With the so-so game last year, I will admit I was in the "Hopefully It Will Get Better" camp in regards to Saw: The Video Game. At first glance I was kind of let down when I first wandered by the Konami booth and saw Saw II: Flesh & Blood. I tentatively moved over and saw pretty much the same game from last year, except with a new character model as the main protagonist. After watching the person controlling the game die for the fifteenth time in a row, they moved on and I thought, well maybe it was just them and I'll get into this.

You know what I found out, it was the investor that did not know how to play games in front of me making Saw II look like crap. Yes, the visuals are the same, but I honestly thought that the game play had also taken a step back. This was quite the contrary from what I played before in the original Saw.

First, the movement controls felt considerably tightened up. Walking around and searching were made extremely easier and responsive. This is completely unlike before when I would have to do the back up shuffle to maneuver around a level. You know what I am talking about, think the Austin Powers cart scene simply to make a full turn around.

Another vast improvement that screamed out to me during the first few moments is the use of a lighter or flashlight that no longer lights up a whole room. Zombie Studios must have either tried to light up their offices with flashlights and lighters only for reference or they just figured out how to perfect dynamic lighting. Or maybe they talked to some the guys who worked on Alan Wake. Whatever the case, the lighting has been perfected for Saw II. There is a real sense of "fear of the dark" pumped into the game now that you know longer get the signal flare that was the lighter from the first game.

Lastly, but not least, the most important part of a game based around killer puzzles, the puzzles were trickier and a bit more rewarding this time around. The guy I watched before my play through could not figure out how to pick a lock for what seemed like five minutes. Finally when he tried, it was a "guide your pick through the tumblers" type of mini game. Picture any of the falling and dodging objects game play from other games. Then it was followed by an optional puzzle to grab one of the Jigsaw dolls that was said to be one of the hardest in the demo with few figuring it out. I won't give it away as it will be in the final build, but it consisted of figuring out a combination lock and I was one of the fifteen or so at the show to actually do it - challenging and extremely rewarding.

One thing I was a little let down by was the expansion on the overall game story. Partially because they didn't have more to reveal and partially because I couldn't hear the damn game over Redman and Method Man bumping their shit nearby. I mean I would really like to know why Dt. Tapp's kid is hunting down what happened to him in the first game and film. It doesn't make much sense to me in the overall story, but neither did the part where they killed Jigsaw in the third film only to make sense in further films.

We'll hopefully get much more leading up to October this year.