Saw II: Flesh and Blood follows on from last year’s competent if ultimately forgettable, Saw. Tying in with the movie franchise of the same name, it attempts to offer the same blend of horror, serial killer, and all-round torture porn which draws crowds into the cinema time and time again. How successful it is in doing that depends on how much you love the movie series itself, as well as your tolerance for repetition and the creepiest wooden puppet since Pinocchio.
The story in Saw II continues on from the first game in the sense that you play as the previous protagonist, Detective Tapp’s, son, as he too is placed in an expansive, dilapidated environment and is put through some rather intensive psychological therapy from the now infamous Jigsaw killer as he tries to escape. For fans of the series, there are enough subtle references to traps, scenes, and storylines from the films to keep you satisfied, and the inclusion of previous survivors or victims into the plot presents many ‘I recognise him… sort of’ moments for you to pore over afterwards. Unfortunately for newcomers, the plot and its many characters will probably be lost upon you, and a basic knowledge of the franchise is certainly required if you even want to understand Jigsaw’s motives and machinations, even with the inclusion of the scattered ‘Case Files’ lying around which fill in some of the backstory. Much of the enjoyment to be gleaned from the narrative here is gained by the recognition of devices, characters, or locations from the films, and so if you’re not a dedicated fan- Wikipedia or your nearest movie rental store is your best bet.
In terms of gameplay, Saw II plays out much like your standard third-person survival horror title, except with the emphasis being placed upon freeing yourself or others from some truly horrific situations rather than combating some form of the supernatural. The only piece of equipment you are provided with is a flashlight, and you don’t even get that until the third chapter or so. Weaponry is acquired by either bludgeoning its previous owner to death and taking ownership or collecting it from the environment or locked cabinets. Combat is played out through some fast paced quick-time events, and is largely an improvement upon the dire flailing of the last title. The real meat of the game is to be found in the puzzles and mini-games encountered sporadically throughout, and some are actually quite inventive and challenging in their approach. For example, lock-picking is no longer a case of rotating a thumbstick and instead, you have to guide the pick, first-person style, through a series of rotating chambers to reach the goal of unlocking the door.
Some of the biggest puzzles are to be found when attempting to free a fellow captive from one of Jigsaw’s contraptions, and most are popular mini-games with a Jigsaw twist- Pipe-mania, for instance, turns up when trying to prevent someone drowning but instead of rotating the tubes yourself you have to reset their rotations until they are in sync with one another. They are, for the most, part, things you will have played before, but the tension of trying to rescue someone from mutilation and the slight variations make them feel fresh. Some of the most difficult, but rewarding challenges come in the form of the optional collectible Dolls to be found singularly in each level. These often involve thinking outside of the box, and can be quite frustrating to solve, but once you do happen upon the solution it will be immediately obvious and extremely satisfying. Unfortunately, quite a few of the puzzles are repeated, and the number of doors that require you to repair a broken circuit board is obscene. The difficulty of each ramps in accordance to your progression through the story, and can get fairly headache-inducing towards the end.
The graphics and general style in Saw II tend to emulate the same raw and dirty approach of the films in that nearly everything is a grimy grey or a brown reminiscent of fecal matter. Colour is splattered in by way of the gore and the robes both Jigsaw and his servant, Pigface, wear whilst stalking you throughout, but the palette is generally quite dark and dull. This is not necessarily a bad thing however, as I think I would be even more perturbed to fight my way down a corridor only to find the walls are bright pink and the villains tangoed. The peeling wallpaper, crumbling ceilings, and remnants of prior encounters to be found throughout Jigsaw’s premises all add to the sense of disturbing violence enacted upon the unlucky victims and yourself, and character models and the environment all look decent and suited to the context of the story. The musical score contains some flourishes and swoops of the original soundtrack, but remains largely unnoticeable against the wall of screams and intensifying silence throughout the majority of the title. The voice-acting on show here is note-worthy, if only for the return of Tobin Bell, the original Jigsaw, showing all of his menace and malice through the game’s many television sets and tape recorders.
Overall, Saw II: Flesh and Blood is a satisfying and surprisingly adequate budget title. Franchise fans are the ones who will be most pleased here, and plenty of material is there to be found for those interested. People unfamiliar with Jigsaw’s personal practice of self-help will probably be alienated by the lack of backstory or information provided here, and the main draw for the uninitiated will probably be the reasonably easy achievements/trophies the game leaks out quicker than a stuck pig. The puzzles, although much repeated, are occasionally quite inventive and the graphics do the game and series a certain level of justice. So, as Jigsaw would say, ‘Do we want to play a game?’ The only answer we could give is ‘Possibly.’
NXT Score: 7.5/10
Pros
- Great fan-service in the form of references and returning characters
- Occasionally inventive puzzles
- Graphics and voice acting do the franchise justice
Cons
- Possibly inaccessible to Saw newcomers
- Repetition of puzzles
- A fairly formulaic survival horror
Developer: 
November 4, 2010
#1
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The most interesting thing to me about the Saw games is that they’re not garbage. It seems extremely easy to make bad survival horror games and really bad movie tie-in games. This is both and it seems more than competent. I’d give it a shot, but I’m just not into the whole torture porn thing. I do appreciate it for what it is, just from afar.