The Saints Row reboot is actually all about the power of friendship VolitionIf you\u2019ve played any Saints Row game, you\u2019ll know that the crime drama that plays out does so in the background of huge personalities and no small amount of silliness. Whether it\u2019s sex toys as weapons, a whole squad wearing Johnny Gat masks, or being the superpowered president of the United States, it feels like Saints Row is long overdue a return to simpler times. While the initial reveal may have left longtime fans of the franchise feeling alienated by a new direction, after four hours of hands-on time with the game, I\u2019m very pleased to say that this is shaping up to be a surprisingly heartwarming tale of mass murder and wanton destruction. Preface: There are some spoilers below for the opening hours of Saints Row. Who\u2019s the boss? Saints Row picks up with your created character having a pretty hellacious day working for Marshall, one of Santo Ileso\u2019s three factions. Desperate to make enough money for rent, our protagonist works to apprehend a wanted criminal. In true Saints Row fashion, though, it\u2019s not all easy \u2014 players fight their way through a facsimile of an Old West town, before a chase through a saloon and a ride atop a hover jet. It\u2019s exhilarating stuff, and while the third-person shooter fundamentals are solid, it\u2019s the sheer variety of set-piece ideas that consistently impressed in my playtime. All within this slice of gameplay, our Boss was mantling across cars and leaping from roof to roof while chasing an armored convoy into a sandstorm, terrorizing a real estate magnate by driving and protecting a priceless artifact during a museum heist. That ridiculousness seeps through into the combat, too, with the \u201cPineapple Express\u201d upgrade letting players put a grenade down an opponent\u2019s trousers before hurling them into their cohorts. In my time playing, I enjoyed seeing which ability I\u2019d unlock next, and trying to work them into combat encounters was a fun challenge. Fatal Four Way Those combat encounters vary, too, because each of Santo Ileso\u2019s trio of factions approaches fights in wildly different ways. While all use ranged weapons to some extent, Los Panteros are aggressive in melee range, moving in close to engage with fists, bats, and more. The Idols, on the other hand, wear EDM-inspired masks and will throw dozens of characters at players at once, with some able to deflect bullets by spinning melee weapons rapidly. Finally, there\u2019s Marshall \u2013 a well-funded, private military group that have seemingly unlimited resources (including the hover jet mentioned earlier). Each faction also has its own boss encounters, too, and missions where it\u2019s easy to get caught in the crossfire between them. They all weave into Santo Ileso, and it helps make it feel as though the Saints truly are the new kids on the block. Wanna be in my gang? It\u2019s taken a fair bit of time in this preview to get to the game\u2019s story and core quartet of characters, but make no mistake: As fun as Saints Row\u2019s explosive action is, the characters are the reason I can\u2019t wait to return when it launches next month. Developers Volition have done well to avoid too many cringe-worthy jokes, but there are plenty of pop-culture references between the Boss and their comrades. Perhaps most importantly, though, there are in-jokes between them that feel earned. Neenah, a headstrong getaway driver, begins the story working for the Los Panteros, while Kevin, a fitness and cooking-loving DJ, is part of the Idols. Completing the trio is Eli, an investor with enough business acumen to build the Saints\u2019 reputation. With all four characters hustling to be able to pay rent, they decide to break away from their respective factions and build a new empire, the Saints. That\u2019s an overly simple way of summing up the opening of the game, but to give too much away would ruin much of the fun (and dramatic stakes) of the first act. Within just four hours, though, I felt a connection to each of the four main characters \u2014 and that\u2019s not something I can say about many open-world games. Home is where the NPCs are Aside from working through the first few story missions, I was able to spend some time exploring Santo Ileso. The New Mexico inspiration is clear, with dusty streets and diners flanked by small mountains, settlements, and built-up metropolitan areas, too. It feels closer to a real place than any Saints Row before it, but mainly through visual design than anything else: Pedestrians roam the streets, but it doesn\u2019t feel particularly alive \u2014 more like set-dressing that acts as a backdrop. Side quests, at least within the opening chunk I played, also feel derivative but do at least play host to some fun gags. Being hired to leave negative reviews at rival businesses, before fighting off a horde of angry gang members eager to change your mind feels like classic Saints Row. It\u2019s self-referential without taking itself too seriously and is all the better for it \u2014 sidestepping the inherent sadness that creeps in when Rockstar holds a mirror up to society. Sure, Saints Row makes plenty of statements, but it\u2019s also here to have a good time and that\u2019s OK. Final thoughts The Saints Row reboot is looking to offer carnage and catharsis, but also no shortage of heart and soul. After this initial session, I\u2019m excited to return to Santo Ileso \u2014 if not for the location, then to catch up with friends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Saints Row reboot is actually all about the power of friendship VolitionIf you\u2019ve played any Saints Row game, you\u2019ll know that the crime drama that plays out does so in the background of huge personalities and no small amount of silliness. Whether it\u2019s sex toys as weapons, a whole squad wearing Johnny Gat masks, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85695\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}