Saint's Row 4 review: Saint Misbehavin’

Well, you're the president, aliens attack, you have sexually explicit weapons...

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[PunditGuy]

Yay! You saved me $49.

It'll probably be $15 by the holidays anyway.

 

[Janeazy]

Just wait for it to come out on the next Humble Bundle (still have Saints Row 3 to go through...)!

 

[Seccedonien]

Looking at this review and others that are more positive it seems that the entertainment of SR4 will differ greatly between people and I expect to see many more reviews that contradict each other. Personally I love the humour and absurdness and just reading the Macbeth joke actually made me laugh out loud.

My advice would be that for anyone that has doubts about the game (and thus not yet pre-ordered it) might be better off waiting for the Steam Christmas sale, it isn't that far away and it should at least be 40% off at that time.

 

[kleinma]

I enjoyed SR3, but I also only paid 10 bucks for it. I would consider SR4 when the price drops.

I guess that says something for rockstar, since I will get GTA5 on launch because they really know how to put the story together well.

 

[Crackhead Johny]

All I need to know is if there is a button that allows me to punch people in the dick.

 

[Mickey Finn]

In before the Saints Row apologist's mantra "Obviously, you hate fun".

SR2 was the best co-op experience I have ever had. SR3 slogged mightily, even with co-op as it became more and more ridiculous. This might be much more of the same, it seems. Without a tether to reality, most humor (I am talking in broad strokes) doesn't work.

That said, did you try co-op?

 

[geekd]

No pics of the dildo bat?

 

[AreWeThereYeti]

Oddly, this game seems to be set in a world where all women have dislocated hips and deformed lower spines.

 

[Smeghead]

That's a shame. Thanks to the humble bundle and Steam's summer sale, I have SR2 and 3 and Just Cuase 2 sitting my increasingly-ludicrous backlog of stuff. I want to play them; finding the time has been difficult of late.

Red Faction: Guerilla was obscenely fun. I remember giggling like a little kid during the tutorial at the beginning of the game, having narrowly escaped bringing the building down on my own head like the retard that I am.

 

[Xavin]

Wow, seems like you completely missed the point of the game. Everything I have seen, from gameplay video to other reviews, indicates that SR4 is SR3 cranked up a few more notches, with a bunch of good mechanics stolen from other games that make it even more fun. That's exactly what fans of the game wanted, and it appears to deliver.

If you want a more grounded game GTA V is right around the corner, but they have a lot to prove after making GTA IV about as fun to play as watching paint dry.

 

[haar]

oh well, i pre-ordered it... looks like another impulse purchase that i get burned on.

 

[slymenstra hymen]

This review just makes it sound exactly like SR3 with more goofy things, I had a ton of fun with 3 but it was free on PS+. Wouldn't have payed full for it, and sounds like I'll wait for 4 to go on sale too.

In the middle of your reign, you're attacked by aliens who blow up the planet and trap your posse in a Matrix-style series of Earth simulations. Or something. I've gone through the intro a couple of times and still don't quite get the conceit.

How far did you get in the game? It's probably explained better later on.

 

[smartfud]

haar[/url]":30jkp1nc]oh well, i pre-ordered it... looks like another impulse purchase that i get burned on.

I pre-ordered as well. I've had almost as much fun in 3 simply wandering around as I had playing the main game. As long as 4 offers the open world to play in, I'm sure I can find things to like.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Seccedonien:
Looking at this review and others that are more positive it seems that the entertainment of SR4 will differ greatly between people and I expect to see many more reviews that contradict each other.

Exactly:

Mickey Finn[/url]":2t53yqfy] SR3 slogged mightily, even with co-op as it became more and more ridiculous. This might be much more of the same, it seems. Without a tether to reality, most humor (I am talking in broad strokes) doesn't work.

So, if you liked the humor in SR3, get SR4. If you didn't (because you hate fun ), then wait until it gets dirt cheap.

 

[Andara]

AreWeThereYeti[/url]":7xshwhon]Oddly, this game seems to be set in a world where all women have dislocated hips and deformed lower spines.

