SAINTS ROW

A more grounded take, but don’t worry: it’s still extremely silly

- Fraser Brown

NEED TO KNOW

RELEASE August 23

DEVELOPER Volition

PUBLISHER Deep Silver

LINK saintsrow.com

The boss of the Saints is speeding through Santo Ileso, utterly disregarding numerous laws of the road. There’s the usual reckless driving and ignoring traffic lights, of course, but more notable is what she’s dragging along behind her car: a portaloo. An occupied portaloo at that.

She’s softening up the unfortunate crook inside the loo so she can find out where his pals are holding a member of her gang. They were meant to be enjoying an evening of telenovelas, but he went and got himself kidnapped by the Idols, one of the Saints’ rivals. And while this is a scripted mission, the winch is something you can attach to most vehicles outside of this scenario. Choppers can similarly pick stuff up and fly off with it. If Just Cause has taught us anything, it’s that tethering stuff to vehicles always leads to hilarity.

Volition has made it clear that with a new gang comes a change in tone, as well as a more considered approach to your inner circle and the relationships you develop with them. There’s more than a hint of Fast & Furious’ obsession with family, and like that series, there is some straight-faced sincerity amid the wingsuit stunts – you can bounce off pedestrians to get more air – and explosive heists. So it’s still a farce, but one with emotional grounding and internal logic.