Volition fills this highly anticipated sequel with super powers, missions, laughs and plenty of fun.
Those who played Saints Row the Third will feel very familiar with Saints Row IV's appearance. Most of it appears recycled, with most of the same city environments and areas. However, the new alien atmosphere is welcome, with glowing lights, huge looming towers and a presence of both Zinyak's own soldiers and renegade cops. There are glitches, both intentional and unintentional, to get past, but overall it's a swell looking Saints experience. A patch update wouldn't hurt down the road, though.
Audio is another key component that works well here. The voice acting, as I said, goes a long way, whether you go with Mr. North or not. Gotta love Keith David too, as he brings a lot of character to, well, himself. The sound effects are fun, especially the Dubstep gun, which comes across just like you'd expect. But, honestly, if there's a key component that clicks with the audio, it's the soundtrack. Everything from Haddaway's "What Is Love" (insert head jerk movement here) to Montell Jordan's "This Is How We Do It" is here, and you have to love how your character has a soft spot for "Opposites Attract" and tries to get his or her right hand tech girl Kinzie to sing along with it. It's not as epic as the "What I Got" sing-along from Saints Row the Third -- especially with the zombie! -- but it's close.
Single player is fun, and there's also a co-op mode, in case you feel like conquering the city together. However, I admit that I miss Whored Mode from Saints Row the Third, which added a smorgasbord of online challenges to compete with amongst friends. Hopefully we'll see it make a comeback with the game's forthcoming DLC down the road. Those were some fun missions.
To some, Saints Row IV may not seem like the evolution in the series that they were expecting. However, it's still an entertaining tour-de-force, one that goes off the charts when it comes to creativity and freedom of play. And there's no denying it's a lot of fun, with plenty of nods to classic franchises and movies thrown in with all the space madness. These Saints mean business – and you can bet it's booming.
Now who wants to sing "Opposites Attract"? You do Paula Abdul's part.
Score: 9 / 10
