Happy birthday, Saints Row IV! Congratulations to everyone at Volition. The hard work, long hours, numerous headaches, and putting up with the writing department really paid off!
Saints Row IV comes out on PC, PS3 and 360 Tuesday, August 20th (Friday, August 23rd in Europe) and I cannot wait for you all to play it. It’s been a labor of love at Volition. We’ve poured our hearts and souls into this game to give you the best open-world playground we could. I know that all sounds like I’m shilling but I am speaking not only as a writer on the game but a huge fan as well.
From reviews:
“Saints Row IV is a fantastic game, keeping up the series’ tradition of giving players a wide open world and the tools to go absolutely bonkers within it. It’s hilarious, it’s action-packed, and most of all, its fun to play.” — The Escapist – 5/5
“I highly recommend it – Volition’s latest is a non-stop cavalcade of self-aware meta-humor and surprising, bombastic gameplay decisions from stem to stern, and to enter the experience with even the slightest knowledge of what’s coming would be doing yourself a major disservice.” — Joystiq – 5/5
“I honestly haven’t enjoyed a game quite so thoroughly as Saints Row IV, nor laughed as hard at one. On that note, Saints Row IV has my vote of emphatic approval for doing what it does so well: making us laugh until we cry.” — Neoseeker – 10/10
“I declare Saints Row IV perhaps one of the best open world sandbox games you could ever hope to play, and practically a culmination of everything the genre’s worked toward this generation.” — Destructoid – 9.5/10
“Saints Row IV made me feel superhuman — and that’s what this kind of game is all about.” — Polygon 9/10
“Volition did something it seems few developers are brave enough to do at this point: They were willing to reinvent the Saints Row series instead of just reiterating on it. The result is a game that I had an absolute blast with from beginning to end, but also one that—due to the escalation it exhibits—left me dumbfounded on what they’ll offer as a follow-up.” — EGMNow – 9/10
And that’s just a sampling.
A huge thank you to everyone out there supporting Volition and Saints Row, and an enormous congratulations to everyone at Volition, my adopted home, for putting out such an amazing game. I am incredibly proud of what we put together.
(For those on the fence about pre-ordering, trust me when I saw the free Commander-in-Chief upgrade is totally worth it. You haven’t flown until you’ve taken control of the American Eagle Jet.)
Hot on the heels of the cover reveal comes the latest trailer for Saints Row IV. There’s really no preamble that will do this justice so I’ll just put this here:
(Caution: Language, Pixelated Nudity)
Saints Row IV is only a handful of months away and I can’t wait for you all to get your hands on it. Until then, though, check out the newly-released cover art for the standard and Commander-in-Chief editions of the game. (All you need to do to get the C-in-C edition is pre-order the game. If you do, it comes with some pretty sweet extras.)
Here’s the cover to the standard edition (click for larger):
And here’s the Commander-in-Chief edition (click for larger):
The game is out on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC on August 20th!
The higher-ups in the decision-making offices have officially made the announcement so I can now share it all with you. This is the title I’ve been working on since I joined the amazing team at Volition last summer:
Saints Row IV is coming to PC and current-gen consoles on August 20th (the 23rd in Europe)!
I *love* the Saints Row franchise and am very excited to write for it. My ideas have directly influenced and shaped aspects of the game, and I am working with a slew of talented folks in executing our sometimes insane ambitions. Saints Row IV is bold and crazy and an amazing amount of fun. I can’t wait for you all to play this game.
For more information, check out the official Saints Row Facebook page and watch the announcement trailer below.
Most of the time since my last update has been spent giving birth to Streets of Bedlam (which is out in PDF this Wednesday!) but some of it was spent pursuing a new job.
You may remember that I had to walk away from the last opportunity that came my way, and I am very happy to report this opportunity has no such hang-ups or hurdles.
Starting in two weeks, I’ll be working at Volition working on their incredible Saints Row franchise.
I am a huge fan of their latest release, Saints Row the Third, and am excited about what they have in store.
So in addition to getting Streets of Bedlam ready for release, I’ve been prepping a house for sale, packing up all my belongings, and getting ready to relocate to Illinois, all so my family and I can start a brand-new chapter of our lives.
I will Madison very much. It’s a great city with a fresh, optimistic spirit that will be hard to match. I don’t know if a long-term return to the area is in my future but I’d like to at least visit again.
I will miss the friends I’ve made in the area, especially Brett, Laronda, Matt, Monica, Other Matt, Bill, John, my new friends in the Alliterates, and extra-especially the very first friends I made in the area, Barb and Caz.
Life scatters us but friendship keeps us connected always. Here’s to seeing you all at conventions and gatherings in the future.
Well, this post turned out far less light-hearted than I intended but goodbyes have a way of doing that.
I don’t do the big move for a few more weeks but I doubt I’ll be able to post much in the mean time. Until then, be good. Here’s to the future.
