Saints Row IV

Saints Row IV continues the franchise's trend of gradually descending into insanity. This episode features the absurd and varied gameplay we've come to know and love, and adds super powers to the mix. There's definitely a lack of innovation and the visuals were not all that impressive, but none of this is truly gamebreaking. One thing is sure: you'll have a lot of fun playing this game, especially if you're a fan of the series.

A really fun game but it’s nothing at all original. Perhaps that shouldn’t be said about something that’s one of gaming’s few examples of a parody, but it really falters at the times it tries to do something entirely original, whether that difference be within its own series, genre or gaming as a whole.

While Saints Row IV is far from a complete disappointment, the game wants for genuine advancements, settling for dumb fun in place of cutting-edge thrills.

Saints Row IV doesn’t play like a sequel so much as an expansion pack, substituting huge quantities of diversions and weaponry for an engaging campaign. With Steelport recycled and the lack of challenge, it doesn’t offer much beyond short-lived thrills through wanton destruction and the occasionally humorous moment wrapped in science fiction tropes.

Occasionally excellent, often mired in mediocrity, Saints Row 4 is inferior to Red Dead Redemption and even five-year-old GTA IV in almost every way. And while you’re always likely to miss when comin’ at the kings, Volition’s effort still falls short of the more cohesive Sleeping Dogs, the expansive frolicking on Just Cause 2’s Panau and the polished pantomime of Infamous 2.