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GAMING FEATURE

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where you start out as the future Boss, with friends Neenah, Kevin and Eli by your side,” explains Loftus. “You build your own criminal empire from the ground up and take on Los Panteros, The Idols and Marshall Defense in a battle for control of Santo Ileso. You get to play in the biggest and best Saints Row playground ever created, in a larger-than-life sandbox of thrilling side hustles, criminal ventures and blockbuster missions, as you shoot, drive and wingsuit your way to the top.”

Just when you thought it was safe to hit the streets again, the purple power of Saints Row returns this month, in newly rebooted form.We chatted with the game’s executive producer, Rob Loftus, about what to expect. Words Amy Flower S aints Row has a long, popular and often insanely wild history. So, any plans for a reboot had to strike a balance between THE SAINTS ARE COMING AGAIN!

So, about that “biggest and best Saints Row playground ever created”. Loftus explains how big, and how, erm, best… “Players are going to love exploring Santo Ileso, what we also call the Weird, Wild, West. It’s spread across nine unique districts surrounded by the vast, majestic beauty of the Southwest desert. There is so much you can do – you can fire a variety of weapons from familiar to exotic and take to the streets and skies riding cars, bikes, planes, helicopters, VTOLs, hoverbikes, hoverboards, and go-karts. You’ll be able to dive off the tallest buildings of Santo Ileso and glide through the skyline with your customisable wingsuit. Gliding through Santo Ileso is a great way to explore the Santo Ileso and discover new open world gameplay activities.” Great news is that multiplayer has its place in the new Saints Row. “Experience everything on offer with a friend at any time, via fully untethered drop-in/drop-out co-op, skipping the need to take either of you out of the outlandish action, Loftus explains. “You can play nice together, or play all new pranks on your teammate. The choice is yours!” Pop culture has always had its place in the Saints Row orbit, and naturally this reboot is no exception, taking some big movies as inspiration. “There were many influences we drew upon when thinking about what we wanted to do with the next Saints Row. We loved John Wick for the brutality of the combat and the slick production aesthetic. Baby Driver was another influence for great driving and chase sequences, and Hobbs & Shaw for over-the-top action.”

what fans have loved about the series, and taking it for a modern spin. “It was the perfect time to reboot Saints Row and create a modern update to a beloved franchise,” muses Loftus. “We wanted to get back to a more contemporary crime angle and to tell a new story, with a new tone and new characters. It takes place in a brand-new setting too – the vibrant fictional city of Santo Ileso, in the heart of the American Southwest. It’s a fresh start for Saints Row, while still remaining VERY Saints Row !” One of our all-time favourite laugh-out-loud Saints moments was clambering aboard the launched rocket in Saints Row IV , as Aerosmith wailed away. Our return to the world of the

Saints likely won’t reach this level of inspired silliness, but still promises plenty of LOLs. “I think we can all agree that we couldn’t have gone any further after Saints Row IV , so we had to bring the series back down to earth. Literally!”, laughs Loftus. “Having said that, Saints Row still has a great sense of humour and there are still standout laugh-out-loud moments throughout the game.”

So, what’s the story this time out? “In Saints Row you witness the birth of the Saints in an original story

• Saints Row is out Aug 23

THE BOSS, BABY!

The new Boss Factory is almost a game in itself, with insanely deep levels of customisation available for pretty much everything. Loftus elaborates: “Our customisation is best in class. You can customise almost everything in outlandish or aspirational fashion and, importantly, we’ve removed the boundaries of gender and restrictions for players. For the first time ever, we’ve introduced asymmetrical face customisation and other important additions such as vitiligo and prosthetics, too. These deep levels of personalisation were important to us all as we wanted to put player choice first in Saints Row .”

24 AUGUST 2022

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