The most anticipated horror movie of the past couple of years finally makes its debut as a video game. If you haven’t guessed by now, I am talking about Saw — one of the most violent horror movies in recent memory, and you wouldn’t think a game carrying its namesake would live up to the reputation.
It’s true; I had my doubts about Saw, but it has to be one of the best movie-to-game translations to come along in a long time, and it works, and it works really well. I will start out by saying this: you don’t have to be a fan of the movies to understand what’s going on around you. You start the game with one of those trademark traps on your head, known throughout the Saw movies as the inverted bear trap. Everything you do in Saw has a meaning (including saving others), but fans of the movies already know this. Saw is about 6-8 hours of game play depending on how you fare through all the puzzles and traps that await you. Some puzzles are easy while others will keep you stumped for hours. These puzzles keep the pressure on, so it feels like a living hell. It’s truly remarkable to watch a movie like this come to life in front of your very eyes. The graphics are dark and gritty; the sounds are realistic and stunning. The music keeps the mood dark and foreboding. You would swear you were watching one of the movies from the series.
The voice acting in Saw feels very natural; it doesn’t suffer from cheesy one-liners like previous movie-to-game translations. It has a top-notch script that could be easily used for another Saw movie.
Saw also offers multiple endings for the player to see. This means you need be wise when making decisions because you never know which one will decide your fate. Saw offers one feature that is really cool. After dying, and after loading your last saved check point, the environment becomes completely different. For example, the person that killed you before will no longer be waiting for you around that same corner. What this feature does is allow the game to always shock you; it creates that scary feeling in the pit of your stomach. It makes you think things like, “Will I see someone around this corner?” or “ What will I discover next?”. I loved feeling like this because the movies made you feel very similar. You will find yourself always afraid to enter a dark room because you have nothing but your fists and a lighter to light your way. Never take anything for granted in Saw because you never know what may be lurking around the corner.i
My only complaint about Saw is the lack of online support. It would have been nice to have online playability, but other than that, Saw is a wonderful game worth the money. It’s jammed packed with action, adventure, puzzles, and mystery. If you love horror based games (i.e. Silent Hill, Resident Evil, etc.) then this title needs to be in your collection. With the multiple endings, you have reason to play the game more than once.
In a world where traps are around every corner, you have to pay close attention to everything that is going on. One wrong step and you will trip a wire that could activate a shotgun trap at pointblank range to your face.
Saw is just in time for Halloween. If you are looking for a horror title to play in the dark with the lights out then this title was made for you. With a soundtrack straight from the movies and a story that doesn’t get any more evil than this, Saw delivers as promised. You won’t see anything as good as this again until Konami releases a sequel or a re-make of Silent Hill or Resident Evil sees the day of light. Yes, it’s that good; good enough to be compared to the golden oldies of the horror genre.
As a rule, it is easy to tell yourself not to buy a movie-to-game translation. They’re usually not very good at all. But in the case of Saw, Konami has torn down that barrier just by the things I’ve mentioned in my review. You will be blown away by how rich and involving Saw is; you won’t be disappointed if you make this purchase. This was one title I truly enjoyed to the fullest.
Score: 10 out of 10
James ‘DaRipp3r’ Pittaro
Developer: Konami
Xbox 360
