Saw

I am an enormous fan of the "Saw" film franchise. Particularly the first film, which did redefine the horror genre at the time of its release back in 2004. And while the sequels were hit and miss (II, III and VI being very decent, while IV, V and VII were decidedly pretty bad), I continued to follow the series for the intricate storyline and the insane imagery. And I will continue to watch the films, as they represent a big part of my teenage years and my early 20's, so I will always have a nostalgic love for the franchise.

The movie series is very complex, but the underlying plot boils down to this- John Kramer (played by Tobin Bell, who also provides the voice of the character in this game) was a normal man, but when events pushed him to the limits and he found out he had incurable cancer, he decided to devote the rest of his life to creating "games" in order to teach people to appreciate the life that he was denied. These "games" are often symbolic of a problem in that person's life, and require much physical or emotional torment for the "subject" to survive. But Jigsaw isn't a true killer- he actually wants his subject to survive and learn, which is what makes him such an interesting character in horror- he isn't a villain, but rather, a tragic and very misguided sort of philosopher. The seven films follow he and others associated with him, and are some great modern horror films, which I'd recommend.

And to be honest, this is an interesting set-up for a video game- you play as one of his subjects, whom must navigate various tests to survive. It could've been a fantastic survival-horror game. But the game just doesn't deliver- it feels very rushed and thrown together, and turns what could have been a perfect game into an extremely mediocre title...

Graphics... 5 out of 10 If there's one thing this game does have, it's atmosphere. Taking place in an abandoned asylum, there are plenty of corridors, hallways and rooms to explore, and there is a lot of attention to detail- from shattered glass on the floor, to eerie candles and televisions set up by Jigsaw to deliver messages. The setting of the game is well designed and rendered. However, character models and animation are unforgivably bad. This is a next-gen title (for the PS3 and X-Box 360), yet characters look like they were rendered using last-gen graphics. Also, the blood and gore effects are very "flat" and "cartoonish", and don't fit in with the rest of the game- it looks like opaque red paint, and doesn't fit in with the grimy, gritty look of the rest of the game. The characters and blood effects are just too poor.

Sound... 6 out of 10 Tobin Bell's voice acting is amazing. Simple as that. And the music is very atmospheric and effective. You will feel genuinely creeped out. But the voice acting for subsequent characters, and even at times our main character, is pretty abysmal. It's very silly, and over-the-top, and the performances are very "Elementary School play", lacking emotion. Also, sound effects are a mixed bag. So the sound gets a 6.

Controls... 2 out of 10 The controls are the big problem- they are too clunky and too loose. They don't feel adequately responsive. You will find yourself constantly running past where you want to stop due to the lame precision, and picking up items is a chore due to the lack of accuracy. Also, the combat controls are beyond bad. Combat is basically just a button-smashing mess- it isn't responsive, and you will either kill your enemies in 2 seconds, or get brutally killed when your hits don't connect due to the laggy time lapse between pressing the button and your character actually attacking. Bad, bad, BAD controls.

Story... 7 out of 10 You control Detective Tapp, one of the main characters from the original film, as he is forced to overcome a series of demented tests. And the story is fairly interesting. But at the same time, it does suffer slightly from a few problems, mainly how quickly it moves. There isn't enough time to really care about what's going on. So while interesting, the story does become sloppily told at times.

Overall... 4 out of 10 The poor graphics, mixed-bag sound and abysmal controls drag this game down. It's just too mediocre for its own good. And it's short length is also a big drawback, especially considering the finales (there are multiple endings), which were a let-down.

I'd only recommend this to fans of the film series- it's an interesting little game, despite its flaws, and basically feels like the films. But it won't bring in new fans, and I wouldn't recommend it to people who aren't familiar with the movies, it's just too bland and too sloppy. 4 out of 10. Just under average. A disappointment compared to the movies and the potential.

SAW: The Game is survival horror video game based off the SAW franchise. As a big fan of the SAW series, the storyline and plot were pretty well written but the rest of the game was just a bit sloppy.

