Saints Row developer Volition Entertainment found itself in a conundrum: how does one of the top development studios in the entire gaming industry follow up a smash hit like Saints Row IV? Saints Row V is the no-brainer answer, but Volition has decided to change things up and go a different route with Agents Of Mayhem. The wit and sense of humour of Saints Row remains intact, but this is a brand new action game that focuses more on teamwork than just causing mayhem.
The team known as the Agents consists of 12 unique soldiers each with their own abilities, attack styles, strengths, and weaknesses. Our hands-on demo gave us access to four of those 12, allowing us to choose three of them in order to make up our team. First in the group is Hollywood, a TV star turned secret agent that wields an assault rifle for mid-range combat. Next is Fortune, a tech whiz and sky pirate that dual wields energy guns à la Lara Croft and her pistols. Third is the bruising hulk known as Hardtack, a Naval officer that specialises in getting in an enemy’s face before blowing it to smithereens. The last playable hero is Rama, an archer and healer that is most effective with distance between her and the enemies. We know the names of the final eight agents to be revealed but that’s it, so the four available agents will have to suffice for now.
The most important part of playing through Agents Of Mayhem is matching these characters together in a way that creates a balanced team, as the game allows for switching between the characters on the fly. We could spend most of the demo using Hollywood’s mid-range rifle to keep enemies at bay, and then quickly switch to Hardtack should any enemies get too close for comfort. Rama’s bow is perfect for quick headshots, while Fortune’s speed makes her an efficient killer. Each agent uniquely reacts to each situation as well, so we could hear two completely different sets of dialogue from one playthrough to another.
Our mission is to speak with an artificial intelligence Korean pop sensation in the hopes of convincing her to not side with the bad guys. The evil faction in this demo is called Legion, an army of technologically enhanced super soldiers led by a Jamaican madman called Steeltoe. The mission is equal parts action-packed and goofy, at one point turning into a full-on K-Pop concert performance. Of course the mission goes sideways almost immediately and the Agents have to fight it out, which is where the game’s sleek combat system comes into play. Switching between agents is done with one simple tap, which replaces one agent with whichever one we choose. There’s little to no technical issues with this transformation, as the game maintains both frame rate and graphical quality during the switch.
As each agent is active, they slowly build a meter that can unleash a massive special attack. Hollywood’s will likely be the fans’ favourite of the bunch, as he makes himself invulnerable before he summons a massive explosion, which repeats as he walks around the arena. Rama’s special move may be the most effective of the four, as she shoots one enemy with a poison arrow and slowly depletes his health. Each Agent also comes equipped with a unique melee attack, like Hardtack’s harpoon that he swings around his head and damages anyone within the circle.
Agents Of Mayhem is not Saints Row and some fans of Volition may immediately find that disappointing, but selling this new game based on that would be selling it very short. The trademark Volition attitude and sense of humour has carried over, meaning there’s plenty of one line zingers flying around to put a smile on our faces. These new Agents of Mayhem show a great deal of promise and could be exactly the kind of tongue-in-cheek action this generation needs.
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