The start of every generation of game consoles usually provides a variety of new experiences and game series to play. However, in most cases the generation will come with a swath of more advanced versions of games that have already been released on older consoles. Publishers tout re-releases as the “definitive version,” not only attempting to sell more copies, but seeing if they can’t catch new customers that, for one reason or another, missed the release the first time around.
The re-release of 2013’s Saints Row IV — now rebranded as Saints Row IV: Re-Elected on PS4 and Xbox One — certainly packs a big bang for your buck. All the downloadable content released throughout the past two years for the game comes packaged together, including the new “Gat Out of Hell” spin-off game starring series-joker “Johnny Gat.” Put together, what would have cost $135 in 2013 is available with the re-release for $50 (or less if you find a good deal on Amazon).
The opening segment of the game alone sends the player climbing up the side of a launching nuclear warhead to Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” Also, the player is the President of the United States. Anyway, things take a turn one mission later when aliens invade earth to abduct the cabinet, including Vice President Keith David (played by actual Keith David), throwing the player into a virtual simulation of Steelport, the city Saints Row: The Third takes place in.
The game plays off this new Matrix-esque world in quite a few ways, offering multiple improvements to various interfaces and mechanics with the simple explanation that you’re inside a computer.
However — being in the same city as the previous game — many similarities return, but almost all of it becomes a different beast with the addition of super powers. The ability to run faster than any car or leap over any building makes most motor and aerial vehicles virtually obsolete. By doing this, vehicular transportation is eliminated as a central game mechanic, and past issues other open-world games have from too much gameplay devoted to traveling between destinations is eliminated. But most importantly, this just makes traveling more enjoyable.
Just like in Saints Row: The Third, you slowly take over the city through completing missions, eliminating control points, taking over stores and completing side events. But alongside that, there are also numerous “clusters” throughout the overworld used as currency to upgrade your powers. These clusters are neither hard to find, nor limited in number. One can stand on a building and see another on virtually every adjacent rooftop, meaning you’ll never really find yourself scrambling to find more. In fact, in my play-through, there was a period when I stopped making a point of collecting them and simply picked them up as I went from one mission to the next.
Long story short, aliens have destroyed earth and the player is in the Matrix with the ability to get super powers like super speed, super jump, super glide and other more enjoyably destructive capabilities.
But most important to anyone’s enjoyment of the game is the top-notch sense of humor. From a rescue mission turning into an old-school text adventure to a rooftop battle against a giant anthropomorphic energy drink, the direction of the game is always unpredictable, but never disappointing.
The last game in the series, Saints Row: The Third, is widely known for not taking any bit of itself seriously. The game eventually reaches the point where the player’s infamous celebrity gang teams up with Mayor Burt Reynolds (played by the real Burt Reynolds) to take down a sci-fi private military contractor and a luchador-mobster-run syndicate.
However, while Saints Row IV: Re-Elected is well worth the time of anyone who missed its first release, play through Saints Row: The Third before picking up the new game, as quite a bit might be lost on the player if they haven’t played the prior game before the sequel.
