Saw (video game)

This article is about the video game. For the overall franchise, see Saw (franchise). For the browser game, see Saw: Das Spiel.

Saw
The official North American box art
Developer(s)	Zombie Studios
Publisher(s)	Konami Brash Entertainment (former)
Designer(s)	David Cohen (producer)
Writer(s)	James Wan Leigh Whannell David Cohen
Series	Saw
Engine	Unreal Engine 3
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360: Microsoft Windows: October 22, 2009
Genre(s)	Third person action Survival horror
Mode(s)	Single-player

Saw (also known as Saw: The Video Game) is a third person survival horror video game with action elements. It was developed by Zombie Studios and was published by Konami. The game launched on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, with a downloadable version released soon after for the Microsoft Windows platform. It is an adaption of the Saw film series, and was released on October 6, 2009 in North America, and will be released on November 20 in Europe, and December 3 in Australia. The Microsoft Windows version was be released on October 22, a few weeks following the initial release for consoles. Saw was also released around the same time as Saw VI, although they have entirely separate story lines. The development team also brought in James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the creators of the first Saw film, to write a new storyline and design new traps for the game.

In Saw, The Jigsaw Killer has healed Detective David Tapp from his gunshot wound, and places him in an abandoned asylum to teach him a lesson of life appreciation. Obsessed, Tapp traverses the building gathering clues along the way in hopes of finally apprehending Jigsaw. He encounters both friends and foes as he comes closer to escaping the asylum and its inhabitants who have instructions contrary to his survival. Along the way, Tapp uncovers the origins of Jigsaw and his motives behind his tests, as well as learning the fates of those from the first Saw film.

The game was originally being published by Brash Entertainment, who later ceased all operations due to financial troubles. This allowed Konami to pick up the publishing rights for the game only a few weeks later. The game, under control of Konami, was redesigned to be a spiritual successor to Konami's other survival horror franchise, Silent Hill. The game had not been drastically changed due to the change of publisher, but Konami had contributed significant input into the development stages of the project. Konami plans to make Saw its next big survival horror franchise, although no plans for a sequel have been discussed.

Gameplay

Saw is primarily a third-person survival horror game with action elements. The player controls David Tapp, a former detective trapped in the Jigsaw Killer's asylum filled with traps. The primary goal of the game is to traverse the asylum and solve traps in order to escape alive. Tapp has several abilities in the game to fulfill his objectives such as searching things like toilets or dead bodies to find things like weapons, health, or clues. There are also various things hidden around the asylum that can be found to provide background on why Tapp is there and other information on Jigsaw and others. Many of these come in the form of "Jigsaw Notes" left behind or cassette tapes found laying around.

File:Saw Videogame Screen 3.jpg

The player being prompted to control the in-game character. A close-up camera angle is used to aid the player in completing a task.

The game's combat system allows the character to block, counter-attack, and perform weak or strong attacks to fend off enemies in the asylum. Also, Tapp is able to curb-stomp injured enemies or activate their trap if they have one. Tapp can obtain over eighteen different weapons, varying from lead pipes to mop handles available to him throughout the game. In addition to standard weapons, Tapp may recover firearms or explosives along the way. Certain weapons may also be used for other purposes such as cutting open a body to search it or breaking down a molding wall to reveal hidden paths. Weapons in the game deplete upon use in real time until they are rendered unusable. Tapp's health bar, once depleted, can only be restored by hypos which can be stored in an inventory, along with other items.

At certain points in the game, the player will be joined by AI teammates that will help Tapp in certain tests or areas. There are also many points in the game in which there are multiple paths that can be taken to avoid certain areas or uncover hidden items. The game can be played at two difficulty settings; normal and hard. Lighting plays a dynamic role in the game. While Tapp begins with a lighter, other light sources such as flashlights or camera flashes can be found later in the game.

A few minigames have been incorporated into the game. These include a searching game in which an X-ray view is given to avoid dangers like razors or syringes and grabbing a key before a "Pain meter" fills and wounds Tapp. Other puzzle minigames include powering fuse boxes, placing rotating gears in a box, and aligning steam valves, amongst others. Finally, there are doors rigged with shotguns attached to pulleys littered all around the asylum. As soon as opening such a door, the player must press a randomly assigned button before the pulley falls too far to avoid the gun discharging. There are also puzzles called "environmental traps", in which Tapp must use different elements in the environment, the in-game camera, or go to certain locations to accomplish a task. Also, there is a type of metagame that allows Tapp to rearm or place certain traps after activating them. This includes electrifying water puddles or placing explosive mines created on one of "Jigsaw's Workbenches".

