Eurogamer Expo 09 Hands On Preview: Saw

Released November 20 on PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360

Movies and videogames have never seemed to work together as a marriage.  In the last few months they has been some below average efforts by the likes of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Terminator Salvation.  As well as the games usually not looking as good as some of the best the consoles can offer, the length of each all tend to be painstakingly short and with little to offer in that short time-span.

Saw hopes to scare the public into believing that this does not need to be the way all movie tie-ins are received and by the looks of things, their tactics may just be about to pay off.  As well as looking similar in graphics to that of the half a dozen Saw movies that have come before it, the gameplay offers something refreshing that you will want to keep playing, even if it is from behind the safety of your sofa.

Because yes, this game does have the fear element cranked up, leaving the player’s heartbeat at it’s highest with it’s edge of the chair pressure.  This can be seen from the beginning of the demo, which had the player stuck to the chair while serial killer Jigsaw explained how you must escape the clutches of a metal jaw in time before it literally rips your own jaw straight from your face.  To do this involved numerous QTEs, this in itself creating a tense moment where you feel that pressing the wrong button will signal the end or that you just aren’t doing it quick enough.

The puzzles are the main joy of the game as their offer an ingenious method of progressing through the game.  In one, you have to free yourself from a locked bathroom by unlocking the code on the padlock.  Looking around soon made it clear that their was red writing on the three doors of the cubicles, which joined together when all were closed.  However, the writing is not clear until you turn around and look at the numbers, this time through the reflection in the mirror.  It is smart and intelligent and will require the player to think much more out of the box than most games of its style.

Saw is looking to be a sleeper hit in the winter months and quite possible a change in approach of how games based on movies should be handled.  Don’t be afraid to try this one when it reaches the shops.