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* [[Lauri Hendler]] as Jane Valderama
* [[Lauri Hendler]] as Jane Valderama
* [[Phil LaMarr]] as Mr. Sunshine
* [[Phil LaMarr]] as Mr. Sunshine
* [[Eden Riegel]] as The Narrator
{{refend}}
{{refend}}


Revision as of 05:05, 25 August 2013

Saints Row IV
Developer(s)Volition, Inc.
Publisher(s)Deep Silver
SeriesSaints Row
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release
  • NA: August 20, 2013
  • EU: August 23, 2013
  • AU: September 12, 2013
  • JP: TBA
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Saints Row IV is an action-adventure video game set in an open world environment. It is developed by Volition, Inc. and published by Deep Silver. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the fourth installment in the Saints Row series, after the release of Saints Row: The Third in 2011. As in previous titles in the series, the player controls the leader of the Third Street Saints, who has now become the president of the United States. The game returns to the fictional city of Steelport from The Third and takes place five years after the events of The Third, focusing on the Saints fighting an alien invasion as well as the enemies from their past.

Gameplay

The game's plot sees invading aliens place the player into a computer-simulated version of Steelport (the Saints Row: The Third setting) early on, and the bulk of the game takes place within this simulation. The simulation has Steelport constantly cloaked in the darkness of night, with largely computer-themed twists on classic Saints Row elements. Objectives are often based around hacking the simulation in order to work towards escaping it.

Saints Row IV still shares most of its gameplay aspects with the previous installment, Saints Row: The Third, being primarily played from a third person perspective in an open world map scattered with campaign quests, secondary objectives, and various collectibles. The player can steal, drive, and customize vehicles, and purchase weapons and clothing.

In an element new to the series, the player can now purchase and upgrade "powers" that offer superhuman abilities akin to those seen in the Prototype video game series,[1] which allow the player to leap up the sides of buildings, glide through the air, and fire several different paranormal projectiles, as examples.

Synopsis

Plot

After the events of Saints Row: The Third, Pierce, Shaundi and the Boss are called upon to assist MI-6 agent Asha Odekar and her contact, former Deckers leader Matt Miller, in infiltrating a Middle Eastern compound to assassinate Cyrus Temple, the former leader of STAG who has since gone insane and obsessed with killing the Saints, and plans on destroying Washington D.C. using a nuclear missile. The Boss manages to kill Cyrus, but is unable to stop him from launching the missile. Climbing aboard the missile, the Boss disarms the nuke in midair before it reaches Washington, earning the adoration of America.

Five years later, the Boss has been elected President of the United States, with several members of the Saints acting as cabinet. While preparing for a press conference, the Boss is told that Asha and Matt have arrived at the White House (which they name "White Crib" as a parody) to warn them of what they suspect is an impending alien invasion. Just as the Boss is informed, the invasion begins, spearheaded by the alien warlord Zinyak, who captures all of the cabinet members as well as the Boss.

The Boss wakes in what appears to be a 50s sitcom set in the city of Steelport, devoid of violence or foul language. The Saints' computer specialist, Kinzie Kensington, contacts the Boss and informs them that they are trapped inside a simulation, and that each of the Zin's prisoners are trapped in personal simulations of their own fears in order to break their will. With Kinzie's help, the Boss breaks free of the simulation and joins Kinzie and Vice President Keith David in a stolen Zin ship. While the trio attempt to contact reinforcements from Earth, Zinyak atomizes the planet, killing everyone not already captured by the Zin. Determined to get revenge for Earth, the Boss returns to the Steelport simulation, hoping to use it to find the remaining Saints and somehow reach Zinyak. The Boss begins to go into the other Saint's simulations in order to rescue them, revealing each of their own fears including Shaundi's fear of her former self, Pierce's fear of the Saint's image turning on him, and Benjamin King's fear of his former gang the Vice Kings.

As the simulation begins to weaken under the Saints' influence, Zinyak floods virtual Steelport with copies of gang members the Boss has faced in the past. Kinzie determines that the copies are being made from someone's memory, leading the Boss to conclude that Saints lieutenant Johnny Gat, who was thought dead, is still alive and trapped within the simulation. Despite protests from Kinzie and Matt that rescuing Johnny will reveal their location to Zinyak, the Saints make their way to where Johnny is being held, while taking note of how many people are being held on Zinyak's ship implying that their may still be hope for humanity. The Boss eventually frees Johnny's mind from his nightmare of Aisha's death that he had been trapped in and gets him back to the ship. Johnny explains that during the fight in which he was presumed killed, he was actually abducted by Zinyak years in advance of their invasion, as Zinyak had concluded that Johnny could have single-handedly stopped him if left on Earth.

The Saints rally inside the simulation in order to prepare to confront Zinyak, but they are ambushed by an enormous Zin force. As they escape, Kinzie is captured by Zinyak, and the Boss emerges from the simulation to find that Keith has knocked the other Saints out and fled, showing that he betrayed the Saints. Returning to Steelport, the Boss finds Keith has been declared president of the simulation. When confronted, Keith claims that Zinyak has the means to restore Earth, and has agreed to do so in exchange for the Boss' life. The Boss, believing that Zinyak is lying, pursues Keith into his nightmare, who is ultimately unable to bring himself to kill his friend and rejoins the Saints, telling them where Kinzie has been taken.