Synopsis

Setting

Saw, like its film predecessors, is set in the fictional Saw continuum, taking place in an unnamed urban American city. The universal storyline follows that of a man named John Kramer. According to the back-story set in Saw IV, John encountered a series of events, including the loss of his unborn child and being diagnosed with cancer, that caused him to begin testing other people's will to live. These tests, which ironically killed many of his victims, and the fact that he carved a puzzle piece out of the flesh of his victims soon earned him the alias "The Jigsaw Killer".

In Saw, Jigsaw had just concluded Dr. Lawrence Gordon and Adam Faulkner's bathroom trap, which occurred at the end of the first film. David Tapp, a cop who had his throat damaged by Jigsaw's knife and shot in the chest later by Zepp, was healed and brought to Whitehurst insane asylum, an abandoned sanitarium that was reputable for medieval tactics and frequent patient abuse. Jigsaw placed traps all around the asylum to continue his tests of will for Detective Tapp as well as his apprentice, Amanda Young, who monitors Tapp as the story progresses. The asylum itself has many sections. There is a morgue, cold storage, crematorium, security wing, theaters, libraries, washrooms, offices, and other areas. A large part of the asylum are cells that held the criminally insane before it was condemned and abandoned.

Characters

Further information: List of Saw characters

• Detective David Tapp (voiced by Earl Alexander): A veteran policeman, Tapp has been on the Jigsaw case since the beginning. After being shot by Zep Hindle in the first Saw film, Tapp was brought to an asylum by Jigsaw, who got someone to heal his gunshot wound and also place a key inside his chest. When Tapp awakens in the asylum with a Reverse-bear-trap on his head, he quickly escapes and begins to unravel the clues left behind by Jigsaw. Tapp was not voiced by Danny Glover, the actor who portrayed him in the films but rather Left 4 Dead voice actor Earl Alexander.

• John Kramer, "Jigsaw" (voiced by Tobin Bell): The antagonist of Saw, Jigsaw is a serial killer who captures victims and puts them into traps to test their survival and teach them lessons to correct their past errors. Jigsaw has captured Tapp and put him into an abandoned asylum that the game takes place in. He delivers messages to Tapp and congratulates survivors through video tapes using Billy, Jigsaw's puppet. Billy is described as a "very ominous figure. When you see him, you know you’re screwed." Billy has also been featured prominently in promoting the game. A persuasive being, Jigsaw has instructed several victims to kill Tapp in order to retrieve the key in his chest to escape. It was officially announced on June 4, 2009 that Tobin Bell had reprised his role as Jigsaw.

In addition to surviving and apprehending Jigsaw, there are also six main characters who Tapp must save throughout the game. The first person is Amanda Young, a drug user who is now Jigsaw's apprentice. The second is Jennings Foster, a corrupt CSI who framed a innocent citizen for a hit and run he committed. Third is Oswald McGullicuty, a newspaper writer who coined the name "Jigsaw Killer" and the man who accused Tapp of being Jigsaw. Next is Melissa Sing, the wife of Tapp's former partner, Detective Steven Sing, who blames Tapp for his death and has since become a neglectful parent to her son. The fifth victim laid out for Tapp is Obi Tate, an arsonist who seeks a test from Jigsaw to give his life a purpose. Finally, the last character is Jeff Thomas, the second survivor of Jigsaw's games who has become suicidal after Tapp interrogated him relentlessly about Jigsaw.

There are also numerous other attackers spread around the asylum. Most of these people have instructions to kill Tapp in order to get the key inside him and free themselves. While they vary, some of these attackers have the "Reverse Bear Trap" on them, some with the "Venus Fly Trap", and others with new and unique traps or no traps on them at all. While not an attacker there is a masked figure called Pighead that pursues Tapp around the asylum. This character initially captures Tapp and places him in the Shotgun Collar from Saw III.

Plot

The story centers on the kidnapping of Detective Tapp, by his alleged suspect, The Jigsaw Killer. During the first Saw film, Tapp witnesses his long time friend and partner, Detective Steven Sing, fall victim to one of Jigsaw's traps. This left Tapp mentally unstable and he was soon discharged from the police force. Later, Tapp was shot in the chest by Zep Hindle after chasing him in pursuit of Jigsaw. Jigsaw then gets someone to heal Tapp and put a key in his chest. Later, Tapp is placed in an abandoned asylum. Other victims in the building are instructed to kill Tapp and retrieve the key inside him in order to escape their own tests.

