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SAW Reviewed

Posted on 10. Mar, 2010 by robdutchmonkey in Games, News, Reviews, Screenshots

Believe it or not, I use to be one of the many religious followers of the SAW franchise, having watched the first 2 movies in the series in cinema. However, my love for the movie was not so much in the fact that I’m a fan of scripted violence or blood and gore, but for the fact that it has a twisted, yet intelligent storyline and always had a twist in the ending to get our minds wondering.

However, my love for the SAW series ended with the third installment where it became clear that scripts and story had flown out the window and that the gore became very linear and boring, bordering on the line of disgusting and offensive. I got the feeling that it was just another means to milk all us idiots who continued to follow the movie like religion, just because it had the name SAW attached to its label. This milking theory was further proved in the game. In fact the game starts off in a similar way to the movies (predictable) pitting you in a run down mansion (cliche) with no means of escape, other than doing chores given to you by big baddy “Jigsaw” (as we have come to know him by) in an elaborate setup of videos and tape recordings. You play the role of a detective who has to make his way through all of Jigsaw’s little games which will determine whether you live or die, as well as defending yourself against the seemingly retarded, or high on crack criminals you’ve busted in the past who are, in turn after you as you as you’re their key to escape, literally. (Dejavu anyone?)

It doesn’t take very long to realise that this isn’t a very good game, and relies on very linear quick time dynamics to keep it going (you know, the annoying press “X” or press “O” when it flashes on your screen). However, the game also relies on some seriously weak and annoying puzzles which become very predictable after the third or fourth time you encounter one. I can imagine you saying, “But hey, I kinda like having these things in a game, and it kicks ass having these as well as fighting in a game because it keeps me on my toes”. Now I don’t mind real time gameplay or puzzles, in fact, I think they have large places in games and can make them enjoyable to a degree. However, it is only enjoyable when it doesn’t become as predictable as the sun rising in the bloody morning! I’ve never played a game that’s so predictable in my life. Not only that but you can’t really put a game like this in the genre of “Horror” when, at no time, is it scary whatsoever.

Things aren’t looking great for this “horror” game, and I haven’t even gotten to the worst part of it yet. The issues mentioned earlier are just a chip off the ice berg of the ones I’m going to mention now. The movement of your character is ridiculous to say the least. Yes we’ve come to expect this from other third person failures such as Resident evil 5, but this is on a whole higher level of stupidity. In fact, you wonder what Konami were thinking when they designed it. It’s as if they’ve purposely made movement slow and clumsy to slow you down to make this short game seem longer than it actually is. Not only is the movement annoyingly slow, but the fighting is also stupid. Fighting involves nothing more than seeing someone and hitting them with a blunt object that magically always appears somewhere before someone charges you from around the corner. Yet again, too simple, and too predictable.

There’s only two positives I can take away from this game, and neither of those compliments are ones I’d generally see as a positive thing… But in a game this annoying, they are. Firstly, and most importantly, it’s not a game that requires days upon days to complete. In fact, it’s quite a short game, only made longer by the slow movement you’re limited to, and by the size of your brain when it comes to puzzle solving. All in all, it’s great that the game is not too long, as hopefully this will prevent gamers from committing suicide halfway through because they’ll be done already.
Secondly, it’s the fact that there is an abundance of trophies available, and while most of them are anonymous, you generally earn all of them from doing silly tasks the game requires you to do along the way, like to walk, or put on your light. In fact, I’m sure one of those trophies in there is to congratulate you for not dying of boredom or stabbing yourself to death from because it seems more fun, because it would sure beat having to live through the entire game. I would like to say that the graphics are good, but then I forgot that I was playing this on the Playstation 3, not its dad. Yes it’s sad, the graphics remind me of those in ‘Saints Row 2’ which might have been half decent if it were on the Playstation 2, but it just doesn’t cut it. Sure I might be slightly harsh on this fact, as it’s not the worst graphics I’ve seen, but in such a small game, you’d have to say, it looks as if they just couldn’t be bothered and just ran with something mediocre.

In conclusion, I think it’s safe to say that this is yet another one of those movie-game tie ups which are ultimately rubbish. The game that you know was developed to ride on the back of a successful franchise just to milk the suckers who actually buy it. And lets face it, you probably won’t buy it unless you’re a fan of the series, or you needed a reason on that suicide letter you had written out on your desk. Sure I might be exaggerating, but all in all, I couldn’t really live with myself if I recommended this game to an enemy, let alone a friend as we’ve seen many better games in this particular genre. In short, shame on you Konami for jumping on the cash cow to score a buck, if you’re gonna make a game off a movie franchise, put some effort into it.

Gameplay: 5/10
Graphics: 5/10
Fun: 4/10
Sound: 5/10

Overall: A more then generous 5/10. Any higher than that, I’d be lying… Seriously.

A big thank you to Ster-Kinekor making this game available for review.

Tags: Games, News, Reviews