After the Boss rescues Kinzie from her nightmare, she devises a plan to crash the simulation, which will force the Zin to draw power from their ship to keep it running, thus weakening the ship itself and creating an opening for the Saints to enter. Working together, the remaining Saints manage to take control of the simulation and overload it, shutting it down just as the Boss escapes. The Boss leads an assault on Zinyak's ship, confronting him in his throne room. While the entire Zin Empire watches, Zinyak and the Boss battle each other, and with help from the Saints, the Boss emerges victorious. Impressed, the Zin forces surrender to the Boss, who becomes the new head of the Zin Empire. The Boss asks one of Zinyak's servants if they truly have the technology to bring Earth back. The servant says it's impossible to bring Earth because of it being atomized, but mentions that the Zin have time-travel technology, which would allow the Saints to go back in time before Earth was destroyed. With this in mind, the Boss looks at the Saints and says "Let's go on a field trip."

There is also a "bad ending" that plays out should the player not complete all of the loyality missions. In this ending after the Zin forces surrender to the Boss, as the Boss sits on Zinyak's throne. The Saints make their plans to take over more planets unaware of their ability to return to Earth before it was destroyed.

In a post-credits scene, the Saints and Zinyak are at a dance club dancing to Montell Jordan's "This Is How We Do It."

Characters

A number of characters from earlier games in the franchise - both members of the Third Street Saints and former adversaries - make a return in Saints Row IV, many of whom take up the protagonist's Presidential administration. Kinzie Kensington, the socially awkward FBI hacker from Saints Row: The Third becomes the White House's press secretary, often tasked with clearing up the mess left behind by the President's verbal missteps. Benjamin King, former leader of the Vice Kings gang from the original Saints Row, becomes the President's Chief of Staff, while Pierce Washington has been appointed the Communications Director with Shaundi as Director of the Secret Service.

Matt Miller, having abandoned the Deckers and, according to news broadcasts in Saints Row: The Third, announced an abstinence from the use of technology, presumably returned to the United Kingdom and became employed by M-I6. Johnny Gat also returns after being thought dead in Saints Row: The Third. Stilwater, the location of the first two games makes an appearance for one mission and most of the street gangs from the first three games make appearances as well.

Voice cast

The following actors appear in Saints Row IV:[2]

Development

During an interview with X-Play just before the release of Saints Row: The Third, THQ executive VP Danny Bilson revealed that Volition was already working on Saints Row IV. "Like any game, if you have a great creative core to it you just keep exploiting that core," he told G4. "For instance," he continued, "I know what Saints Row IV is about and it is wilder than this one. It's a good example of how you take what you have and you ask, 'what could happen in the next?" added Bilson, without giving up any actual details.[4][5]

On March 3, 2012, Volition announced a standalone expansion to Saints Row: The Third that would not require The Third to play, entitled Enter the Dominatrix. The game would take place one year after the events of Saints Row: The Third and was set for release for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The official description: "Enter the Dominatrix picks up immediately following the events of Saints Row: The Third. For centuries, alien warlord Zinyak has eyed Earth and its precious natural resources and females with a watchful eye. As he prepares an armada for invasion, he has only one worry: the Third Street Saints". On June 18, it was confirmed that the game had been redirected to be a full sequel and will be released in conjunction with Saints Row IV in 2013.[6] It was later affirmed that Enter the Dominatrix will be downloadable content for Saints Row IV.[7]

After filing for bankruptcy, THQ auctioned off its assets on January 22, 2013. Volition was ultimately acquired by Koch Media, parent company of publisher Deep Silver. Deep Silver will publish further installments of the franchise, and revealed plans to announce more details surrounding a future Saints Row installment.[8] Saints Row 4 remains on track for a 2013 release with Deep Silver.[9]

Saints Row IV was officially unveiled in March 2013. Its release trailer states a North American release on August 20, 2013 an Australian release on September 12, 2013 and a European release on August 23, 2013. The game is a direct sequel to Saints Row: The Third.[10] A demo of the pre-alpha stage of the game was showcased at PAX East 2013, exhibiting key features such as super powers, mech suits, weapon customization and a more in-depth look at the characters and story of the game.[11]

Soundtrack

Main article: Saints Row IV soundtrack

The game has 109 songs over 7 radio stations[12]

Downloadable content

Several packages of downloadable content (DLC) are planned for release. The DLCs are as follows:

Online Pass

The pass that allows players to play the game in multiplayer.

Season Pass

  • "Enter the Dominatrix" - extra missions made up of ideas from the cancelled Saints Row: The Third expansion of the same name
  • The Rectifier - an extra weapon parodying the idea of the alien anal probe
  • A currently unknown second mission add-on pack

Other content

  • Commander-in-Chief Pack - players get an extra weapon, vehicle and outfit, only available with the special edition of the game
  • Volition Comics Pack - players get extra comic-themed outfits, only available with pre-orders of the game
  • Presidential Pack - players get extra presidential-themed outfits, only available with pre-orders of the game
  • Executive Privilege Pack - player get access to exclusive cheats and other benefits

Reception

Critical reception

Saints Row IV received generally positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PC version 88.29% and 86/100 respectively, making it the the highest rated game in the Saints Row series.

