, The Rock, a dragon, and Meryl Streep.

 

Saints Row IV may be the first Saints Row title from new publisher Deep Silver, but the game will act as the "logical conclusion" of the Saints Row story up until this point. Your character has become the President, fighting off an invading alien force named the Xen with an impressive array of guns, vehicles, and superpowers. GamesIndustry International spoke to Saints Row IV senior producer Jim Boone and principal designer Scott Phillips at PAX East 2013, and they confirmed that the series will be going out with a bang.

"We're definitely taking this one about as far as we can go. We'd like to say - at least with this saga - we're definitely taking Saints Row to its logical conclusion," said Boone.

"Even on Saints Row The Third, I remember thinking, 'I don't know how we'd top this.' In terms of over-the-top with zombies, a Helicarrier, and Mission on Mars, I don't know how we go further than that. Somehow, I think we did it. This is planned to be the end of this saga of Saints Row. You start as President and I think we end it in a relatively conclusive manner," added Phillips.

One mode that won't be returning in Saints Row IV is the previous game's Whored Mode, which resembles Horde Modes in other titles like Gears of War.

"It worked really well in [saints Row The Third] and themes of The Third, but I think we would've been forcing it to bring it in for IV. Thematically, our angle with the president/aliens/superpowers just doesn't quite fit. We have other things that I think you'll be pleased with," said Boone.

Saints Row IV is coming to PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on August 20.

 

 

 

Beating civilians to a bloody pulp with a purple dildo bat isn’t usually something a presidential hopeful would do. But Saints Row IV encourages it. After all, the President of the United States is a Third Street Saint.
The fourth entry in the most ridiculous action series this generation sees the Saints heading up the entire free world. When all of a sudden, an alien force known as the Zin invades the Earth. Now, these aren’t your typical run-of-the-mill “All humans must die!” aliens. What the Zin do is indoctrinate you into their culture, and recruit you as one of their own. The way they do this is by trapping each person in their own personalized version of hell, and torment them until that person succumbs to the indoctrination. It’s a great take on the alien-invaders trope, and I fully expect the Zin to be greatly fleshed out in the main campaign.
Because this is Saints Row, crazy and wacky weapons are the norm, and this hasn’t changed with part IV. In the demo I was shown, two new weapons were shown off. The Inlate-O-Ray is the product of a lifetime of watching Looney Tunes. The gun fires a ray at the intended victim’s head, making it expand until they burst. The other weapon shown off was a Dub-Step Gun. What this unholy monstrosity does is fire a wave of pure wub-wub that makes a crowd of enemies dance until they die. And did I mention you get a fully armed mech? Because you get a mech, and it’s fully armed with machine guns and rockets.


In addition to a healthy selection of new and insane weaponry, Saints Row IV will allow you to not only customize weapon stats, but weapon skins as well. In one example shown, you can make your stock bazooka look like a guitar case, or a Super Scope 6. We were told that only the look of weapons will change. Civilians won’t wonder why you’re pointing a guitar case at them; they’ll instincively know that what you have in your hands is a bazooka.
But new weapons and a new enemy force isn’t everything. As you’ve probably seen, Saints Row IV allows your character to have super powers. The powers we were showed included super speed, super jump, flight, an ice blast, and telekinesis. Naturally, with each super power, there’s a new ridiculous takedown animation. To offset these new powers, the Zin have their own heroes. In the demo, a boss battle with a hulk-like Warden was teased. More than likely, you’ll have to defeat one of these bad boys to free your homies.

While all of this seems fine and dandy to existing Saints Row fans, I doubt this will be anyone’s first Saints Row game. What I’m getting at, is that I don’t think there are enough mechanics or gimmicks to be as groundbreaking as Saints Row 2 or 3. I’m sure fans of the series will get a kick out of the game, but for those like me who aren’t dying for a new game — I don’t think this will be for us.

 

 

 

Survey:

Deep Silver is requesting fan input with regards to the contents of a Saints Row IV Collector's Edition.

The publisher has set up a survey in which you can express how interested you are in various items appearing in a special edition bundle on a scale of 1 (HELL NO!) to 5 (AWWWW YEAH!).

Items mentioned include t-shirts, pins, hats, flags, figurines, posters, RC helicopters, books, maps and even a display case. There's also reference to a "functional (not deadly!) in-game weapon replica". Given Deep Silver's previous collector's edition woes, we reckon that bit in brackets is probably for the best.

The survey also asks what platform you'd like to see any limited bundles appear on, as well as how many special editions you've bought in the last year.

