Xbox 360 Reviews

Looking at Sacred 2: Fallen Angel from a purely statistical point of view, we had high expectations; 22 square miles of open world to explore, 100 core campaign missions, six classes of characters, tens of thousands of customizable weapons and armor pieces and four-player multiplayer.

One of the problems with describing things that happen in Saints Row the Third is that everything you write just starts to sound like a demented Mad Lib. The green man in the gimp suit hit the luchador gang member in the crotch with an anime squid cannon. And we swear we’re not making any of that up.

A superb seasonal adventure kicks off this latest foray into the weird world of Sam and Max. This time the duo must perform an exorcism on Santa, contend with a pop-quoting robot and even descend into the bowels of hell itself.

In a world where Soul Calibur and Dead or Alive 4 are bringing up the rear when it comes to the best fighters this generation has to offer, you have to wonder who in their right mind would even consider forking out fifty bucks for this game.

SAW is a happy game with bunnies and flowers and cakes. Arch villain Jigsaw’s had a change of heart and is dishing out presents because… no, not really. It’s bloody miserable. It’s also hugely dark, crudely animated, has ropey combat, and the scenarios – despite getting more and more gruesome as the game goes on – start to drag after a few hours. Not much to like then?

Saw: The Videogame positions itself much like Saw: The Movie – an annual dose of interactive gruesomeness. And as with the films we find ourselves begrudgingly returning, not out of enthusiasm, but bleak curiosity. Zombie Studios follows up spine snapping and chest scything with explosive vests, acid baths and drowning tanks, preceded by a literally eye-opening kick-off. ‘Accidentally’ mess up the puzzles and you get to watch Jigsaw’s cruel machinations play out in ropey HD...