Not all women. Only 2 out of 3, apparently.

(what's really depressing is that I've seen women - girls and hookers mostly [yeah, I live in a shitty neighborhood] - who actually stand like that)

 

[sonolumi]

PunditGuy[/url]":65j76axr]Yay! You saved me $49.

It'll probably be $15 by the holidays anyway.

Yay! You saved me $1,000,000.

And I don't know about a Dubstep Gun or a Dildo-bat, but a Dubstep powered Dildo would probably shatter the bones of the user.

 

[Luck]

I can never remember which one is David Keith and which one is Keith David.

 

[Sufinsil]

This is the Dubstep gun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_lcnNnTsDc

 

[Seraphiel]

Yeah, 2 and 3 in particular were absolutely ridiculous, and some of the most fun I've had. And some of the best co-op experiences, too. It was memorable and outlandish enough I still get a laugh just talking about it with my friends. Texas funerals, radioactive waste, VTOL gunships, a gameshow where your objective is to mow down furries? The whole thing revels in absurdity.

It's not a style that suits everyone, but it works fine for me.

 

[clubside]

Obviously, you hate fun.

 

[Sufinsil]

Saint's Row 4 may be the most boring dildo-fueled game ever made.

Its interesting to see this after reading a few reviews that had the complete opposite opinion. Not everyone is going to like it. Everything that people are saying that makes this game great seem to not be grinding you gears in the right direction.


I doubt Koch Media had that much of an impact on the game when they purchased them 8 months ago. Volition was planning an expansion which was turned into Saints Row 4. Under THQ. And Rubin when he joined THQ wanted to get rid of Saints Row if he could have.

 

[DiavoJinx]

Dear Sam Machkovech,
Did you review and play through Saint's Row The Third?

This review sounds *to me* like you don't like the Saint's Row series.
*To me* SR3 was the most FUN game created to date. Obviously I'm looking forward to that getting amped up. =)

--Diavo Jinx

 

[Akemi]

Luck[/url]":172o9vhy]I can never remember which one is David Keith and which one is Keith David.

Simple, Kieth David got beat up by Rowdy Roddy Piper for refusing to put on the glasses. David Keith got killed by George C Scott while trying to rescue his daughter.

Now, bring on the dildo bats!

 

[GraveDigger]

Ars please do not contract this writer again. I'm certainly never going to trust his judgement on game reviews. Anyone who wants to read a review from a non-sociopath is advised to visit Rock Paper Shotgun.

 

[The_Rel]

Autotuned ballgagged pimps pulling rickshaws couldn't keep me away from this game

 

[Papageno]

Polygon gave it a pretty great review as well. Hmm. I'll probably wait to get it on sale though. I've also got an absurdly large backlog.

 

[DarthArcon]

A lot of people I know didnt like Saints Row the Third, but I absolutely loved it.

Then again, twating zombies over the head with a dildo sword is awesome and running down the street as a toilet with two floating guns is even better, but where can you progress from there?!

 

[EtrnL_Frost]

Un-break my heart
Say you'll love me again
Undo this hurt you caused
When you walked out the door
And walked out of my life
Un-cry these tears
I cried so many nights
Un-break my heart
My heart
I pre ordered.

 

[Eldorito]

DiavoJinx[/url]":maicsuqa]Dear Sam Machkovech,
Did you review and play through Saint's Row The Third?

This review sounds *to me* like you don't like the Saint's Row series.
*To me* SR3 was the most FUN game created to date. Obviously I'm looking forward to that getting amped up. =)

--Diavo Jinx

I don't get these kind of complaints, did you read the entire article, including the bits like

Most of the main quest is painfully linear, which voids open-world perks like gang members and equippable guns. In a few plot missions, you'll climb into a giant mech suit loaded with unlimited rockets, only to stomp in a straight line through a claustrophobic, Halo-inspired corridor.

The gun may be powerful and amusing, but both novelties wear off quickly, and the fetch/battle quests needed to unlock the gun are slogs.