Upon awakening in a bathroom with the Reverse Bear Trap on him, Tapp quickly pulls it off and ventures into the rest of the asylum. He is led to a medical wing by another victim of Jigsaw, only to be betrayed by the man trapping him with a hostile attacker. Upon this betrayal, Tapp learns that he is being hunted by other victims in the asylum who need the key inside Tapp's chest to escape their own games. From there, Tapp proceeds to the medical wing of the building, where Jigsaw informs Tapp that there is a woman trapped in the area who needs Tapps help to survive. He quickly deciphers that it is Amanda Young, whom Tapp interviewed after she survived her first test, in a needle injection trap that reflects her intravenous drug use habits. Upon saving Amanda, she follows Tapp until a mysterious figure called Pighead captures her to pose her escape and keep her cover as Jigsaw's secret apprentice.

Unable to save her, Tapp is forced to move further into the asylum, where he is captured by Pighead and is placed in the Shotgun Collar from Saw III. Tapp then travels to find a second victim connected to Tapp is being held by Jigsaw. The victim, later revealed to be Jennings Foster, blames Tapp for being in his trap and thus harbors hatred for him. Jennings was a CSI for Tapp's division who framed an innocent citizen for a hit and run that he had committed years ago. Tapp finds Jennings in a pendulum trap similar to the one in Saw V. Tapp releases Jennings and he quickly runs away believing that Tapp would get him killed if he stayed with him. Upon releasing Jennings, Tapp moves on to find the next victim left behind by Jigsaw. He traverses the asylum and is led to the grave of Detective Steven Sing, his former partner who was killed by a Jigsaw trap when he and Tapp were in Jigsaw's lair. It is there that Tapp discovers that Jigsaw has captured Melissa Sing, Detective Sing's Widow, who has become a neglectful parent and is convinced that it is Tapp's fault that her husband is dead. Melissa is in an Iron Maiden trap with spinning blades that will mangle her body should the device close on her. Jigsaw informs her that Tapp didn't call for back up when searching Jigsaw's lair and that every one of the traps there could have been easily avoided by using standard police procedure. Despite this, Tapp finds and saves Melissa upon which she says Jigsaw gave her the option to leave Tapp so she quickly runs away.

Tapp, beginning to learn that these people all have a dark connection to him, proceeds to the offices of the building and finds Oswald McGullicuty in the next Jigsaw trap. Oswald was the newspaper writer who coined the name "The Jigsaw Killer" and eventually began blaming Tapp for the murders as he was the lead detective in the case. Jigsaw felt that Oswald was perverting his message and so he was placed into a Folding Table trap which would snap his body in half if Tapp failed to save him. Tapp saves Oswald, but he is swiftly killed by a compacting metal slab before Tapp can react.

Jigsaw then leads Tapp to the asylum's crematorium, where he informs Tapp that some people actually seek his tests, much to Tapp's surprise. This is shown to be Obi Tate, an arsonist who put ads in the newspaper to Jigsaw so he could be tested. Tapp saves him from a burning furnace but Obi is still frustrated because he wanted his own test that he could survive. Feeling that Tapp is throwing away a gift from Jigsaw, Obi leaves the asylum to pursue another test from Jigsaw. Tapp then ventures through a theater to seek his last trapped victim, where Tapp finds evidence of a former victim of Jigsaw being held there. He soon finds that it is Jeff Thomas, the man who was saved by Sing while he and Tapp were in Jigsaw's lair. Jeff has since become suicidal from Tapp's incessant questioning, leading him to be recaptured by Jigsaw. Upon being saved from a wall of spikes by Tapp, he is still frustrated and confused, so he runs away wounded from his trap. Upon completing each one of his tests, Tapp is left free to pursue Jigsaw, but encounters Pighead again in the process. Jigsaw informs Tapp that Pighead wishes to surpass Jigsaw and sabotage Tapp's game, so he must be stopped in order for Tapp to proceed. Tapp then confronts and kills Pighead in order to get the key.

Finale

Upon killing the Pighead, Tapp moves to the asylum's library where Jigsaw confronts him in person to present his final choice to conclude his test. Tapp chases Jigsaw, but to no avail, but manages to recover the final choice key in the process. At this point, there are two possible endings depending on the players choice. Tapp returns to the library where he must choose between "Freedom", which would simply allow Tapp to leave without catching Jigsaw, and "Truth", in which Jigsaw promises Tapp that this would cost him but would also satisfy his obsession to catch Jigsaw.

