14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at Volition believes that the many silly and over-the-top elements of the Saints Row series are some of the core pillars of its success and plans to stay true to them in the coming fourth installment in the franchise.
Jim Boon, a senior producer working on the game, tells The Official Xbox Magazine that, “Ultimately I don’t think that Saint’s Row’s tone gets in the way of bigger sales. If anything, I think our tone is an element of our success. Saint’s Row is quite unlike anything else out there, and I think gamers crave unique experiences – I know I do.”
The developer believes that the reception of Saints Row 3 shows that there’s a clear audience that loves the game’s formula and wants to play something similar in the near future.
Boon adds, “Thinking of a movie series like The Hangover – people love the humor but you might not want to discuss some of the finer moments of those movies with your mom, for example. I think the same might be true for SR.”
He also says that in Saints Row 4, much of the humor and references will be directed at the older titles in the series.
The new experience will see players start out as the president of the United States and the story will then call for aliens to get involved and overrun the Earth.
Players will be able to explore Washington, D.C. and their old home of Steelport.
Volition clearly cares less about a coherent story than about the open-world possibilities of its game.
The development team has recently been acquired by Koch Media, owners of Deep Silver, after their original partner THQ went bankrupt.
Saints Row 4 will be launched on the current consoles and on the PC on August 20 in North America and three days later in Europe.