Don't mess with Biz Markie!

User Rating: 9 | Saints Row IV X360
What was the point of pong? A game with two paddles and a ball bouncing back and forth between them may seem senseless, but then again so to may life seem senseless upon reflection. I would like to put forth the idea that with Saints Row IV Volition has found both the meaning to pong and life. Volition has infused this meaning into the DNA of Saints row to make a game so great that even the "great one" himself, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, wouldn't seem so great by comparison. So without further ado the meaning of pong, life and Saints Row IV is (drumroll please) Fun (the noun not the band)! Not a single second of Saints Row IV passes by without the player having fun as long as the game is working.

Unfortunately Saints Row IV is riddled with bugs. During my play through of the game I had my console freeze multiples times and frequently ran into glitches that made cars float upside-down, turn invisible, or bugs that stretched NPC models out into horrific monsters. These glitches could be overlooked or even considered funny by some if it weren't for the fact that when these glitches occur the frame-rate drops to an almost unplayable level
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In fact, the frame-rate is bad even when the game is working completely normally. It frequently dips below 30 frames-per-second and makes the racing missions harder than they should be. However, these technical issues don't come as a surprise seeing as Saints Row IV is basically Saints Row the Third with super powers. Volition kept everything that was in the third game and just added onto it. They even kept stuff as pointless as car upgrades because why not. Saints Row the Third already had a hard time running on consoles and the new mechanics in Saints Row IV exacerbates things.

The main conceit of Saints Row IV is that aliens have invaded and the saints must enter a virtual-reality Stillwater where they can use super powers to fight the extraterrestrial threat. The story is more about the characters and gags than the plot. The characters are loveable because they celebrate the sex, violence, absurdity, and chaos rather than regret it the way characters tend to do in that other open-world series that shall remain unnamed ( simply because I seem to have forgotten what it's called at the moment).

With Saints Row IV's story Volition went on the pursuit of funniness (starring Will Smith). The game is a parody of AAA games and where others have failed to do satire successfully Saints Row IV prevails because not only is it funny but it also plays really well. Most of the game is more of an homage to these videogame tropes rather than a condemnation and it works because you never get the impression the game is trying to act superior in any way.

Not only will the game make you laugh consistently but it is extremely fun on a moment to moment basis. After only an hour of playing you will be able to jump over buildings and run faster than any car in the game and you only get stronger from there. This makes simple traversal of the city a blast. There is more than 1000 collectibles in the games and I was constantly distracted from my mission by inviting glow of the data clusters.

Data clusters are used to upgrade your superpowers making you even more unstoppable than before. It's nice that there's a use for the collectibles because it makes the hours you'll spend picking them up almost feel worthwhile. You will definitely want to upgrade your abilities because there are some pretty useful powers such as the ability to glide that you can only get through purchasing upgrades using the collectibles.

Even though Saints Row IV takes place in the same city as Saints Row the Third you constantly feel a sense of discovery. It's impossible to guess what's going to happen next in a game that could completely change genres in a moment's notice. The game is not afraid of the player not understanding what's happening because the game is not even sure what's happening.

Anybody who has stuck with the series from the beginning will be treated to some great self-referential humor that will put a smile on your face even if you hated the early games. Volition is well aware of how much series has changed and so are the characters. Oftentimes they will reminisce on the past in a nostalgic way that made me think back on the older games in a nicer light.

Saints Row IV couldn't exist without the previous games in the series. Volition had to learn from their mistakes and make Saints Row its own franchise rather than the crappier version of someone else's. The characters have especially benefited from this evolution as it serves to add some depth when they can talk about their past and you really have seen them change over the course of the series. Somehow the game can balance an alien invasion and superpowers with a surprisingly touching story of friendship.

Saints Row started out as a simple Grand Theft Auto clone, but over the course of the series developer Volition has successfully evolved Saints Row into a genuinely funny parody of the same games they once tried to imitate. This really is one of the only series I can think of that has markedly improved with every entry, and no matter which game you pick up in the series you will be getting a totally different experience. No matter what you were expecting to get out of Saints Row IV you will not be disappointed. The only question I have now is: where the hell do they go from here?