Of the big name games shown at PAX East, Saints Row IV promises to be the most outrageous, with a gun that allows you to dubstep people to death and the admission that there would have been a dragon you could ride if they’d had enough time to fit it into the game.

Plot

Players control the President of the United Saints/States (your main character which you can import from your old game save) and must battle evil aliens in a computer generated world using only their super powers and wits. And guns. And monster trucks. Etc., etc., etc. Check out the teaser trailer here.

Gameplay

Gameplay is similar to the previous Saints Row games, but with even more insanity. Players roaming this sandbox style game will have new found superhero powers, such as jumping to the tops of buildings, freezing people, flying around and throwing cars with your telekinesis. There will be drop in/drop out co-op as well as mechs you can ride around.

Most of the gameplay will take place in a cyber world, where the President will have to subdue alien hotspots in order to regain control. You will also occasionally get back into the real world before jumping into your cabinet members’ virtual realities to rescue them.

So What’s New?

There are a lot of things different with this game as opposed to the previous titles, but the changes make sense. There will be less choices in this game based on feedback from the amount of choices in the previous games. You will also start from a position of power instead of starting as a nobody and working your way up to leader of the Saints. You will also only fight one unified enemy: the Zen, an alien race bent on indoctrinating you.

The weapons are now very customizable as well. For example, you can have a gun that looks like a guitar case. Volition also claims the weapons and super powers will work together to create fun and exciting effects.

Jim Boone, the senior producer on Saints Row IV, emphasized that they wanted the game to be over the top for the sake of being fun, not over the top for the sake of being over the top. Hopefully they have found the right balance of challenge and hilarity in this newest entry in the series.  I got a very “final scene of Avengers” vibe from the demo and can’t wait to check out more Saints Row IV.

Saints Row IV comes out August 2013.