The Saboteur Xbox 360

Released on 04/12/2009

• The Saboteur Review

  Pluck of the Irish

  Pandemic Studios, developer of critically acclaimed games such as Destroy All Humans and Star Wars Battlefront, is, sadly, no more. But their final project, The Saboteur, is a pretty amazing swansong.

  The Saboteur is set in Nazi occupied France during the Second World War and is loosely based on actual events (very loosely, we imagine). The star of the show is Sean Devlin, a tough Irish racing mechanic who, mightily miffed at the Germans' poor racing etiquette, takes it upon himself to team up with the French resistance and Allied forces in order to bring about the demise of the entire Nazi machine. What a grudge! Thus begins the first open world game set in 1940s France.

  Playtime in Paris

  Sean, as you may have already guessed, is the Saboteur of the title; the whole of Paris is pretty much his playground and the city of love makes a stunning backdrop to the game. Paris' iconic landmarks loom large in the game as Sean plies his destrutive trade from the top of the Eiffel Tower, the banks of the Seine, the Champs Elysees and the cathedral at Notre Dame.

  Paris' iconic landmarks loom large in the game as Sean plies his destrutive trade.
  

  In truth though, it's not just the landmarks but the entire city that has a role to play. At street level Sean will conduct his day-to-day activities, encountering sexy women, meeting contacts and setting up epic missions that will see our hero blowing up Zeppelins, derailing trains, destroying bridges and enemy facilities, and basically screwing up the Nazi's plans in any way he can. The action also takes place above street level with the city's rooftops enabling Sean to get a tactical advantage and explore and perform surprise attacks from on high.

  Stealthily Does it

  Devlin, despite being driven by hatred, can be quite a careful fella, and success is about a combination of spectacularly destructive activity and judicious use of stealth tactics. On his way into a mission Sean will need to carefully climb sneak and perform stealth kills in order to infiltrate a Nazi stronghold before performing his act of sabotage. Once everything is set, he can then make his spectacular escape by any means possible, which usually involves liberal use of weaponry and hijacked vehicles.

  Once everything is set, Sean makes his spectacular escape by any means possible, which usually involves liberal use of weaponry.

  Another feature more than worthy of note is the way the look and feel of the game changes throughout. At the start everything is pretty bleak on the streets of Paris, the action being played out in gloomy monochrome and the place locked down by the oppressive Nazi forces. It's a grim police state and feels like it. However, as Sean 's actions start to have an effect so Paris's citizens are inspired to resist oppression and the place becomes brighter and more vibrant the further into the adventure we progress. It's a nice touch in a game that's already full of period details and atmosphere.

  We're used to games based on World War 2, but almost exclusively in the context of first-person shooting action. This gives us a whole new, and very stylised, perspective on proceedings and it works beautifully. If you fancy the job of bringing down the Nazis - and let's face it, who doesn't? - this is a spectacularly enjoyable way of getting the job done.

  GAME's Verdict

  

  • Open world gameplay.
  • Superb missions.
  • Evolving environments.

  

  • Daft plot.
  • The visuals aren't all that impressive.
  • The A.I. isn't the smartest we've ever seen.

  Review by: Simon 'Mine's a Guinness' Kirrane
  Version Tested: PS3, Xbox360
  Review Published: 03.12.09

  Published: 03/12/2009

• The Saboteur Review

  World War Won

  Chances are you're getting used to fighting through the Second World War by now. From the beaches of Guadalcanal to the deserts of Africa, videogames have strafed, bayoneted and tank-rushed the Axis powers into oblivion again and again. While the Nazis make handy targets to shoot out at, you could be forgiven for thinking this is one setting that's been totally wrung dry.

  Well perhaps you should check out The Saboteur, a WWII game with an entirely different take on a very familiar conflict. Ditching the traditional first-person approach to the battle for Europe, EA's latest pitches you into a GTA-inspired open world game in which you bring the Nazis to their knees through a mixture of street fighting and dirty tricks.

  Irish eyes are smiling

  Meet Sean Devlin. Dropped into 1940s Paris, a beaten-down city occupied by German troops and riddled with checkpoints, barbed-wire and siege cannons, Sean's a hard-drinkin' two-fisted Irishman who wants to avenge the death of his friend by taking on the entire Nazi party at once.

  This generally involves racing a range of natty 1940s autos through the cobbled streets of the city, taking on missions from a range of allied factions - some of whom can't be entirely trusted - and generally chewing up any passing Gestapo with the game's wide range of weapons.

  True to The Saboteur's title, Devlin will also spend a lot of his time sneaking through enemy facilities, planting explosives and crippling the Nazi war machine one fuel depot at a time. There are plenty of stealth options to go alongside the broader run-and-gun approach, with a range of quick kills available if you can get close enough, and the ability to don Nazi uniforms when Devlin needs to go undercover.

  There's a suspicion meter at the bottom of the screen which tells you how much attention you're attracting from nearby soldiers. When your cover's blown it's back to the all-out carnage as gunfire erupts, turrets spark to life, and your best option is almost always to grab the fastest car you can see and race into the distance until things calm down a bit.

  Sabotaged?

  It's exciting stuff at times, but it isn't perfect. While there's a handful of standout missions, generally book-ending the game's separate acts, Devlin's tasked with a lot of fetch-quests and backtracking as he liberates Paris.

  Both stealth and climbing (like a lot of current videogame characters, Devlin's able to scale the game's environments to get the drop on the enemy) are fairly fiddly at times: when sneaking about, your cover will often be blown for no reason at all, while scrambling up the city's chimneys and guttering is a slow, awkward business which provides the perfect opportunity for Jerry to shoot you in the back.

  Top of the mornin', dude

  The script and voice acting could also do with some work. Devlin's lumbered with a pretty unconvincing accent suggesting he's spent at least a little of his adult life surfing in Malibu, while the story plods along in some fairly obvious directions. Most of the wider cast is pretty uninspiring too ? although Skylar, the requisite hot English spy with a nice line in scarves, will always have a special place in our hearts, not least because of the zippy racing car she lets Devlin blast around in.

  While it's not the best looking game, with some pretty blocky vistas and awkward animation, it makes up for this with a bold art style that sees Devlin liberating a moody black and white city from Nazi oppressors, bringing colour and sunshine with him everywhere he goes.

  With a couple of standout moments, some nice perks to unlock along the way that provide Devlin with meatier powers to use against the Nazis, and absolutely tons of side-quests and mini-objectives to mop up, The Saboteur is a decent chunk of action.

  It's not the most polished game by any means, but if you feared you were tiring of the same old Second World War clichés, this may be the title you've been looking for.

  

  Boom
  + Cool art style.
  + Plenty of explosive action.
  + Brilliant period motors.

  Gloom
  - Dodgy plot.
  - Dodgier acting.
  - Even dodgier stealth.

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