I’ll be gone when the morning comes…
Saints Row IV was one of my guilty pleasures of last year; I had collected every data cluster, gold medal and so on. I was pleased to hear it was getting the Remaster treatment…not only that, but it was getting a spin-off expansion featuring Gat and Kinzie as they descend into Hell in “Gat out of Hell” to rescue the Saints Boss from the Devil himself.
The original review for Saints Row IV is here
Saints Row IV: Re-Elected doesn’t make the most of the new tech at its disposal, it feels more of an upscaled version than a true remake. IV was a bit lacklustre in the visual department anyway, but I was hoping they’d make Re-Elected look better than they did. Having said that, the game never seemed to slow down framerate-wise, while I did find it just as buggy as the original. Despite that, it’s still a great game and the story is just insane…if you missed out on this the first time, then you must give it a go…the powers alone are well worth a try.
Gat out of Hell seems to take more advantage of the new consoles, and is hilarious. Everything from Gat getting Angel wings to a musical piece that looks like a Frozen parody is priceless. It does feel very familiar to Saints Row IV in the way it plays, Hell is essentially Steelport with hellfire, demons and twists on the activities you’ve grown accustomed to. As with other games, you can play this in 2 player co-op, but I personally preferred to play solo. You can switch between Gat and Kinzie at any point, but there’s not really any difference between them.
Gat gets abilities that mirror those that your character gets in Saints Row IV, like flying with angel wings, sprinting super fast, running up walls, wall jumping and other powers that make the game a memorable entry in the series. Some may have preferred a true sequel to IV, but Gat out of Hell does more than enough to keep fans going until the next, inevitable entry in the Saints series. It’s not as long as other games in the series, but does more than enough for its price tag.
Voice-acting has always been impressive in Saints Row and it’s no exception in Re-Elected and Gat out of Hell. There’s a great cast and hilarious dialogue, although I did notice some audio irregularities between the game’s voice-acting and the game’s music. It was only now and then, but it wasn’t anything major.
As a complete package, Re-elected and Gat out of Hell is impressive. Full of content and nicely priced too, I’d say it was a bargain actually. Sure, it may not be the perfect game and some might think the series has gone way over the top in regards to the Zin storyline and Matrix-like simulation of Steelport, but I for one welcome change. They took a risk and I personally think it paid off.
The Verdict
Re-Elected may not add anything new to the original besides some sharper visuals, but it’s still a welcome addition and with Gat out of Hell included, it’s a must-have for any Saints fan.
