Editor’s Note: So, Deep Silver just couldn’t wait till PAX East and had to go and reveal Saint’s Row IV yesterday. Which is bound to make plenty of fans (such as Logicallydashing here) very excited. I must say, LD certainly has some fun ideas for what the game could contain. I wonder how they’ll stack up with the final product? I have a feeling we won’t have to wait much longer to find out. 

It's time once again to brandish our dildo bats and have fun with Uncle Gary. Saints Row IV has been officially announced!

The franchise that is accurately described by my girlfriend as "Grand Theft Auto Gone Wild" is now under the watchful eye of Deep Silver (after parent company Koch Media snatched it up). Volition, the original company that has worked on the previous Saints Row titles, will still be the acting developer for this latest entry, though. What can we expect this time around? How can Saints Row IV continue to push the levels of absurd and debaucherous fun?

Let's first take a look at what we've been given so far; a teaser trailer and some details.

The first thing that jumps out to me is the super powers. This will be a brand new element for Saints Row IV but not so for open-world games in general. Could Volition have taken notes from the inFamous franchise? We already have an idea of the powers that will be available such as super jumps, sonic speed, and telekinesis. I imagine flight and enhanced strength will be thrown in there also. A freezing power seems likely judging from the trailer. How crazy can they go with this, though? Maybe invisibility? How about x-ray vision (for obvious reasons)?

Insert bad ice joke here

The trailer also gave us a taste of the new weapons we can expect. One that jumped out to me was what I'm calling the "Big Head Mode Gun" that gives your target the NBA Jam treatment. We also have the covert nature of a guitar case rocket launcher. The story lends itself open to alien weaponry so don't be surprised to have at least something that shoots lasers.

Speaking of the story, our character is going to start off as President of the United States! That alone could lend itself to some interesting gameplay elements. Will we have control of the U.S. army? Do we get to walk around town with our own bodyguards? Can we fly Air Force One? Is Burt Reynolds appointed as Vice President? Please let these all be true!

From Mayor to VP?

These games have always been about customizing your experience. Saints Row: The Third boasted one of the most impressive character creator tools I've had the pleasure of playing around with. In the fourth entry, it would be nothing less than disappointing if Volition didn't push this even further.

We could always use more clothes so that's a given. There's also the possibility of adding a couple more voice options beyond the awesome cockney accent and the newly added (although somewhat lazy) zombie voice. I'd still like to see car modding match the zaniness of my character with possible additions like turbo jets and monster wheels. There's also got to be gun modding, Borderlands be damned! If Dead Space 3 can allow you to build a flamethrower that shoots buzz saws, then I want to see the same kind of creative carnage implemented in Saints Row IV.

You may call it over the top. I call it a good start.

If there's one thing Saints Row has outdid GTA in, it's having creative missions. More insurance fraud, please! I'd love to see the septic truck make a return also. Throw in some new ones that has you making complete (mis)use of your super powers. Change boring street races into marathons with a parody of The Flash. Have us test how high we can jump in a single bound. Use telekinesis to stack in a test to see how many cars we can stack on top of one another.

This series has always been about its humor so we want to see that cranked up further! Saints Row: The Third pushed the envelope with its dildo bat and "Whored Mode" but something tells me Volition could push it even more. Make the parodies be more up to date and introduce more shocking weapons, characters, and missions that will have the ESRB spinning its head. The more crude and absurd, the better.

Finally, there needs to be a major attempt to make multiplayer as much fun as the main campaign. The previously mentioned "Whored Mode" was cute and all but the execution left something to be desired. Co-op, on the other hand, was done well so perhaps there's a way to work off of that. Let's see a big super powered brawl! One idea I had in mind would be to have a two versus two event where your partner throws you using super strength then gliding to gain as much distance as possible.

Now imagine with 7 other super speedsters

As you can probably gather, I'm a huge fan of this franchise. Can you blame me for demanding to see each new iteration get bigger and bolder? Be sure to let us know your thoughts on what has been revealed as well as what you'd like to see added in the comments below!