Developer Volition was on hand at PAX East 2013 to demonstrate their newly announced baby, “Saint’s Row IV”. The 3rd Street Saint’s are back and larger than ever in this new update to the widely successful franchise. Continuing fresh off after the events of “Saint’s Row: The Third”, the leader of the Saint’s has been elected into office as the new President of the United States— tasked with the duty of saving the free world from an impending alien invasion.

Brand new baddies know as the “Xin” are a race of intergalactic shape-shifters with their sights set on global domination. Thankfully, the President is armed to the teeth with a load of customizable weapons (a series first) as he/she takes on the invading extraterrestrials. Volition has always excelled in the customization department and this next entry is aiming to raise the bar even higher. Now players are given the opportunity to change the actual appearance of weapons, to further enhance your own Saint’s style— even allowing you the option of dressing up your rocket launcher to look like an old school Super Nintendo “Super Scope 6″ blaster…. (how Volition managed to work that deal out with Nintendo is beyond me). All of this is new, while still allowing you the option of upgrading your arsenal strength in a fashion similar to what was offered before.

While being able to make guns look spiffier sure is nice, “Saint’s Row IV” also offers a variety of new weapons such as the brilliant marvel of technology the, “Dubstep Gun”—- a weapon so powerful it entrances it’s targets with the power of dubstep music and dance. Also building off the gameplay features offered towards the end of Saint’s Row: The Third’s DLC expansion “The Trouble with Clones” players are now given an expanded set of new “superhuman” abilities for crushing alien scum.

While the game is still set in the same city of Steelport from the previous title, the developers have promised an insane amount of new content. Old side mission types have been expanded on (for example you can now utilize a mech in “Mayhem” side missions), and a megaton of new side quests have been added as well. The city of Steelport has also been expanded on, now featuring new locations such as a futuristic “Tron-inspired” area in addition to a few others. Saint’s Row IV is set to release August 20th, a month before another highly anticipated “crime oriented” sandbox title, but unlike that other title Saint’s Row isn’t afraid to let loose and have a little fun— and in that regard, I know which title I’m looking forward to more.