Saturday, 16 October 2010

It must be SawS

Hey guys, welcome to the first week of the blog. This week I rented SAW the game, a game based on the movie (obviously) with a sequel on the way.

So what did I think of this movie tie in. Is it like other movie tie in's, rubbish? or is it a crack in the wall of bad movie games?

The game takes place between saw 1 and 2. You play as Detective Tapp, the guy who got pwned lots in the first movie (the one who got his throat slashed and a bullet shot was supposed to have finished him off) BUT hes back, but in a jigsaw trap (shock) after escaping a trap with merely a bash of buttons. Then the real game begins. You realise your in a abandoned asylum, and the only way to get out is fight your way through the mess and rubble

There are a range of puzzles, from using mirrors to timed runs. Most of them involve references to SAW, be it new or old. The puzzles arent imaginative, and sometimes the physics are off slightly (In one trap your supposed to manoveur through acid or needles, but simply starting the trap and pressing X will get you the reward/ key item.

Your given a lighter at the start of the game, but their are 3 diffrent light sources to be found, each with its own advantage. Take the lighter, the weakest of the lights, but you can make molotov cocktails burn. Or the camera, a reference to the first film. In which the camera will provide a full picture of everything seen, but will freeze the screen for a few seconds, causing slight problems. Or the flashlight, which shows all the way to the far wall, but only a small area. Choosing which one to use could mean an advantage in different situations.

Your not alone in this asylum. Jigsaw fixed your bullet wound that supposedly killed Tapp, but replaced it with a key. This key isnt for Tapp to cutt into himself to get, infact its useless to him, but Jigsaw managed to convince "residents" of the asylum and his victims that the only way out is to kill you and get the key. With everyone gunning for you, sometimes, Tapp will have to fight his way through, and this is where the game really blunders, the controls are ruined in combat, attacking will take a while to actually work after a button press, and Tapp will run towards the enemy, readying himself before attacking. This almost guarantees certainty that you will get hit. Sometimes your trapped in a corner, unable to attack while an enemy lashes you towards death with quick punches.

There are, however, traps to help (or hinder you) during your "game". One of the most memorable ones is the shotgun tripwire. These provide an insta kill for you and enemies, and if you managed to disarm a trap, you would gain the equipment neccesary to make your own, given the ability to lead mental men into their merry doom. Although the game keeps up with SAW references, this becomes extremely annoying when going round every corner results in insta death due to a tripwire unseen.

Their are also shotgun doors, in which you have to press a button to disarm it ( the worlds slowest QTE) and traps in which you can plany to stun your foes.

The atmostphere in the asylum is quite exciting, yet repetitive at points. As you make your way through, you will notice victims in traps, failing their test, and other things to do with saw. You will even see asylum residents fighting each other, thinking that each one has a key to escape. The story is well done, with references back to the first movie. Each chapter requires Tapp to save someone from his past, with notes and clips referencing not only to the victim and Tapps relationship, but what theve done recently, and why there in the trap itself. Their are also files based on how the asylum started, and ultimately failed and went bankrupt. Overall the environment is fantastic, and the story is amazing too, especially if you like SAW, but some traps and set pieces are repeated, causing disapointment

Unfortuntately, alot of the actions in the game are repetitive to, although set pieces and unique traps vary alot, searching for items can be annoying, as well as checking every room for these items. The difficulty of this game is also very low (I only played on normal due to the game being a rent, but i generally have max health syringes 99% of the time)

Overall, the game is very atmospheric. The story is excellent and very SAW like, most of the traps unique, and it keeps dragging you to find out the truth. Its also quite thrilling, especially towards the end, as the dreaded pighead becomes nearer and more violent by each sighting. Howeverm the combat lets this game down greatly, making it just another chore, and the game can be repetitive at times. This is a shame, because you cant help but think the game is fairly meh when your playing it, but it keeps dragging you back for more

Score: 6/10
Gametime: about 6-8 hours for a playthrough
Reccomend it to: SAW fans.

See ya next week

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