Video Game Review: ‘Saw II: Flesh and Blood’ Allows Movie Fans to Play Jigsaw’s Games

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CHICAGO – Have you ever wanted to play a video game in which you get to cut into your own eye in slow, agonizing detail? Welcome to the world of “Saw II: Flesh and Blood,” one of the more unique puzzle games of the season. Clearly rushed into stores to time with the release of “Saw 3D,” the lack of refinement shows in some key categories but “Saw II: Flesh and Blood” is consistent enough that fans of the movies should be satisfied.

HollywoodChicago.com Video Game Rating: 3.5/5.0
Video Game Rating: 3.5/5.0

Naturally, the game opens like the movies — with your player stuck in the middle of a jigsaw trap. It’s one that will be familiar to even casual fans of the series as your character has a bear trap around his head with the key to unlock it surgically placed behind his eye. Unlike the opener of the “Saw” sequels, the idea here is to survive and, after you do, your player moves through a series of rooms, traps, and puzzles before the prologue ends and you begin the meat of the game.

Saw II: Flesh and Blood
Saw II: Flesh and Blood
Photo credit: Konami

For the majority of “Flesh and Blood,” you play the son of the cop played by Danny Glover in the movies. The Jigsaw Killer (voiced by the movie’s Tobin Bell) puts not only you but a number of other people loosely or directly related to you through a series of traps/puzzles while you move from room to room, trying to escape. It’s a hotel that’s essentially been turned into a giant maze. Find a locked door, try to find the combination to the lock, escape a trap, and so on. Almost every room presents a puzzle/trap to impede your progress or a lock with a combination you need to solve. There are also a series of mini-puzzles, most of which involve turning conduits to open an electrified door or pressing a series of buttons in the right order. Who knew the “Saw” characters had to have such a way with technology?

Saw II: Flesh and Blood
Saw II: Flesh and Blood
Photo credit: Konami

“Saw II: Flesh and Blood” is an interesting title to review. It gets enough wrong that it’s impossible to recommend it to all, especially with the incredible number of titles hitting stores in time for the holiday shopping season. And yet there’s enough that works about the title that I expect that its audience — those of you who were at “Saw 3D” on opening weekend — will be thoroughly entertained for its brief running time. Personally, I think some of the “Saw” sequels stand among the worst films of the last ten years (although the first film is a solid genre flick) but I found “Saw II: Flesh and Blood” oddly addictive, an experience I wanted to keep pushing forward, which is something I can’t say about all of the far-more-popular titles this season. I guess I liked “Saw II: Flesh and Blood” despite recognizing its significant flaws. It’s a mess, but it’s an addictive mess.

So, what’s wrong with it? First, the very design of the game is far-too-linear. A truly scary “Saw” game would allow for freedom of movement; not just transitions from room to room to room. It’s almost always clear where to go and what to do in “Flesh and Blood” and that’s disappointing in today’s gaming world. Imagine a massive hotel like the one in “Flesh and Blood” where you have no idea what’s behind each door. The linear narrative of “Flesh and Blood” means that you’ll know there’s another door after you solve a puzzle, play a mini-game, or defeat an enemy.

Oh, yeah, there are enemies. It turns out that there are criminals loose and they want to do you harm. Here’s the element of “Flesh and Blood” most likely to make you plan a Jigsaw-esque revenge on the game’s developers. It’s hard to even explain how combat works. You try and dodge then work through a series of button cues. Push X at the right time and you’ll swing your fists or a weapon. If not, you’ll get hit. It’s one of the dumbest combat designs in a long time but it’s infrequent enough to not be too annoying.

Saw II: Flesh and Blood
Saw II: Flesh and Blood
Photo credit: Konami

There’s also a sense that the puzzle design has been rushed. A few of the mini-games are based on pushing buttons to get lights to turn off and I swear to you that I never had any idea what I was doing. I just pushed them until I moved forward. That’s pretty lazy puzzle design when luck can move you forward. Most of the bigger puzzles involve finding something in one room and taking it to another room. There are even a few that are basically devilish versions of Concentration. Just as Jigsaw’s puzzles in the movies have been getting less inspired, too many of the traps in “Saw II: Flesh and Blood” are similarly pedestrian.

Well, the game must look great, right? It looks okay. The graphics are reasonably good and some of the cut scenes allow for a nice horror jump now and then. Much worse is the audio and script. The dialogue and voice work are just bad, but that’s not too different from an actual “Saw” film. I actually enjoyed the plot of “Flesh and Blood” more than most of the “Saw” sequels but that’s faint praise.


With all of these complaints, how could I give “Saw II: Flesh and Blood” a passing grade? Because video games are not the sum of their parts and I couldn’t help get into the rhythm of this unusual game. Perhaps it’s because the title is so different from what’s been released this season, but I enjoyed the blend of puzzle-solving and action despite recognizing it could have been done much better. And that’s the thing about “Saw II: Flesh and Blood” that it truly shares with the “Saw” movies. Most of the fans of the first film could have come up with more interesting scripts for the sequels and it feels like there could have been a more creative and refined version of “Flesh and Blood” if the developers didn’t need to rush it out, just like the movies. But fans still flock to the “Saw” movies and most of them enjoy them enough to come back the next year. I’m starting to understand more why they do after playing “Saw II: Flesh and Blood.”

‘Saw II: Flesh and Blood’ was released by Konami and developed by Zombie. It is rated M (Matur). The version reviewed was for the Xbox 360 but the title is also available for the PS3. It was released on October 19th, 2010.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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