Let's start by remembering that the heroes of this reboot are four young roommates who, at the start of the game, are not yet gangsters. But a first robbery intended to pay the rent will quickly put them on the wrong track. The scenario will unfold over twenty-five main missions and a dozen secondary missions, with a good dose of side activities and sandbox to support everything. We were able to witness different situations, ranging from car chases to the destruction of a vehicle factory, through the defusing of bombs. Crossings on foot, by motorbike or helicopter gunship were also part of it. If these situations may seem relatively classic at first glance, the "over the top" aspect of the series should indeed respond to this, as evidenced by this moment when a car takes a springboard to bring down a billboard on police officers, this interrogation sequence taking place in construction toilets dragged by a car, or the presence of various gadgets dedicated to exploration. In coop (accessible at any time) it will thus be possible to transport our friend's vehicle from a helicopter equipped with a giant magnet. And there will also be enough to do the foufou in solo, for example by activating the ejection seat of our car, then deploying a wingsuit once in the air, and bouncing from time to time on unfortunate pedestrians to regain strength. 'altitude.
The open world articulated around the city of Santo Ileso, the nine unique districts that make it up, and the deserts that surround it has been designed for motorized travel. The atmosphere evokes a kind of modern western, whether in terms of urban places, natural landscapes, situations or colorimetry (store dedicated to cowboy clothes, desert environments, orange hues, etc.). The developers also clearly assume this influence, since one of the missions begins in a saloon, leads to a fight, and takes up a classic staging of the genre (close-ups of the hero's eyes and feet, as if to announce a duel, and music that goes well). Moreover, in this context, the artistic direction that hit us so hard last year finally seems to be working quite well. Thanks to a nice work on the lights and nice facial animations, its half-cartoon half-realistic aspect (or rather "a quarter-cartoon three-quarters-realistic") turns out to be rather pleasing to the eye.
FULL CUSTOMIZATION THE BALLOONS
And if ever the default aspect of your character does not return to you, know that you can change it at will. The character creation tool is accessible at any time via your smartphone, which also gives access to the map, missions, a camera and your hero's talents. Outfit, body, skin, hair, face and other tattoos are customizable, through countless choices of boots, pants, shirts, gloves, socks, jackets, earrings, bracelets, skin tones, colors, prostheses, body shapes and facial features. To top it off, your character can express themselves through a hundred different emotes, some of which can be activated while walking. This extreme customization also concerns the eighty vehicles available, whose tires, rims, interior and exterior colors, bumpers, roof and many other elements can be changed. Your headquarters, which is initially an abandoned and dilapidated church, can also be "pimped", thanks to a hundred different decorations. And the weapons are no slouch, as the developers claim there are more options for customizing them than most games have for their main hero's avatar.
But the most interesting thing about customization comes from the possibility of choosing four abilities for our character, from a wide range and always reversible. It's up to you to choose an appropriate configuration according to the mission to come! The most emblematic of these abilities is certainly "the pineapple express" which allows you to grab an enemy, stick a grenade in their pants and send them back to their colleagues so that they all explode happily. The Saints Row spirit should therefore be there, as also proven by the presence of relatively wacky weapons. Alongside the classic pistols, machine guns, pump shotguns and sniper rifles, there are guns in the shape of foam hands, the explosive piñata launcher, the quantum opening (which allows you to view enemies and shoot them through walls) , the Black Light Bomb (a funky, neon version of the Flash Grenade), and the Thrustbuster, which looks like an American football but behaves like a rocket when stuck in an enemy's back.
A PROVEN BUT RENEWED RECIPE?
If we will naturally wait to have the game in hand before commenting on its ability to really innovate, some small novelties have already been revealed to us. Thus the three enemy factions should each have a particular combat style (technology, melee, and high number of fighters) as well as different types of members (including mini-bosses). The possibility of hitting enemy vehicles during chases, in order to inflict damage proportional to the driving speed, was also presented to us as a new mechanic. And one of the side missions showed us that it is possible to alternate between the inside seat and the roof of a car when taking the role of passenger shooter. Sitting on the roof then allows access to a greater number of weapons and to benefit from a better angle of sight, at the cost of increased exposure to bullets. But the most important innovation is the "war table". This unique feature allows you to manage a real empire by building different criminal enterprises. Fourteen empty locations on the map and fourteen establishments are available for this purpose, these legitimate-looking businesses (radio station, garage, clothing design, etc.) serving as a front for much more dubious activities (illegal dumping of toxic waste, for example). ). Each of these companies gives access to particular missions which, once fulfilled, allow the business in question to progress and the influence on the district. The example that we have seen at work in a concrete way concerns "The Big One", a military surplus store which in reality conceals pure arms trafficking. Engaging in this activity unlocks the "Mayhem" activity which, under the pretext of advertising for the material in stock, consists of blowing up as many things as possible in a limited time.
