Stepping out of a break from video games and attacking the backlog after a few months can bring you back to familiar territory––what should I play for a month? Poring over the sizable amount of games I have (most of them older titles), I start going with what my gut speaks to. With a game collection that isn’t too shabby at all, the game I had to play this month became crystal clear.
There are plenty of games my friends aren’t too surprised about being more my taste and interest. When I started creating my own gaming identity quite a while ago, RPGs like Dragon Age or cutesy games like Kirby’s Epic Yarn were a natural fit in the eyes of my friends. When I got introduced to Saints Row 2 by a good friend of mine, who was already a huge fan of the Saints Row series of games, those other friends, who didn’t expect me to like a game like that were stunned. I suppose I surprised myself quite a bit too. Having already completed Saints Row 2 and Saints Row: The Third, it was looking pretty obvious I need to finally play Saints Row IV, making it my video game challenge for February.
The beauty of a Saints Row game is the absurdity and its natural penchant for not taking things too seriously. While Saints Row 2 can be argued as a slightly more serious game with more of a story than Saints Row: The Third, the quirky but fun experience you get from both games is what makes this series addicting to play. In my opinion, I actually appreciate how the developers just cranked up the wackiness and nonsense in later games. Saints Row may feel and look like a copycat of a Grand Theft Auto game, but it certainly isn’t one at all.
Saints Row IV has a simple plot––your Saints character is now President of the United States and has to fight off an alien invasion with the help of some familiar faces across all Saints Row games. I’m not expecting any deep storylines or layered character development, but I am expecting to have fun and laugh my ass off. As plenty of reviewers have said of this game, I’m in for a treat. I’m especially excited to see Saints Row IV parody a number of sci-fi movies and games, namely paying homage and poking fun at Bioware’s Mass Effect. Hell, they even got Keith David, voice actor of beloved character David Anderson in the Mass Effect series, to be…well, Keith David in Saints Row IV. I’m already sold.
Unlike some of the video games I choose to play for a month, I haven’t played Saints Row IV at all. While it does give me a slight edge to choose games I’ve at least started in some capacity as my video game challenge in the past, I’m going into this one starting off fresh and with no previous save file to continue from. This may be tricky because the amount of missions I have to play through look like a lot to finish in a month. Depending on how my schedule goes and how quickly I can get through certain missions without any real difficulty, I may have to make this game an extended video game challenge going into March. We’ll see how it goes.
Will the Saints be successful at warding off an alien invasion and kick their asses back into the black hole they deserve to be sucked into? Find out the answer to that question at the end of the month in my progress report.
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Have fun! I really like this game. It’s fun to create your own character, I had a blast just picking out her outfit… and then using the Dubstep gun! The only tricky part for me were the driving challenges. :p
Definitely! I always dread the driving challenges because I either crash my aircraft and have to start the mission over or I make a super sharp turn and can’t get myself unstuck from a wall. It’s terrible if these are timed missions too! My favorite part about the Saints Row games is the customization. So much to choose from, how does one decide?! 😛
How exciting! 😀 And I’m not just saying that because I became addicted to Saints Row IV over the holidays and have a post about it coming out soon! (Like tomorrow! It’s spoilery though.) Since you have some Saints Row knowledge under your belt, I’ll be interested to read about your experience with the game. I didn’t know a thing going in, and now I can’t wait to get on with the earlier games in the series.
Part of the reason I decided to play this game this month was also because of you. You kept talking about how much you loved the game and it got me thinking that I really need to finally pick it up and play! 🙂 I think you’ll enjoy the other Saints games. Just skip the first game because it’s not as good. Well, okay, I only watched my friend play a little of the first and didn’t find it interesting. 2 and 3 are definitely worth more of your time! 🙂
Interested in hearing more about this one, as Saint’s Row is another one of those series that I just never got involved with for one reason or another. Sounds like the kind of setup that only a video game could pull off though, that alone makes it sound like it’ll be a fun game!
Thanks! I’d say if you ever have the chance to play you really should. I love the humor, the craziness, and the pop culture references this game makes. It’s just a fun ride all around.