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.
