Saw

Saw fails to deliver the suspenseful crescendos, surprising twists, and apprehensive atmosphere of the films. Instead, it’s padded with unremarkable gore, poor pacing, and uninspired level design.

Whether you’re swinging a pipe or a scalpel, the controls never feel responsive, and rotten collision detection will drive you mad before Jigsaw’s twisted games even have the chance.

Saw is a welcome entry in the horror genre that provides a good dosage of thrills. Depending on your tolerance for repetition, it's a good way to test your nerves and scare yourself silly during a dark and stormy night.

This flawed horror adventure gets the atmosphere right, though it isn't as sharp as it could have been.

Saw uses its license brilliantly, it just forgot the game part.

The game puts on a pretty good facade, affecting many of Saw's stylistic flares. There's lots of jarring camera shake, motion blur, and patchy focus effects, and the soundtrack is all industrial clangs and squeals, but in the end it's all window-dressing for a game that has more in common with Professor Layton than Condemned.

I actually really enjoyed this game, but I can't say it really wowed me though. It was short, repetitive and overall didn't add anything new to the genre, but somehow just like its movie counterpart, it had charm and didn't aim to do anything but provide enjoyment; something it succeeded in very well.

Zombie Studios has done a fine job with the property, and has succeeded more than most thought possible with the series. Saw, as a tie-in to the series, is wonderful. As a survival horror game, however, it's a much smaller success. A success, mind you, but a small success, and one that doesn't rely on any knowledge of the Saw series to enjoy.

That single playthrough is an entertaining one to say the least, which is more than can be said for most movie adaptations. Despite the game’s failed combat system, the overall experience is one that’s faithful to the franchise and well worth playing to any fan of the movies.

It's just a crappy movie tie-in, pushed out just in time for the upcoming film.

Make no mistake about it, this game feels like it came right from Jigsaw’s twisted mind. Everything from Tobin Bell’s raspy performance as Jigsaw, to the screams of victims feels pitch-perfect and believable.

The game should take you anywhere from 6 to 10 hours to complete, depending on your willingness to see every nook and cranny of the game. You also are privy to two endings in the game, and thankfully the game saves right before your final decision so you can witness both endings without necessarily taking another trip through the game.

While the spirit of the series is here, the execution simply needs to be refined from the ground up; hopefully soon we will have another SAW game that is actually in Jigsaw’s caliber.

In the end this game feels less like a thrilling adventure and more like an eight to ten hour endurance test.

With just six short chapters to wade through, Saw is never in any danger of outstaying its welcome, despite its flaws, and that's probably just as well. Its puzzle-centric design is satisfying for a while, but the game's reliance on the same stock challenges wears thin, as does the hilariously broken combat.

It's definitely a flawed experience, but one that shows a surprising amount of potential and promise for possible sequels.

The puzzles are easily the game’s most enjoyable aspect, as the combat is underwhelming with few exceptions and exploring the linear facility isn’t tense or frightful.

Saw's derivative gameplay -- which even includes sliding around crates (or racks of frozen pig carcasses) and searching dressers for hidden valves to shut down nearby pipes spewing hot gas (did that happen this often in the movies?) -- has all been done before, and done better by titles like Silent Hill and Condemned.

It's an original proposal with a very good atmosphere, but fails in making interesting the setting and the development.

If you're after a game on a par with the likes of Resident Evil and Silent Hill, you'll find Saw severely lacking.

With a boring and unresponsive combat and nice but derivative puzzles Saw, the videogame, is recommendable just for fans of the movies.

SAW is a good idea for a tie-in but nothing more than that. It got lost somewhere in its own asylum, in those dark corridors and repetitive riddles.

SAW has turned out to be a game for the fans of the movies. It portrays the atmosphere quite well, but unfortunately, the gameplay is lacking. We can recommend the game to gamers who just can’t get enough of Jigsaw and his deadly games. A missed opportunity.

A great game that will grip you to the end but sadly let down by some awkward fights. Fans of the film will not be disappointed.

Thrilling, chilling, with a whole lot of blood spilling. A deeply intense and enjoyable single player game, marred slightly by a lack of multiplayer, clunky combat, and some repetitive gameplay.

To an industrious, moralising serial killer, Saw would seem an apt punishment for a life wasted on videogames. [Christmas 2009, p.99]

While playing this game you will notice the simplicity of the puzzles. And because of the bad sound, the game isn't scary at all, what it should have been of course. Therefore Saw: The Videogame is disappointing.

Saw The Videogame surely has some good ideas, but the implementation is really bad, as you'll find yourself wanting the dead of your alter ego frustrated by his inability to execute your command. Nothing here for gamers, maybe just for the most avid fans.

Sadly just like the franchise it is based on, it is stagnant and dull.

It's the perfect rental for Saw fans, and the same can be said for those seeking another game to boost their gamerscore.

Forced and unnecessary. [Issue#53, p.92]

While Saw becomes a bit repetitive towards the end of the game, it has surprised us in a positive way. The game has a good story, oozes with the typical horror-flick vibe and a lot of the characters and bizarre contraptions of the movies have made their way in the game. The gameplay itself however is pretty frustrating. But if you love the movies and want more, this might begin to fill your thirst for blood.

A horror game that won't provide any thrill.

Saw presents an interesting plot and an unexpected and shocking ending, being able to frighten and cause anguish in the player. Too bad all this is partly ruined by a very bad combat system, too few available weapons and flat enemies.

Could have done just as well on the original Xbox. [Jan 2010, p.93]

Not a patch on the big screen version. [Jan 2010, p.115]

This is a puzzle game wrapped up in a failing license, garnished with shoddy movie tie-in controls and a brazen lack of bravery.