If the player chooses the Freedom door, Tapp escapes from the asylum, freeing the rest of the people trapped inside. Tapp returns to his apartment and reviews newspaper clippings which label him a hero by those who survived their tests in the asylum. Despite this, Tapp cannot overcome his obsession with Jigsaw and commits suicide, leaving Jigsaw free to conduct the rest of the tests as shown in the rest of the Saw films.

If the player chooses the Truth door, Tapp pursues the mysterious cloaked figure who he believes to be Jigsaw. After catching up and brutally beating the figure, Tapp realizes that the person in the robes is Melissa Sing, whom Tapp had saved earlier in the game. It is revealed through a tape player Melissa has on her that Jigsaw put her in charge of keeping Tapp alive and making sure he followed the rules of Jigsaw's game after Tapp rescued her. This was due to the fact that her son was kidnapped by Jigsaw and he had sewn her mouth shut to avoid her spoiling Tapp's test. Attempting to run away from Tapp, Melissa desperately charges through a nearby door rigged with a shotgun, killing her in the same way as her late husband, Steven Sing. Tapp suffers a mental breakdown as a result of her death and is placed in a functional asylum where he still believes he is playing Jigsaw's games.

Development

Announcements

System requirements

	Minimum	Recommended
Microsoft Windows
Operating system	Windows XP with Service Pack 3 or Windows Vista
CPU	Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon 2.0+ Ghz processor	Any Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2
Memory	1 GB	2 GB
Free space	12 GB of free space
Graphics hardware	nVidia GeForce 6600+, ATI X1300+	nVidia GeForce 7600, ATI X1900
Sound hardware	DirectX Compatible
Network	Internet or LAN connection required for game download; Steam or Direct2Drive membership

Prior to the release of Saw III, Twisted Pictures and Brash Entertainment announced they were planning to create a game based on the Saw property. Although no release was confirmed, they stated that the game would most likely release alongside Saw IV. Originally, Brash was going to develop the game and co-publish it with Twisted Pictures. It was stated that the game's plot would follow that of the first Saw film, but this was later changed as development progressed.

After the initial announcement of the game, it was soon dropped from mention with no updates from Brash. The only form of news came from a teaser site for the game, which was removed as the game moved further into production. The game resurfaced at the Game Developers Conference 2008, on January 22, where a teaser trailer was played. The trailer showed franchise staple Billy the Puppet preaching to reporters about their wasted lives. Brash announced that Zombie Studios had taken over development of the game, leaving Brash to publish. The trailer also briefly showed some gameplay elements from one of the traps featured in the game. After the trailer, Brash also confirmed that the game would utilize the Unreal Engine 3 and be releasing on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Windows platforms. A poster for the game was also released soon after at the 2008 Comic Con convention which depicted an amorphous gamepad in a pool of blood. The tagline "Dying To Play?" was also coined by Brash through the poster.

On November 14 2008, it was reported that Brash Entertainment would be ceasing operations due to financial difficulties. It was further reported that since Brash Entertainment was publishing the game with Twisted Pictures, the game itself may have been left in a "possible state of limbo". Considering that the game was far into production, the owners of the Saw brand, Lions Gate, was considering publishing the game themselves. The idea was soon rejected as Lions Gate is primarily a film company and has no experience in the video game industry. After some time, with the state of the game unknown, Konami picked the game up for distribution/development on February 6, 2009, after almost four months of uncertainty regarding the game's fate.

To advertise the game, Konami released a series of screenshots and viral videos prior to release. The screenshots depicted different areas of the asylum and victims in their traps. The videos demonstrated the first hour or so of the game and certain gameplay elements. While a few of the videos have contradicted themselves due to the developer making dramatic changes to the environment and gameplay, they still have maintained the general roots of the game and the storyline. On August 8, 2009, the Konami website had lost the entire section on Saw, including screenshots and information. The reason for this is unknown, but it is speculated that this is due to the Konami website being under construction. The site was soon restored within a few days with updated information, including the official ESRB rating of Mature 17+ for blood and gore, drug reference, intense violence, and strong language. The game was originally intended to include an online multi-player offering, but was later canceled. Since the game was in early development stages at the time, no further details were released. On September 17, 2009, Konami released the full list of Xbox Live achievements for the Xbox 360 version of the game. The game was first officially released in North America on October 6, 2009 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with other countries and the Microsoft Windows platforms being released at later times in 2009. The Microsoft Windows version, which was released on October 22 2009, was originally intended to be released exclusively through Valve's steam digital distribution service; This was later corrected when Konami announced that Saw would be available through another online distributor, Direct2Drive.

