Johnny Gat, the ultra-cool Saints Row stalwart who once ventured into the very depths of hell in a heavily-armed recliner to rescue the Boss, is headed to an all-new, and yet not all that terribly different, world of guns, explosions, and violent excesses. Deep Silver announced today that the character, along with unlock and personal missions, unique skins, and the voice acting talents of Daniel Dae Kim, is coming to Agents of Mayhem as an "exclusive" preorder bonus through GameStop and Steam.
How did this happen? The prosaic explanation is that Deep Silver holds the deeds to Saints Row and Agents of Mayhem, and so it can do whatever it wants with them. But narratively, it's a little more complicated: I won't spoil it for you, but it's tied directly to the "canon" ending of Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell, which ultimately saw Johnny returned to his old job as a cop in the city of Seoul.
"Gat’s been hard on the beat in this universe as a Lieutenant in Seoul’s police department, but the tragic events of Devil’s Night left Johnny in a coma," Deep Silver explained. "After awakening almost a year later, Johnny discovers that all of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency have been wiped out and replaced with C.O.P (Civilian Overwatch Patrol) robot units. Johnny hates robots, loves guns, and his reputation for wanton destruction makes him the perfect fit for Mayhem."
I'm not a fan of preorder-exclusive DLC, but having Gat in the game is an appealing prospect, especially since, based on our April preview, a lack of personality is one of the biggest challenges facing the game. It's also possible that the character will be made available for separate purchase sometime after Agents of Mayhem comes out—I won't go so far as to say it's likely, but I will point out that it happened with the Commander-in-Chief Pack that was offered as a preorder bonus for Saints Row 4. Make of that what you will.
Agents of Mayhem comes out on August 15.
