In Saw, the Jigsaw Killer has healed Detective David Tapp from his gunshot wound, and places him in an abandoned insane asylum to teach him a lesson in life appreciation.

The development team brought in the Saw creators James Wan and Leigh Whannell to help with the storyline and create new trap designs for the game.

There are over eighteen different weapons available to players, including lead pipes, mop handles, firearms, and explosives.

Certain weapons may also be used for other purposes, such as cutting open a body to search inside, or breaking down a molding wall to reveal hidden paths.

According to the backstory in the film Saw IV, John encountered a series of events, including the loss of his unborn child, his diagnosis of an inoperable frontal lobe tumor, his divorce from his wife, and a suicide attempt that caused him to begin testing other people's will to live.

[7] David Tapp, a police officer who had his throat damaged by Jigsaw's knife and was later shot in the chest by a suspect named Zep Hindle, has been healed and is brought to Whitehurst insane asylum, an abandoned sanitarium with a reputation for medieval tactics and frequent patient abuse.

Jigsaw, a serial killer who is determined to spend the remainder of his life making people appreciate their lives, gives clues to Tapp as he progresses through the game.

Tapp is a veteran detective for the local police force who was recently discharged for mental instability after the loss of his partner, Steven Sing, an event which led him to develop an obsession with catching Jigsaw.

During the first Saw film, Tapp witnessed his longtime friend and partner, Detective Steven Sing, fall victim to one of Jigsaw's traps.

He saves Amanda, and she follows Tapp until a mysterious figure called Pighead captures her to fake her escape; she is actually Jigsaw's secret apprentice.

Jigsaw felt that Oswald was perverting his message, and so he was placed into a folding table trap, which will snap his body in half if Tapp fails to save him.

The game's sequel, Saw II: Flesh & Blood, contains newspaper clippings documenting Tapp's escape and subsequent suicide, confirming that this ending is canon to the franchise.

Attempting to run away from Tapp, Melissa desperately charges through a nearby door rigged with a shotgun, which kills her in the same way as her late husband, Steven Sing.

Tapp suffers a mental breakdown as a result of her death and is placed in a functional asylum where he still believes he is playing Jigsaw's games.

Prior to the release of Saw III, Twisted Pictures and Brash Entertainment announced they were planning to create a game based on the Saw property.

The game's plot was originally to follow that of the first Saw film, with the player assuming control of various characters in Jigsaw's traps, but this was later changed as development progressed.

[15] The development team brought in James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the creators of the first Saw film, to design new traps and help with the storyline for the game.

[16] On November 14, 2008, Brash Entertainment held a press conference announcing that they would be ceasing operations due to financial difficulties.

Other cast members include David Scully as Oswald McGullicuty and Kahn Doan as new character Melissa Sing.

While a few of the videos are inaccurate due to the developer making dramatic changes to the environment and gameplay, they still maintained the general roots of the game and the storyline.

The site was soon restored within a few days with updated information, including the official ESRB rating of Mature 17+ for blood and gore, drug reference, intense violence, and strong language.

The theme for Saw, a series of plunking piano keys joined by a bass drum and violins, can be heard during the menu screen and the end credits.

At some points during the game, a quick tempo score similar to the opening piano track is used to increase suspense during trap and puzzle sequences.

The game utilizes a minimalist approach to music, with most of the ambient sound being provided by other victims, screaming or taunting protagonist David Tapp.

Clayman praised the unique take on the survival horror franchise and the omnipresence of Jigsaw, but criticized the repetitive puzzles and the flawed combat system.

Although he claimed it was repetitive, Pettit mentioned that "If there was only one thing the game did well, I'd say the puzzles that are put before you are excellently constructed, well thought out and best of all, difficult enough that you may not get it on your first attempt."

Its violence and visual intensity sparked many allegations that the main goal of the game is to mutilate characters simply for the sake of doing so.

William Usher of Cinema Blend wrote that Saw pushed controversial boundaries and called it a "tutorial for sadists to get pleasure from".

"[49] Mac World writer Chris Holt showed surprise that Konami would choose to release Saw but refuse to publish Six Days in Fallujah due to controversial factors.

The protagonist is David Tapp's estranged son Michael, who seeks the cause of his father's death, which leads him into conflict with the Jigsaw Killer and the second Pighead.