- Jul 7, 2008
- 5,558
- 25
- 91
In a certain light, the western games industry isn't terribly exciting. Modern big-budget titles task themselves with living up to certain marketing buzzwords, like "realistic"; "immersive"; "atmospheric"; "detailed" and other such fluff. Is this necessarily a bad thing? It seems to resonate with most people, so I guess maybe not. But it is a little concerning. My point is: I can't think of a single major PC game from the last year or two that doesn't retain some semblance of seriousness or sedation.
...that is, with the exception of Saints Row 4. SR4 has none of those above elements. It throws absolutely everything out the window in favor of making the game fun. I mean, it's really fun. Really fun. I'm convinced that - somewhere deep inside Volition - some executives passed around a design document with nothing written on it, other than the word "FUN" in giant lettering. It was then presented at a board meeting where the chief producer opened up a Powerpoint with nothing but a single slide bellowing the word "FUN" in large type. "FUN" would be the game's one and only design goal. He then asked, "Is everyone cool with this?" And everyone in the company unanimously agreed, marking the beginning of Saints Row 4.
Everything has been optimized for absolute pure pleasure and joy. If there was a mechanic in the game that wasn't fun, it was scrapped. If something was too tedious or uninteresting, it was scrapped. There is nothing boring, nothing that feels like a chore. They went out of their way to make the game as delightful and entertaining as possible.
So here I am, with a whole city at my fingertips; sprinting down the street at 200 miles per hour, literally sending all vehicles and traffic hurdling sideways when I hit them, super-jumping over entire skyscrapers, turning things into ice (then shattering them with my rocket launcher), drop-kicking enemies into the sky, causing destruction with a giant alien flamethrower tank, and casually gliding around the city, hundreds of feet in the air. I'm not even 3 hours into the game yet and it's already a personal GOTY contender.
It's a breath of fresh air. I'm convinced that this is the pinnacle of video games; or at least, the pinnacle of what video games should be. This is why video games were invented... so we can temporarily live out our crazy, absurdist desires and dreams, and have a shit ton of fun while doing it. SR4 hits my brain's pleasure center in the best, most proficient way possible. I wish there were more games that aspired to do this.
I realize that some of the content is recycled from Saints Row 3 (mainly the environment), but considering the other massive changes that were implemented to make up for that, I forgive them. SR3 this is not. Even the insurance fraud missions - which I mistakenly thought were perfected in SR3 - have now been cranked up even more in SR4. Throwing myself into oncoming traffic for points, steering my limp body through the air to hit more vehicles, and being deliberately launched through a gauntlet of cars is hilarious. I laughed like a little schoolgirl. It's rare when a game is entertaining enough to make me literally laugh out loud, so that's high praise.
I'm only playing it just now because a buddy gifted it to me on Steam. Boy was I wrong to have not purchased this a long time ago. I mean, I knew it was good, but I had absolutely no idea that it was going to be like this.
Anyone who feels tired of video games, or is in a gaming "rut" should definitely give this game a chance. Saints Row 4 has reminded me why I love games.
I'm excited to keep playing and see what other beautiful things it has to offer.
...that is, with the exception of Saints Row 4. SR4 has none of those above elements. It throws absolutely everything out the window in favor of making the game fun. I mean, it's really fun. Really fun. I'm convinced that - somewhere deep inside Volition - some executives passed around a design document with nothing written on it, other than the word "FUN" in giant lettering. It was then presented at a board meeting where the chief producer opened up a Powerpoint with nothing but a single slide bellowing the word "FUN" in large type. "FUN" would be the game's one and only design goal. He then asked, "Is everyone cool with this?" And everyone in the company unanimously agreed, marking the beginning of Saints Row 4.
Everything has been optimized for absolute pure pleasure and joy. If there was a mechanic in the game that wasn't fun, it was scrapped. If something was too tedious or uninteresting, it was scrapped. There is nothing boring, nothing that feels like a chore. They went out of their way to make the game as delightful and entertaining as possible.
So here I am, with a whole city at my fingertips; sprinting down the street at 200 miles per hour, literally sending all vehicles and traffic hurdling sideways when I hit them, super-jumping over entire skyscrapers, turning things into ice (then shattering them with my rocket launcher), drop-kicking enemies into the sky, causing destruction with a giant alien flamethrower tank, and casually gliding around the city, hundreds of feet in the air. I'm not even 3 hours into the game yet and it's already a personal GOTY contender.
It's a breath of fresh air. I'm convinced that this is the pinnacle of video games; or at least, the pinnacle of what video games should be. This is why video games were invented... so we can temporarily live out our crazy, absurdist desires and dreams, and have a shit ton of fun while doing it. SR4 hits my brain's pleasure center in the best, most proficient way possible. I wish there were more games that aspired to do this.
I realize that some of the content is recycled from Saints Row 3 (mainly the environment), but considering the other massive changes that were implemented to make up for that, I forgive them. SR3 this is not. Even the insurance fraud missions - which I mistakenly thought were perfected in SR3 - have now been cranked up even more in SR4. Throwing myself into oncoming traffic for points, steering my limp body through the air to hit more vehicles, and being deliberately launched through a gauntlet of cars is hilarious. I laughed like a little schoolgirl. It's rare when a game is entertaining enough to make me literally laugh out loud, so that's high praise.
I'm only playing it just now because a buddy gifted it to me on Steam. Boy was I wrong to have not purchased this a long time ago. I mean, I knew it was good, but I had absolutely no idea that it was going to be like this.
Anyone who feels tired of video games, or is in a gaming "rut" should definitely give this game a chance. Saints Row 4 has reminded me why I love games.
I'm excited to keep playing and see what other beautiful things it has to offer.
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