Saints Row IV
=== Plot ===
Shortly after the events of Saints Row: The Third, The Boss, Shaundi and Pierce Washington are called upon to assist MI-6 agent Asha Odekar and her contact, reformed former Deckers leader Matt Miller, in infiltrating a Middle Eastern compound to assassinate former STAG leader Cyrus Temple and prevent a nuclear missile strike against Washington D.C. The Boss kills Cyrus, but is unable to stop him from launching the missile. Climbing aboard it, the Boss disarms the nuke before it reaches Washington, earning the adoration of America.
Five years later, The Boss has been elected President of the United States, with the other members of the Saints, Keith David and former Vice Kings leader Benjamin King acting as cabinet. While preparing for a press conference, the Boss is told that Asha and Matt have arrived at the White House to warn them of what they suspect is an impending alien invasion. Just as the Boss is informed, the invasion begins, spearheaded by the alien warlord Zinyak, who captures the entire cabinet, including the Boss.
The Boss wakes up in a 1950s sitcom set in the city of Steelport, devoid of violence and foul language. The Saints' computer hacking specialist, Kinzie Kensington, contacts the Boss and informs them that they are trapped inside a simulation, with each of the Zin's prisoners trapped inside personal simulations of their own fears in order to break their will. With Kinzie's help, the Boss breaks free of the simulation and joins Kinzie and Keith in a stolen Zin ship.
While the trio attempt to contact reinforcements from Earth, Zinyak atomizes the planet, killing everyone not already captured by the Zin. Enraged, the Boss returns to the Steelport simulation to find their friends and reach Zinyak. After rescuing another prisoner of Zinyak, an artificial intelligence later named CID, and providing him with a physical body, the Boss, with his help, goes into the other Saint's simulations and rescues them from their nightmares.
As the simulation begins to weaken under the Saints' influence, Zinyak floods virtual Steelport with copies of gang members the Boss has faced in the past. Kinzie determines that the copies are being made from someone's memory, leading the Boss to conclude Johnny Gat, who was seemingly killed during the events of Saints Row: The Third, is still alive and trapped within the simulation. Despite protests from Kinzie and Matt that rescuing Johnny will reveal their location to Zinyak, the Boss rescues Johnny from his nightmare of Aisha's death and gets him back to the ship. Johnny explains that during the fight in which he was presumed killed, he was actually abducted by Zinyak years in advance of their invasion, as Zinyak had concluded that Johnny could have single-handedly stopped him if left on Earth.
The Saints rally inside the simulation in order to confront Zinyak, but are ambushed by an enormous Zin force. They escape, but Kinzie is captured by Zinyak and the Boss emerges from the simulation to find that Keith betrayed the Saints and fled. Returning to Steelport, the Boss finds Keith has been declared president of the simulation. When confronted, Keith claims that Zinyak has the means to restore Earth, and has agreed to do so in exchange for the Boss' life. However, Keith is ultimately unable to bring himself to kill the Boss, and rejoins the Saints. The Boss, determined to find Kinzie, pursues Keith into his nightmare, and with help from Roddy Piper, beats Keith up until he barely manages to tell them where Kinzie has been taken to.
After the Boss rescues Kinzie from her nightmare, she devises a plan to crash the simulation, which will force the Zin to draw power from their ship to keep it running, thus weakening the ship itself and creating an opening for the Saints to enter. Working together, the remaining Saints manage to overload the simulation, shutting it down just as the Boss escapes. Assaulting Zinyak's ship, the Boss finds power armor emulating the powers they had in the simulation, and confronts Zinyak in his throne room. While the entire Zin Empire watches, Zinyak and the Boss battle each other. With help from the Saints, the Boss kills Zinyak by tearing his head off and emerges victorious. Impressed, the Zin forces surrender to the Boss, who becomes the new head of the Zin Empire.
The Boss asks Zinjai, Zinyak's main servant, for technology to bring Earth back. Zinjai says they cannot restore Earth, but can use time-travel technology to return to Earth, explaining that Zinyak had used this technology to collect his favorite historical figures, keeping them in suspended animation. The Boss looks at the Saints and says, "Let's go on a field trip." In a post-credits scene, the nineteenth century writer Jane Austen, whom the Boss is a fan of, is woken out of her stasis, revealing that she had been the narrator throughout the game.
If all of the loyalty missions have not been completed, an alternate ending out plays out, which sees the Saints make plans to take over more planets, unaware of their ability to use the technology.
=== Characters ===
A number of characters from earlier games in the franchise - both members of the Third Street Saints and former adversaries - make a return in Saints Row IV, many of whom take up the protagonist's Presidential administration. Kinzie Kensington, the socially awkward FBI hacker from Saints Row: The Third becomes the White House's press secretary, often tasked with clearing up the mess left behind by the President's verbal missteps. Benjamin King, former leader of the Vice Kings gang from the original Saints Row, becomes the President's Chief of Staff, while Pierce Washington has been appointed the Communications Director and Shaundi as the Director of the Secret Service.
Matt Miller, having abandoned the Deckers and, according to news broadcasts in Saints Row: The Third, announced an abstinence from the use of technology, presumably returned to the United Kingdom and became employed by MI-6 alongside new character Asha Odekar. Johnny Gat also returns after being thought dead in Saints Row: The Third. Stilwater, the location of the first two games, makes an appearance for one mission with most of the street gangs from the first three games making appearances as well.
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