Saints Row IV 10-minute E3 gameplay footage screams mayhem, over-the-top action

Volition has released a ten-minute long video of Saints Row IV, showcasing footage of the open-world third-person action game that was shown in the E3 demo. Senior Producer Jim Boone starts off the clip by showing how the leader of the Saints is now the President of the United States, accompanied by Ben King as the Chief of Staff, and is not doing so well in the polls, when an alien invasion commences starting at the White House. The main character subsequently proceeds to the Oval Office to secure some weaponry, even as several of his allies are beamed up into spaceships by the aliens.

The player fights his way through to the south Portico, where he enters a huge turret to shoot down some alien ships, but is unable to stop the Washington Monument from being severely damaged. He then enters a downed battleship and engages in a brawl with the enemy, but soon learns that his opponent has powers like teleportation and telekinesis, tilting the battle in the latter’s scale. The video then jumps forwards to a virtual version of Steelport wherein the player has obtained superpowers, and we get see displays of some spectacular moves such as Death from Above, super speed, Buff (which sets nearby enemies as well as the players weapons rounds on fire) and Stomp that sends out a concussive blast.

We also get a look at some of the weapons from the huge arsenal in the game, such as the Soakmaster/Burst Rifle and the Singularity Gun/Black Hole Launcher, which does just what it says, as well as the Laser Razor/Energy Sword, which allows for some nice slicing and dicing action. Boone also introduces Clusters, which can be collected across the city and used to upgrade the protagonist’s abilities. Side activities tied in with our hero’s newfound superpowers include Blazing, which is basically a speed run while trying to avoid flames in your path. Another fascinating new activity is Mind Over Murder by Professor Genki, wherein players must use Telekinesis to toss certain objects/individuals into specified target areas. Saints Row IV releases on 20 August on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.