Saints Row IV was announced for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC last week, with a fairly bombastic trailer that you can check out below. The game itself and, presumably, any Collector's Editions you lot help create will be available from August 20th in the US and August 23rd in other territories.

Link to Survey:
http://kwiksurveys.com/app/rendersurvey.asp?sid=43mpp9qwqrrd2ry115081&refer=t.co

 

[Generations]

Surprised to hear that it will be released so early...especially following all of the business with THQ going under. Anyway, I'm sure I will get it, but part of me really dislikes how over-the-top they've gone with this series. I enjoyed the absurd stuff (within reason). One was great, two seemed too close to one...three began to really push the boundaries, and 4 just looks silly (but I'll still play it).

[Sinnerman]

Yeah I don't like the look of it, but I'll probably get it anyway just cos.

[Shogun]

Saints Row 3.1?

[Ernez]

Saints Row 3.1?

 

It was going to be DLC for SR3, but they decided to make it a whole other game. So yup, same shit.

[Mango kid]

NOT digging this i love saints row but this might kill it

[IɳFamous]

OverKill with the ridiculous shit.

[Voorhees_13]

SMH it's not even about the gritty gangster stuff anymore like SR 1 and 2. SR 3 was *censored*ing stupid, and SR 4 will be too. I expect way more dildos and shit jars, because now it's just too childish.

[iSmex.]

I had fun with SR3, and the previous titles. So I will most likely pick this up, even if it goes further OTT.

[D'Evil]

0/10 hype, would not bang.

[Royal Nakamura]

I think they are releasing this as soon as possible because of the PlayStation 4 release and whatnot. It doesn't even have a full-fledged story of its own like Saints Row: The Third had. It just feels like an actual Episode, at the moment, and we know it's going to be sold at the retail price of £39.99 which may not be worth it.

[El Imperio]

"Hey, look at how much we are not like gta!"

[Crack.]

Me like other people miss the gangster feeling like 1 & 2, I just can't get with this over-the-top/futuristic/Mass Effect bullshit they have in this one & the 3rd.

[sam the d00d]

The fact that there is barely anyone left in Volition and that this was originally an expansion pack is a recipe for disaster. I liked Saints Row The Third, but I miss gangs, man. I miss being a gangster. Having real guns. Driving my purple pimped out car listening to Nas. I miss sword fights. I miss being able to use anything as a weapon. I miss wearing socks for god sakes.

[1okr]

SMH it's not even about the gritty gangster stuff anymore like SR 1 and 2. SR 3 was *censored*ing stupid, and SR 4 will be too. I expect way more dildos and shit jars, because now it's just too childish.

 

Lol you said dildos

[Arsenal.]

*Censored* off with your alien pish. moar gangsta pl0x

[.Crayola]

Saints Row 3 was fun for a bit in my opinion then I got really bored of it, only got 100% on it just for the achievements, will not be purchasing this, especially with GTA V coming out.

[Kman]

I liked the first two games but the third was just too over the top, I just didn't enjoy it at all.

[Chazzle.]

I prefer the gangster style of the first two games but I still enjoyed the third one, the only problem I had with it was that a few of the missions were just activities.

 

I'm going to get this but I'll wait until around Christmas time, It'll be £20 by then.

[Montana]

OverKill with the ridiculous shit.

Exactly it's gotten so far way from SR 1 it ain't even funny.

[Paulie Walnuts]

SR 1 & 2 were the only games from this series I liked. And it's obvious the gritty gangster urban setting was the reason why. However once I played two I knew they'd be heading out of that direction. But I didn't expect this shit, this just looks bad, worse than 3, just really, really bad.

[Ernez]

Agreed with everyone in here. SR1 & 2 was nice. 3 was...eh below average. I liked the missions in 3 but hated the world and ridiculous stuff in it.

 

I like a bit of realism in my games.

[K-Dash]

I'm getting this for sure!

[RVD 4:20]

I'm a massive Saints Row fan, but this doesn't look anywhere near as good as it should. Saints Row 3, although too OTT, was still a good game; but the thing it was most lacking was online gameplay (multiplayer, not co-op), and that's why SR3 didn't live up to its predecessors (although it had the best trailer in the series). This game just looks like it's going to be even more ridiculous, and it isn't really needed. SR3 was described as too much, and it looks like they're going to up the ante even more in this one. But alas, I'll still buy it, and hopefully enjoy it. If they have multiplayer rather than focusing on pointless co-op, then I'm all set. Hopefully they have a bigger map too.

[Ǝpitome]

In other news: Saints Row V is going to be based around Warewolfs and Vampires!