Agents of Mayhem Brings More Madness from the Creators of Saints Row

Volition’s most famous work, Saints Row, is all about player choice and it’s delivered possibly more opportunities to cause mischief, madness, and just plain old mind games than any other gaming franchise since it first hit Xbox 360 a decade ago.

Agents of Mayhem takes place in the same universe as Saints Row – and delivers a refreshing twist on that beloved over-the-top formula. The game sees players explore a futuristic version of Seoul, South Korea, with a team of elite agents who are on a quest to stop a collection of supervillains. Think of it as a 1960s spy thriller, crossed with the zaniness that you’d expect from a Volition creation. And since this is a Volition game, don’t think for a moment that the agents are exactly the “good guys.”

During our recent hands-on time, we got the chance to take control of agents Hollywood, Fortune, and Rama – and we found that their diverse sets of abilities made for team-based customization that rivaled the personal touches seen in Saints Row.

Hollywood is a leading action man straight out of the world of ’80s excess and with an appropriate attitude (and powerful rocket launcher) to boot. Fortune, a former sky pirate from Columbia, wields dual pistols and a killer drone that makes her the right fit for a tight spot; she was definitely our go-to agent when we needed to fight our way out of a swarm of foes. Finally, Rama, a cloaked archer from India, is a master with long-range arrows… perfect for an assault from a distance, which clears the way for Hollywood to go straight-up action hero on the enemy remnants.

In a way, Agents of Mayhem almost plays out like a team-based fighting game. You can swap between your agents at any time, and part of the challenge comes from building a three-person team that’s perfect for the mission at hand.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Saints Row offshoot without that trademark Volition wackiness, and Agents of Mayhem delivers on that front as well. Our hands-on mission tasked us with finding Aisha, an A.I. decked out like a K-pop idol and, naturally, things only got goofier from there. We’ll leave the details to your own discovery, though. Like Saints Row, this is an over-the-top adventure that you’ve really got to experience for yourself, and you’ll get that chance next year on Xbox One and Windows PC.