Gamespot rated the game 7.5, praising its zany situations and sharp writing, but criticized its repetitive, unchallenging combat,[31] both sentiments that IGN also shared.[32] PC Gamer's Rich McCormick praised the humor and new maneuverability afforded by superpowers, calling it "One of the most fun videogames I’ve ever played," and Jim Sterling of Destructoid similarly commented that "Saints Row IV [is] perhaps one of the best open world sandbox games you could ever hope to play". Game Informer said the experience is much like its predecessor, but also praised the new movement mechanics as being immensely fun.[33]

Controversy

On June 25, 2013, Saints Row IV was refused classification in Australia, stating "interactive, visual depictions of implied sexual violence which are not justified by context" in reference to "the Rectifier" weapon. The board also stated that the game includes "elements of illicit or proscribed drug use related to incentives or rewards" referring to the side mission "Girls Night Out" in which Shaundi takes an alien drug to gain superpowers.[34] The decision was appealed, but was refused classification by an independent review board on 29 July citing that "drug use related to incentives and rewards is not permitted".[35] An edited version of the game with the "Girls Night Out" side mission removed was rated MA15+ on 2 August 2013.[36] Volition referenced this controversy in the game's launch trailer by referring to Saints Row IV as "the game Australia didn't want you to play".

References

  1. ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-08-14-saints-row-4-review
  2. ^ Saints Row IV - Voice Cast
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ Johnson, Stephen (November 8, 2011). "Saints Row 4 Confirmed, To Be "Wilder" Than Saints Row 3". G4TV. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  5. ^ Magrino, Tom (November 8, 2011). "Publisher EVP Danny Bilson confirms fourth installment in Volition's madcap action game is in development, will iterate on The Third". GameSpot. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  6. ^ "Saints Row: The Third – Enter the Dominatrix Now Part of Something Bigger Than Itself". Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  7. ^ Cook, Dave (March 22, 2013). "Enter the Dominatrix will return to Saints Row 4 as DLC". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  8. ^ "THQ Dissolved, Saints Row, Company of Heroes, Darksiders Devs Acquired". IGN. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  9. ^ Handrahan, Matthew (February 4, 2013). "Koch Media: "We are not ambitious to be the next THQ"". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  10. ^ Daniel Nye Griffiths (March 15, 2013). "Saints Row 4: August Launch Announced". Forbes. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  11. ^ "Saints Row IV - PAX Demo". Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  12. ^ Martin Gaston (August 6, 2013). "Saints Row IV track list and radio stations revealed". Gamespot. Retrieved 2013-08-06.
  13. ^ "Saints Row IV for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  14. ^ "Saints Row IV for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  15. ^ "Saints Row IV for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  16. ^ "Saints Row IV for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  17. ^ "Saints Row IV for PlayStation 3". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  18. ^ "Saints Row IV for Xbox 360". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  19. ^ Schilling, Chris (August 14, 2013). "Saints Row 4 Review". Eurogamer. Eurogamer Network. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  20. ^ Ryckert, Dan (August 14, 2013). "Saints Row 4 Review". Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  21. ^ Taljonick, Ryan (August 14, 2013). "Saints Row IV". GamesRadar. Future plc. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  22. ^ Petit, Carolyn (August 14, 2013). "Saints Row IV Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  23. ^ Stapleton, Dan (August 14, 2013). "Saints Row 4 Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  24. ^ Mallory, Jordan (August 14, 2013). "Saints Row 4 review". Joystiq. AOL. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  25. ^ Reparaz, Mikel (August 14, 2013). "Saints Row IV review". Official Xbox Magazine. Future plc. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  26. ^ Blyth, Jon (August 14, 2013). "Saints Row 4 Review". Official Xbox Magazine UK. Future plc. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  27. ^ Meikleham, David (August 14, 2013). "Saints Row 4 Review". PlayStation Official Magazine. Future plc. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  28. ^ McCormick, Rich (August 14, 2013). "Saints Row 4 Review". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  29. ^ Riendeau, Danielle (August 14, 2013). "Saints Row 4 Review". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  30. ^ Sterling, Jim (August 14, 2013). "Review: Saints Row IV". Destructoid. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  31. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/saints-row-iv/reviews/saints-row-iv-review-6412941/
  32. ^ http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/08/14/saints-row-iv-review
  33. ^ http://www.gameinformer.com/games/saints_row_iv/b/xbox360/archive/2013/08/14/saints-row-iv-review-game-informer.aspx
  34. ^ Australian Classification Board (June 25, 2013). "25 June 2013 - 'Saints Row IV' first computer game Refused Classification". Australian Government. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  35. ^ Australian Classification Board (July 29, 2013). "29 July 2013 - 'Saints Row IV' Refused Classification by the Classification by the Classification Review Board". Australian Government. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  36. ^ Reilly, Luke (August 1, 2013). "Saints Row IV Cleared for Australian Release". IGN. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
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