SAW: The PC Game: The Review

Now that we have the technical crap out of the way, I want to get down to the gameplay.  In a timeline set between Saw and Saw 2, you are Detective David Tapp, the character played by Danny Glover in the first film.  The character in the game is voiced by none other than Earl Alexander, the guy who voiced Lewis in Left 4 Dead.  You have just recovered from a gunshot wound and find yourself in an abandoned mental asylum.  Jigsaw has taken it upon himself to heal you and bring you back to optimal health before testing your will and desire to live by sending you through multiple tests.  If you pass all of his tests and escape the traps he has laid out for you, you could come out with your life and the knowledge of what makes this killer do what he does.

You start out in a room with a television in front of you.  You are strapped to a chair and have one of the Jaw Splitter traps on your head.  The one that Jigsaw referred to as a “reverse Venus flytrap” in the first film.  Using the mouse and a series of buttons hit at just the right time, you have to get the mask off before it triggers and splits your head in two.  Afterward, the fun really starts as you encounter more of Jigsaw’s victims who sometimes ask you for help, die in front of you, or try to kill you thinking that the key that Jigsaw implanted in your chest will save them from their traps.  As you make your way through rooms and corridors, you find various booby traps.  Many of the doors are rigged with shotguns and unless you push the right button in a short time you meet the business end of a 12-gauge from above.

Some of the doors and cabinets, such as the door out of the room you start out in, are equipped with puzzles or combinations.  And sometimes you have to look at things from a different point of view than the obvious to get the whole picture and find your way out.  For instance, the first room is a bathroom with marks painted on the stalls.  It looks like a series of obvious numbers, but if you try them on the combination lock, they won’t work.  Here’s a hint, look at the stalls in the reflection of the mirror, moving around slightly until the marks on the mirror line up with the ones on the stall.  There is your combination.  There are many other mini games as you go along.  Some are more obvious than others, and it may seem like you have one figured out and come to realize it was entirely different.

The whole way, Jigsaw is leaving videos and taped clues so you can help yourself.  Each is vague, nothing that will help you out unless you are focused and listen closely.  If you’ve ever seen the Saw movies, you know what I mean here.  And this game is exactly like the movies.  As you progress, you find more and more clues to the man behind the monster known as Jigsaw.  Each step gets you closer to freedom and the truth.  Sometimes, though, it just seems like there is nothing left to do but stand there and take whatever is coming your way.  There is one area where a man comes running at you to kill you and retrieve the key to his own device latched to his head.  After a few swipes with scalpel I found in a room, he fell to the floor and bled out.  The ticking of his headpiece continued, however, until his face was torn apart and brain matter hit the walls.  It’s a gruesome game, and tests your nerves at every turn.

The graphics are also something to behold.  Built using the Unreal 3 Game Engine, the graphics can be unnerving at times.  Especially when you get to a part where someone had already been killed before, such as the man in the nest of razor wire.  The feel of the building around you is cold.  It gives off the vibe that at any moment some deranged machine could spell your end or worse, make you live for a long time while it works on you with blades and saws.  The guys at Zombie Studios really went all out with this one.

In conclusion, I couldn’t imagine a better movie-turned-game experience if I tried.  The quality of the game isn’t anything to sneer at.  The textures are beautiful and feel authentic.  The sounds around you (it seems there is always a scream being muffled by a wall nearby) are masterful.  The craftsmanship behind the gameplay couldn’t have been better if Jigsaw had designed it himself.  But seeing as his creators did the job for him, I don’t think many Saw fans are going to find themselves disappointed this Halloween when they pit their instincts and smarts against one of the most ingenious engineering serial killers of all time.

	REPORT CARD : Microsoft Xbox 360 Play & Charge Kit category rating comments Gameplay 5 Very realistic and blood chilling. Creativity 3 There’s nothing original about it.  It’s exactly like the film. Sound 5 Realistic as hell.  Exactly what torture should sound like. Longevity 3 I don’t see this turning into a gaming saga unless multiplayer comes in eventually. Fun Factor 5 Like the movies in every way, and you know how fun they are. FINAL VERDICT: 4 out of 5 stars