14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at Volition working on Saints Row 4 says that the addition of superpowers to the open-world game is giving it options when it comes to level design and allowing for the creation of a more vertical game experience.
Jim Boon, the senior producer working on the new Saints Row, tells the Official Xbox Magazine that, “This has also helped make Steelport feel like a new city once you start navigating through the world from up above, jumping and gliding through the air while battling aliens on rooftops.”
It’s unclear whether the core city structure seen in the previous Saints Row titles will be kept or whether the Volition team wants to reshape the entire urban landscape.
He adds, “The addition of our superpowers bring a much greater emphasis on vertical gameplay so we were able to create content going upward rather than outward. While Steelport isn’t horizontally bigger there’s a lot more verticality to explore this time. It completely changes your perspective.”
Saints Row 4 will allow players to explore Steelport and Washington D.C. as they battle aliens and other forces.
The description that Boon uses for the new vertical and superpower-focused game experience makes the title sound similar to the classic Crackdown.
Volition is currently working with Deep Silver on Saints Row 4 after its previous publisher THQ has declared bankruptcy.
Much of the game is based on a proposed expansion for the third title in the franchise that was never launched.
The development team wants to introduce deeper gameplay choices for Saints Row while keeping the humor that’s long been associated with the series and has distinguished it from Grand Theft Auto.
Saints Row 4 will be launched on the PC, the PlayStation 3 from Sony and the Xbox 360 from Microsoft in late August.