You play as Detective Tapp from the first SAW film. We all thought he died in the movie by Zep shooting him near the end of the film but we were all wrong. Jigsaw kidnaps him and saves his life. Jigsaw told Detective Tapp that after taking the bullet out of his body, he put in a key in him. This key is a way out of where Tapp and other Jigsaw's victims were currently in which is an abandon asylum. As Detective Tapp, your mission is to survive from maniacs that wants to kill you for the key, survive from Jigsaw's traps, rescuing important characters of the story, solve multiple puzzles, and try to crack the case on who is Jigsaw.

The game's story is pretty cool. You kind of get to know more a little of Jigsaw, witness characters from other SAW films and some just made for the game, and you actually make your own choice at the end of what you really want after what you experienced through the twisted world of the game. Those are the good things about the game.

The bad things about the game is mostly the graphics. The graphics of the Xbox360 version is got to be the worst graphics I've ever seen in this console. There's a handful of glitches and the smoothing texture is very delayed if you start from a checkpoint or skipping a cut-scene. The voice acting is a little bit strange. The only voice acting that is really good is Tobin Bell's work (Jigsaw). Everybody else felt like they're amateurs in acting. The controls are a bit strange as well. Later on in the game, you can make explosive traps with household products. You have them equipped but I haven't had a clue on how to plant the trap on the ground until near the end of the game that I can just simply press RT while equipped. It's like you have dementia and you have to figure it out yourself on how to use the controls in the game. If I were the makers of this game, I could have continue working and tweaking things up and plant the release date a month after SAW VI's release date.

Overall, decent game but sloppy. You just have to get use to it. It's a must-have for SAW fans but for regular horror or video game buffs, It's safe to skip this one.

Am I a fan of the SAW series?...YES! And did I like this game...YES! So fans of best horror series of all time (my opinion) give this a try! I don't like to spoil story lines, but I'm straining not to give anything away. All I'm saying is it takes place in the middle of Saw 1 and Saw 2, you take control as Detective David Tapp from the first movie played my Danny Glover. The story was amazing as a Saw movie giving the makers James Wan and Leigh Whannell had wrote it. The music wasn't conducted by Charlie Clouser, but it fit the mood and motions. The graphics are astounding and the gore is gut-wrenching. Tobin Bell's voice brings beautiful sound to the soundtrack creating a great scale of menacing terror. It joins the SAW family greatly, so fans BUY it...new to the series give it a rent...and play the game.

9.0/10

I'm a fan of both the Saw films (the first couple anyway) and of horror survival games. Konami used to be my favourite developers, but they went their separate ways after Silent Hill 4, and it shows. Anyway, back to the game. I started playing it less than a week ago, and completed it last night. That's an extremely short playing time! Not exactly challenging.... nor value for money. The plot is what you'd expect from Saw, a series of "tests" set for detective Tapp from Jigsaw. You have to solve puzzles and make your way through many traps along the way to face your ultimate choice. The graphics are nice, atmosphere and tension. As I said, the plot is acceptable. The three main things that let this game down are - 1 - The game play time - just awful! no value for money at all!! 2- The combat system - really dreadful and SO frustrating! and 3 - Repetitive puzzles. All in all, a good concept badly brought to life.

This is a game I'd most definitely recommend you rent for a week (much cheaper, and you'll complete it by then anyway!)

Do you want to play a game?..... (then rent it!)

I wasn't sure how well a Saw video game would work, but it's surprisingly effective in making you sweat and wince, and sometimes jump in fright. You play as Detective David Tapp (Danny Glover in the first movie) who, after being rescued by Jigsaw from the catacombs outside the infamous bathroom is thrown into a gauntlet of his own in an abandoned asylum where he has to rescue a handful of people from gruesome deaths.

It reminded me a lot of Condemned 2: Bloodshot but was nowhere near as terrifying, but it gets points for trying, as you stumble around in dark, decrepit buildings unsure of what is around the corner. It's a fairly easy game, with an easy-going learning curve. Common sense and memory tricks will see you through every trap safely, and it's good to see some closure on the story of Detective Tapp (apparently the game IS canon), but the twist at the end is lame and there's no 'Final Zepp'. Instead the game just offers generic muzak that's hardly as effective.

It's an easy Platinum, with many bronze and silvers given away like they were free. You won't be playing it for more than a week, but still worth it.

Graphics C+ Sound B- Gameplay B Lasting Appeal C+