I Want To Play a Game: Jigsaw's newest series of traps in the SAW game just don't deliver the same feeling as those in the movie do. But don't be mistaken because, "There will be blood."
The incredibly successful SAW movie franchise is renowned for the ability to induce gut-wrenching reactions from vivid torture scenes and nail-biting suspense. So, imagine my disappointment when I sat down to play the game and instead felt boredom along with frustration.
Live or Die: This new story entices gamers and SAW movie lovers with the prospect of new traps and more Jigsaw. As the good detective, it is your obligation to save the people trapped within the walls of Jigsaw's asylum
The game’s ridiculous story takes place between the first and second films. While the plot of the game is separate from either of these movies, unanswered questions from the films are finally laid to rest. As you move through the plot of the game, you will discover the origin of Jigsaw and why he devoted his life to games, while also finding out what happened to the characters from the first SAW movie. After detective David Tapp is shot by one of Jigsaw’s henchmen, he is transported to the serial killer’s altered insane asylum, healed up, and forced to endure a gore-filled, puzzle infested series of tests. From the very beginning, SAW’s plot is forgotten and game play takes control.
The game displays many of the deadly mechanical traps seen in the film, as well as terrifying new ones. As detective Tapp, you will pit your wits against Jigsaw as you navigate the dark, booby-trapped rooms of the labyrinthine asylum. Remember to be watchful of the ever-threatening environment because if you aren’t careful to disarm shotgun traps and avoid walking barefoot over broken glass, your time in the loony bin will be brief at best. While it is startling the first time an expertly placed shotgun kills you before you have any time to react, your mistakes soon will teach you to become incredibly paranoid and cautious of your captor’s realm.
Being the accommodating host that he is, Jigsaw has not left you alone in your struggles. Located throughout the asylum there are several other victims of the serial killer’s twisted reality. Most of these desperate people are searching for a key that, unfortunately for you, has been surgically implanted into your chest. These delusional victims are willing to do anything for the key to freedom and will rush at you with impromptu weapons like nail-bats in their fight for liberation. I chose to drop the slow melee weapons after just a few fights into the game because the enemies’ artificial intelligence is so weak that your foes cannot react to the detective’s punches. To be completely honest, SAW’s combat is a mess. For example, aiming a gun with the left trigger and firing by pressing a face button. Now that’s torture.
The few victims of the asylum that aren’t trying to kill you are your responsibility to save. You are forced to make difficult moral choices deciding the fate of these people. Who lives and who dies in the game is determined by your choices. Saving your fellow inmates typically involves powering-down torture devices by arranging cog wheels in the correct sequence, rewiring circuit boxes, and aligning gas pipes up correctly. In an attempt to make the difficult puzzles even more challenging, Jigsaw sets them up to things such as timers that set off bombs or poisonous gas. These extra difficulty measures, however, lead only to frustrating checkpoint reloads again and again and again.
Overall, SAW fails to bring the suspenseful crescendos, surprising twists, and terrifying atmosphere of the films. Instead, it’s filled with less-than-average amounts of gore, poor pacing and uninspired level design. The game suffers from the same problem that the film franchise has suffered- it wears out its welcome too fast and asks too much for the price of admission.