Saints Row IV Advanced Tips

Saints Row IV is available in stores, and we had a blast unleashing spectacular weaponry on our adversaries, as well as super-powers that range from telekinesis to freeze attacks. You’ll have plenty of fun with the latest run through Steelport – even if it means wandering off the beaten path.

Once you get deeper into the game, keep these advanced tips in mind. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll defeat Emperor Zinyak in no time.

Telekinesis is a superb ability for launching enemies into each other. When you first acquire it, take part in a Professor Genki-hosted TV challenge where you can throw objects – as well as people – through rings. It’s a great activity that introduces you to its power, but feel free to practice on groups of baddies. Bowling over aliens with a car is a wonderful thing, and you can even launch them into flying vehicles if your aim is good enough.

Data clusters are scattered throughout the city, mostly on rooftops where they appear out of reach. They’re worth hunting down, though. Picking these up and applying them to your character – once you have enough – will increase your strength in a number of areas, whether it’s a stronger ice blast or more running time with super speed. 

When it comes to clearing checkpoints overrun by aliens, it never hurts to have a good gun by your side. As you proceed through the game, you’ll unlock the Black Hole gun. This will clear a station in a hurry, sucking up a good four-to-five soldiers in one blast, letting you clean up the leftovers with ease. The dubstep gun is also ideal if you want to take down a group in entertaining fashion – though it takes a little longer to kill them.

Don’t be afraid to take on challenges. You’ll unlock extra goods to help boost your saint’s cash flow and powers. Some may be harder than you expect – you’ll see a difficulty ranking once you walk up to them – but they’re worth tackling. Plus you’ll gain access to certain weapons, like the Black Hole gun, and get more practice before using them in the main game.

Your super powers aren’t limited to running and jumping tall buildings. You’ve also got super strength, which can do major damage to smaller enemies and vehicles. You can knock vehicles around and also perform devastating aerial punches that send your opponents flying. That doesn’t necessarily kill them, though, so when they come back down to Earth, stomp to finish the job.  In addition, grab someone as soon as you finish a super run. You’ll execute a devastating finishing move that will leave them bleeding on the pavement.

Don’t forget about cars and trucks. Smaller vehicles like sports cars and compacts can get you to a destination as you conserve power. In addition, bigger vehicles, like dump trucks and ambulances, can pack a big punch when you’re running through blockades, or want to crash an alien checkpoint in style. You might take a few of those buggers with you.

Nothing beats using a super power. Launching an object via telekinesis is effective, but an ice blast is even better, as enemies come crashing to the ground. That serves another advantage as well, since they could land on unsuspecting bad guys below.

Larger alien invaders will put up more of a fight than Zinyak’s regular soldiers. They stomp around unpredictably and can be a pain to bring down, especially later in the game. Your best bet is to freeze them, then do damage with your immediate firearm – a shotgun works best in these situations. If they hop onto a roof, use your fire-shooting capabilities or an assault rifle to hurt them until they come back down. Eventually, they’ll succumb to your assault, and you can dive in, tap a few buttons and destroy them in a flash of blinding light.

If you find yourself running at top speed and come across a gap with some water in it, remember that it won’t kill you. In fact, if you jump in the water, you’ll see an option to teleport to shore, which most of the time takes you to the other side quickly. Use this to your advantage when pursued or quickly need to reach an objective.

When you’re playing co-op, it’s smart to have a plan to overtake checkpoints or defeat enemies. Both players carrying guns is an ideal choice, but you can have one player distracting baddies with their assault rifle, while the other quietly takes out foes from behind with strong melee attacks.

Last but certainly not least, the “hostage taking” maneuver works wonders for killing enemies quickly. Simply grab and hold them in front of you, then press in the R3 stick to snap their necks. They’ll collapse to the ground without putting up a fight.

Saints Row IV is available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.