Demonstrations

On April 14, 2009, Konami held a Gamers Night Press Event which allowed a more general public to demo the game. This was the very first time the game had been shown with the exception of three screenshots released earlier that month. While it was only in "Alpha stage", the demo allowed the play-through of the Jaw Splitter trap, some interactions in the asylum, and other things. The demo was well received by many people who had tested it.

The game was demonstrated by Konami executives at the E3 on June 1, 2009. More plot details were revealed, along with some gameplay footage. Another trailer was shown shortly after the demo; The trailer showed Detective Tapp in the Jaw Splitter trap, glimpses of the asylum, and other features. The Saw booth was the first time that anyone outside of the immediate realm of Konami and associates were allowed to play the game for themselves. The image in the background of the booth depicted Billy on his signature tricycle, which is used frequently in the films, another instance of his prominent marketing use for the game. The image itself, labeled with the Mature rating by the ESRB, is hosted on the game's official website. Many preview articles stemmed from the expansive demo.

At the San Diego Comic Con 2009, more of Saw was shown and two more trailers were released. The game's combat system, which was initially a topic of complaint amongst critics, was reworked to incorporate more life-like character motions and collisions. The trailers were both five minute demos that showed the game's opening. The second trailer picked up immediately where the first one left off. Many critics were "Pleasantly surprised" at the game as an evolution on movie-based games, which are universally panned and almost always receive some of the lowest scores available from reviewers. This is only the third movie-based game released in 2009, along with X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Ghostbusters: The Video Game that had been positively previewed by critics.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	61% (X360) 59% (PS3)
Metacritic	64% (X360) 62% (PS3)

Review scores

Publication	Score
Game Informer	6/10
GamePro	3.5/5
GameSpot	6.5/10
GameTrailers	7.8/10
IGN	7.5/10
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	4.5/10
GiantBomb	6/10
Gamernode	5.5/10
X360 Achievements	74/100

Saw has received mixed reviews from game critics since its release. The Xbox 360 version of the game currently holds an average score of 64% on the game aggregator Metacritic, based on 14 reviews; the PlayStation 3 version has a 62% from nine reviews. On the other aggregator site, Game Rankings, the Xbox 360 version has a 61% score based on three reviews, while the PlayStation 3 has a similar 59% from nine reviews. On a third aggregate site, GameStats, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions both hold a 6.5 out of a possible 10.

The game was nearly universally praised for the storyline and the two multiple endings the game presented. Critics also consistently mentioned the immersive atmosphere and environment as being true to the Saw series, while the quality level of puzzles were both praised and panned, depending on the reviewer. While the controls in general were not well received by many, the combat system was especially panned by nearly every reviewer. Official Xbox Magazine gave the game a 4.5 out of a possible 10, stating, "Whether you’re swinging a pipe or a scalpel, the controls never feel responsive, and rotten collision detection will drive you mad before Jigsaw’s twisted games even have the chance."

Despite mixed reviews, Saw has sold well over 70,000 copies in North America alone within its first three weeks of release, totaling about $5 million USD in retail sales. These sales are only for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, as the PC version was not released at the time the figures were counted. This is an unexpected high, although sales figures are expected to increase with the release of the Microsoft Windows version and the release of all versions in other countries.

Controversy

Akin to the films, Saw has been the subject of much controversy, even prior to the game's release. Similar to the rest of the franchise, the game has also been classified as "Torture porn" by its critics. Its violence and visual intensity sparked many allegations that the main goal of Saw is to mutilate characters simply for the sake of doing so. It was compared to games such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Madworld, and Manhunt, but contrasted for the claim that the aforementioned games violence served a some-what humorous purpose or had some type of moral reprieve. William Usher of Cinemablend wrote that Saw pushed the controversial boundaries and called it a "tutorial for sadists to get pleasure from". Usher also claimed that the lack of a moral message makes it even more controversial.

The game contains one scene that allows players to cut open bodies and sift through their insides to retrieve a key. This area was a particular focus for critics, chief amongst them being Cinemablend. It was stated that this scenario was "sick" and "tasteless." Konami had already received indefinite BBFC and ESRB ratings, so the game was released in all regions without any censorship. Robert Workman of Game Daily agreed with the sentiment that moral messages presented an issue to the game and included it in the "top ten controversial games of 2009." Mac World writer Chris Holt showed surprise that Konami would choose release Saw but refuse to publish Six Days In Fallujah due to controversial factors. Konami later stated that this was because the events that took place in Fallujah were real events that could cause offense to some while Saw was entirely fictional.

External links

• Publisher's official website
• Developer's official website
• saw game fan site
• Saw at IMDb
• Saw (video game) at the Saw wikia