Saints Row Preview – Cleaning Up The Life Of Crime

The cover of Saints Row’s upcoming reboot was a pleasure to see. Game Informer issue #340 when I went hands-on with an early build of the game and spoke with the fine folks at Volition, the studio behind the series. The developer hosted a preview last week to show Saints Row’s current state, only a few months prior to launch. While much of the content was identical to last year’s, there were many changes that I saw which made me feel positive about the new Saints adventures.

Three different Volition missions were shown during the presentation. Making Rent, as well as Idol Threats are two missions I was familiar with from months back. You can find out more details in our cover story. What was new is The Forge, a quest that takes The Boss and resident gearhead Neenah straight into the heart of the Scorpion factory, the home base of rival gang Los Panteros, to take out their headquarters in a blaze of glory while their boss Sergio is occupied elsewhere. First, the duo hijacks a well-armed helicopter and takes to the skies to fire missiles and more at a Los Panteros gathering before heading to their HQ to clean up the rest. After getting inside we were able see the evolution of combat beyond what I was used to seeing. 

Vehicles are naturally everywhere in the Scorpion factory and can be used to take out groups of unsuspecting Los Panteros the Saints are ambushing. These fun environmental interactions can cause chaos by launching cars on repair lifts at enemies and then firing upon them. We were also treated to a demonstration of Signature Abilities for weapons that can make standard pistols fire like fully automatic machine guns. Volition offers a variety of options to modify how weapons fire and look, which is an important step towards making Saints Row’s firearms more exciting than the ones I had to play with last year. These same pistols can have visual customizations applied, like making them into big foam finger guns. When speaking with creative director Brian Traficante, he says he prefers to equip a skin similar to Star Lord’s futuristic weapons from Guardians of the Galaxy. They aren’t the exact same thing, mind you, but close enough to give the impression of having a cosmic hero’s weaponry on hand.

Volition displayed many options for how your Boss might look. Customization was an important focus at the event. Saints Row’s character customization doesn’t end with the first. With the push of a few buttons, you can swap your style at any time from a handful of presets you create at Saints HQ; not just clothes, but each body customization and clothing option are on the table. Want to hulk out with a beefy green behemoth in a slick suit for a mission and switch to a stylish yet casual look with a completely different body shape, skin color, face, and hairstyle? As long those customizations are part of your visual loadouts, be a whole new you whenever you want. As you advance through the game, Santo Ileso shops will sell more clothes and weapons. This allows you to customize The Boss even more as you go. Brian Shea showed you the customization options available in Saints Row. Read all about it and imagine how your Boss will look.

The event featured a brief demonstration of cooperative play, with one player dropping in to the game during session to assist their friend on a Criminal Venture mission. One player took a helicopter with them and used the tether and a magnet to grab the vehicle of their friend and take it to the location. The pair began a dance party and then started a mission to test weapons. They were to destroy as many vehicles as possible and add multipliers for combining explosions. However far one goes in the main story, each player receives whatever reward for their quest. This applies to any missions you undertake with friends. It can lead to obtaining valuable items earlier than expected.

As I finished the preview, I was struck by the significant changes made to the Criminal Ventures as well as the ability to glide in the air while wearing the wingsuit. Criminal Ventures are legal businesses the Saints can start that are fronts for illicit activities, like Chalupacabra, a food truck used to sell drugs to the residents of Santo Ileso. While the basic idea of these ventures is not changing, their importance in the wider world has increased. The Criminal Ventures that you create around the city are now tied to territory control. When you start a business in Santo Ileso, other factions will begin to strike back, leading to the Saints’ conquest of that area.

Saints Row’s vehicles were an amazing part of my build. I loved speeding down the streets and learning the drifting mechanics, but I found that the best way to move was to take to the sky and glide with the wingsuit. The role of cars in wingsuit tricks is more important than ever. Ejector seats are now possible to be fitted in cars, making it much easier to get into the air. Another addition to The Boss’ wingsuit arsenal is jumping and bounce-off of pedestrians. This allows him to travel further with his wingsuit. These new moves are something I’m eager to try when I visit Saints Row again.

Comparing Saints Row’s early build to the one presented last week makes me feel optimistic that it will be an exciting time for me, as I am now able see how Saints Row looks in this current state. The flexibility and abundance of customization options are impressive, and the improvements to combat options, traversal, and the interlocking of systems are proof Volition is making great strides to polish the game before its release. While Saints Row was pushed from its original February launch date to later in the year, Traficante assures us that it won’t change again, so I’m looking forward to taking over Santo Ileso and meeting the new crew of Saints when the game releases on August 23.