I saw Saw
I think Saw (2010, 360 / ps3) works better as a game than a movie. The basic premise of the films was basically a series of games anyway – deranged killer devises grisly tests for his captives. Each level of the game works to a similar structure – a new area to explore, mini tests to endure, leading to a showpiece moment where you have to complete various puzzles to free a captive from a torture machine.
Similar to the recent Silent Hill game, and also Heavy Rain to some extent, the game parades game mechanics as experimental tests linked somehow to the psychological profile of the player. The premise is that somehow the way that you react in the game might inform how you are in real life. It’s treated with a light touch here, and the game has no great pretension to having any insight into your psyche. And I do feel that this element has a danger of being overplayed – we don’t want all games to become preachy educational tools for emotional well-being. It’s a short-hand narrative trick, it’s not a raisin d’être for gaming.
This is one of those games which might have worked much better with less gameplay. I was quite interested in watching a simple story play out, and solving little puzzles in the meantime. But when every other cupboard and door has a lock to pick the novelty starts to wear off. The combat, hand-to-hand and reminiscent of Condemned, is forgettable, though there are plenty of open-ended areas with traps and tricks with which to despatch enemies with panache.
I found the experience fun, unpretentious, and occasionally quite creepy.