Even after being upgraded at chop shops, vehicles don't deliver the kind of wild destruction you'd expect from, say, a Just Cause game. Buildings and other structures don't crumble a la Red Faction games. Planes and other super-powered vehicles take too long to appear as a regular option.

Plot points about rescuing old friends get hung up on a lot of over-serious dialogue and "you owe me" nonsense.

Do you remember SR3 being a game with inelegant controls, linear missions, missions that are slogs, lacking vehicles and boring dialogue? I don't. The author is writing what is actually an excellent videogame review rather than simply a review of content, yes all the funny bits are there but if the gameplay is actually bad then it's actually bad.

This reminds me a little bit of Ben's review of DNF, where he was told over and over he didn't get it and he simply couldn't enjoy that kind of game by people who hadn't played it. Turns out that DNF is actually a terrible game, no matter how loyal it was to its predecessor.

 

[Mottman]

"I don't listen to Scottish hip-hop"

I laughed at this

 

[Bob Servo]

Played SR2 and SR3. Former was more fun. The city was more diverse and its humor worked better on the notion of not going out of its way to be as whacky as can be.

 

[Tyhudg]

"I am not familiar with the type of thing I am seeing" - Calculon

 

[XaiaX]

Akemi[/url]":1b5ag9fm]

Luck[/url]":1b5ag9fm]I can never remember which one is David Keith and which one is Keith David.

Simple, Kieth David got beat up by Rowdy Roddy Piper for refusing to put on the glasses. David Keith got killed by George C Scott while trying to rescue his daughter.

Now, bring on the dildo bats!

You remember that movie incorrectly. Keith David wins the fight.

 

[Spong]

SR3 had some interesting crazy ideas, and then largely failed to execute on them. The Dr Cat gameshow thing (I forget the name, and can't be bothered looking it up) was a poorly-scripted ripoff of Japanese gameshows; the missions were a bit "bleh".

Overall, the game seemed to be a kid standing in the middle of their playground, wearing a shiny silver jacket and screaming to the other kids to PLEASE LOOK AT ME, I'M FUNNY! But when the other kids looked, and the novelty wore off, they just looked funny on the surface. (And then probably got beaten to a pulp).

SR2 was brilliant. Hands down my favourite in the series - it was like GTA used to be - fun, funny, dramatic in equal parts. (About the same time, GTA was doing its best to grow up and lose the fun factor, and that resulted in the dirgelike GTA IV).

I'll probably pick up SR4 and check it out, but the "WE ARE FUNNY! MOAR FUNNY" vibe from 3 ruined an otherwise entertaining game.

 

[Darkseid]

Editor!

Or something. I've gone through the intro a couple of times and still don't quite get the conceit.

autocorrect fail, - that word could/should be concept, not conceit.


Sorry, but it really stood out.

 

[iko]

Darkseid[/url]":1cn8z5zg]Editor!

Or something. I've gone through the intro a couple of times and still don't quite get the conceit.

autocorrect fail, - that word could/should be concept, not conceit.

Sorry, but it really stood out.

'Conceit' is being used in one of its less common senses, there. A grandiose or fanciful construction, or a compex metaphor that's extended and explored for narrative purposes.

 

[Jesse Finn]

... ... ... ... (Sorry, cleaning old posts because Ars doesn't allow you to delete accounts / posts).

 

[Deleted member 14629]

Xavin[/url]":2vyjxbam]Wow, seems like you completely missed the point of the game. Everything I have seen, from gameplay video to other reviews, indicates that SR4 is SR3 cranked up a few more notches, with a bunch of good mechanics stolen from other games that make it even more fun. That's exactly what fans of the game wanted, and it appears to deliver.

If you want a more grounded game GTA V is right around the corner, but they have a lot to prove after making GTA IV about as fun to play as watching paint dry.

Ah yes, Grand Theft Auto: Niko, let's go Bowling!

 

[Deleted member 192806]

Well that's the thing about sequels. How does one top the previous one?