Checking out Saints Row - Preview

Volition made a name for themselves when they released the original Saints Row game and while that was ok, it was the second game that solidified the series as a fun competitor to Grand Theft Auto. Since then, the series has dabbled in super powers and control over hell, so it raises the question, what more can the series do? Thankfully, Volition and the games publisher Deep Silver were kind enough to invite me to check out the game, sadly it was a hands-off demo, but still, it is looking like a good time.

What was nice, was that this wasn’t a random mission halfway through the game, which can happen in these events, but instead we got to see the opening mission and why the four main characters, yourself and the three friends, decide to join up together to form the Saints. Living together, they realise can’t afford to make their rent, so they decide to steal the money they need, which leads to your character leading the police on a highspeed chase around the city. I did ask the developers about that, when the game states “take down the police” is that required, given that they themselves are putting a lot of focus on player choice and the answer is no, if you want, you can just try to out run them. Of course, that isn’t much fun, so you can use one of the games new abilities, sideswiping and if you use it correctly, you can knock the car you hit off the road. Sadly, once the cops were no longer a problem, a new one arose as one of the existing gangs in the city, Los Panteros found the car you were going to swap to, decided you no longer owned it.

This fight sequence gave the developers a chance to showcase some of the new combat options that the game is bringing to the series, yes you can still bust a cap if you want, but there are now finishing moves, that can be used at any time, Pineapple Express anyone? We were only 5 minutes into the demo and we now got to see the off-road action, because this game is set in the American Southwest, there is a lot of dirt to drive over, or in this case ride a dirt bike on as you escape dozens of angry police. I won’t spoil how the mission ends because it is fun, but the final moments point out that the city of Santo Ileso is a place teaming with opportunities, which segued nicely into the next point, the living city.

Given that I just said living city and this is a Saints Row game, you might think that the city itself is alive, but thankfully it is a regular city, given the developers history though, the other option was a possibility. No, the living city in this scenario applies to the fact that as you explore the world, you never know what things will happen for you, from interacting with the citizens on the street or something a little more explosive. Something that the past games have always allowed for is customisation of your outfits, from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet, you could swap out anything, as long as you were in the right space. Now though, as long as you have access to your phone (spoiler alert, you always do) you can swap from the outfit of the day to one perfect from crime, but now you can also change your entire body. I don’t mean swapping from one hair style to another, you can take yourself from being the default character you see in the trailers, to a cowboy or a female bodybuilder and even to a firemen, if you have the pre-sets.  

The city is always presenting itself with things to do, from interacting with people to robbing them, or in the case of the demo, finding an armoured car just sitting there, waiting to be emptied of its hard-earned cash. Doing something like that though will call the police in and then the fun can start, but a single cop car may not be a challenge, but they can radio in for backup, if you want the challenge, you can let them, but if you would rather just deal with what is at hand, then you can take out the cop on the radio. Because the interactions are organic, it means that no two opportunities will present themselves in the exact same way, if you want replayability, that is where the side hustles come in. These events are ones you can do over and over, earning cash and xp, the one from the demo had us helping out someone who wanted to rob a jewellery store. The mission itself seems pretty normal, but it highlighted a new way for the player to combat the cops while riding shotgun and that was climbing outside of the car and surfing while shooting, a potentially dangerous and fun way of taking down those who would attempt to repress your criminal nature.

All that cash you earn from side hustles and missions needs to be spent and the game has options, there are stores for clothes, which you can buy and then set as pre-sets, like mentioned earlier, or take that cash to Jim Robs, the mechanic franchise that lets you customise any car you have access to, from bumper upgrades to special modifications like an ejector seat. Because any car you design can be then duplicated to your gang, meaning everyone drives around with a purple unicorn on the hood... I mean if that appeals to you, of course, spending some time here is going to be worth it, if you are all about that brand synergy.

From here we got to see a couple of the games main missions, the ones that push the story forward and give you a chance to interact with the main members of your crew. One of the missions involved Neenah, the lady who is former Los Panteros and all about that car life and the other was around Kevin and the watching of telenovelas, before all that goes astray.

From the time watching the game, it seems like everything new can offer up fun new experiences, sure managing fronts to increase your cash flow, may not appeal to everyone, but given the rewards you will get from them, putting the effort in seems important. My concern comes from the rest of the gameplay that I saw, in that I have seen most of it before in previous Saints Row titles. There are sure to be missions, part of the one with Kevin is different, but for the most part, what we were shown, were just running and shooting missions. There is nothing wrong with those but given that this is a reboot of the series, I am hoping there is more that they are willing to let players discover on their own.

Saints Row is looking like a good time, the inclusion of co-op does mean you can have some chaotic fun with a mate, but I am a little concerned about the missions. The ones I saw were all just shooting missions, which have their place, but given this is a game about choice, I really hope there is more to choose from than just those. There are still a few months before the game is set to release, so there is plenty of time for the team to showcase the more unique aspects of the game, so I will choose to remain optimistic about it.