Saw First Impressions

Horror movies are rarely made into good horror games. Saw is a welcome exception. The game will take players right back into the movies, but thankfully not exactly like the movie, meaning it has its own plot. With that said, fans will recognise a lot of the traps in the game.

Players start off by trying to get out of their own trap as Detective Tapp. They will find the common trap that sits on the head and threatens to rip it in two pieces when the timer runs out. They need to move the analogue sticks and press the corresponding buttons a few times in order to escape.

The storyline pieces together quite nicely. Tapp has been captured and is given the task to overcome his obsession with catching Saw. Meanwhile, the other captives in the house are told that the key to their freedom lies literally in the body of Tapp. This causes some carnage, as can be imagined.

While the traps are sometimes pretty straight forward, they are also very clever. Players will get that feeling of relief after solving something quite random. Having said that, the traps are also quite repetitive. Players will find themselves doing the same trap quite a few times throughout the game.

An interesting concept to some of the traps is the way players will insert their hand into something and be able to scratch around and then latch onto the object they are searching for.

The atmosphere in the game is fantastic. Most of the hallways are dark and dim and players will need to use their light source in order to move around properly and find objects. The sound is done very well and the game has some great voice acting. The music throughout is fantastic and creates a real creepiness that players will struggle to shrug off throughout their play.

The graphics are nothing spectacular, but can be quite impressive in watching characters fall victim to the traps on their heads. It adds the perfect amount of gore to a horror-thriller type game.

Fans of the movies will really appreciate the way the game has been done. It has managed to keep its Saw goodness but yet still be able to be quite original. The game only needs one play-through as players will find that they can load any scene throughout the game to enjoy the different endings.