Rarely does a game bring all the crazy shoot em up action one can handle, as well as just enough funny to make a player laugh out loud right at the outset. Saints Row IV does a very good job of combining some truly ridiculous levels of action with just the right levels of self aware comedy. This is why the original game was already known as one of the best games to hit the market the year it was originally released. Saints Row IV: Reelected simply had to take what already made the last generation version so good and make it just a little bit better. Unfortunately, the upgrade seems to fall just a little bit short of making it worth buying again.

The first thing to say about this particular remastering, is that it doesn’t appear to be all that impressive. Certainly some of the problem is that the art style when it comes to the Saints Row games is that they just aren’t as crisp and clean as some of the other titles that first appeared on the Playstation 3 and have since been ported over to the PS4. If you attempt to compare Re-Elected to something like The Last of Us or Grand Theft Auto V remasters, the graphics and especially the facial features of the characters in this game are going to fall quite short.

"If you attempt to compare Re-Elected to something like The Last of Us or Grand Theft Auto V remasters, the graphics and especially the facial features of the characters in this game are going to fall quite short."

Another problem is the rag doll physics employed in the game. The developers got away with some of the goofiness of movement when it comes to Saints Row IV because most of the game actually takes place inside a computer generated world. The physics rules of this world have already been tampered with a little bit in order to give your character a number of different super powers. Having those powers already makes everything seem just a little bit goofy, but in a good way. Being able to run faster than a speeding car works because you and Kinzie have worked together to make that computer generated world allow you to run faster than a speeding car.

Despite the souped up physics and otherworldly powers characters in this game are supposed to have, running into and through a pedestrian and watching them actually bend and flip and rag doll away still seems like something you wouldn’t expect to see in a AAA game on the Playstation 4. Once again, you have to wonder whether Volition meant for this level of goofiness, since there is actually one particular game mode, where the entire intent is for you to rag doll your way through the town for as long as possible. Do this just right and you’ll be able to roll and flip and smack and flop for miles and miles and miles.

So did the developers design the rag doll physics for Re-Elected in order to make fun of other games and their attempts at realistic death scenes? Or did the developers come to understand the limitations of their engine and come up with a rather clever way to poke fun of themselves? Whichever the answer, it still comes off as a little off putting to see on a major console in 2015. It’s even more off-putting when you again compare Saints Row IV: Re-Elected to the other games that have recently gotten a new spit and polish. When you shoot someone in Grand Theft Auto V or The Last of Us, those gun shot victims have a bit of rag doll in them, but they go down looking quite realistic.

"The real issue is whether or not you’ve ever played this game before. It is certainly worth a buy if you don’t already have it or haven’t ever played it."

I should stop here and say that because I’ve been complaining about the look and feel of this particular remaster for the first half of this review, you’ve probably assumed I didn’t like the game. The fact of the matter is I still greatly enjoyed myself as I played through this incredibly original story and well created world. The conundrum that always presents itself when talking about a supposed upgrade of a title that isn’t particularly old is that it’s hard to tell exactly what you’re supposed to review.

Am I supposed to sing the praises of well drawn and well filled out characters that have become fan favorites as the series has unfolded? Or do I assume you all know that Saints Row IV is a very good game and what you really want to know is whether or not it’s worth your money to purchase it all over again in a new format? If the answer is an affirmative to the second question, then the answer simply has to be no.

The release of the current generation console version, which really is seemingly just the originally with a slightly longer name and just a little spit and polish might be one of the most pointless remasters to date. The lack of any real tangible upgrade from the original is complicated by Sony and the launch of its Playstation Now service. As long as you have a fast enough Internet connection, you can play the original through that service and assuming this isn’t a game you’re going to want to play over and over, you can do it for quite a bit cheaper this way.

If you don’t want to go through the bother of trying to stream the original Saints Row IV, or you want to be able to go through the game as often as possible, Reelected isn’t a complete waste of money. There’s plenty of content, more than you’re going to be able to go through in a number of sittings and even when you are going through a somewhat repetitive part, there’s enough to keep it fresh and fun.

The real issue is whether or not you’ve ever played this game before. It is certainly worth a buy if you don’t already have it or haven’t ever played it. If you’re enough of a fan of the series that you’ve already played Saints Row IV on the PS3 or Xbox 360, then there really isn’t a compelling reason to give Saints Row IV: Re-Elected a go.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.