Action fans should find The Saboteur enjoyable despite a few technical issues.
GAMEPLAY (8.0) - Though Sean obviously has driving skills he's also pretty handy with a variety of weapons, the most useful being explosives that he can plant on literally hundreds of German outposts, including sniper towers, fuel depots, searchlights and anti-aircraft guns, among many others. To help get up close to the Germans Sean is able to don disguises, acquired by sneaking up to an enemy and taking them down with a sucker punch or a quick twist of the neck. Once disguised he is able to walk into German outposts, but if he walks too quickly or gets close to a Gestapo agent he will be spotted so he has to stay slow and cautious to set the explosive, slip away and watch the fireworks from a safe spot. The problem is that many times the stealth approach just didn't seem to work like it should, and Sean would be discovered too quickly. This didn't mean the mission was a failure as Sean could still have a chance to get in and out guns ablazing, but for a game that gives the impression of specializing in stealth this is actually one of its weaker elements.
There is a good mixture of missions to keep Sean busy such as scouting, rescue and the occasional theft. Sean is also able to climb the sides of buildings and jump rooftops to get a good position for a sniper shot or to take down an outpost set on a roof. The climbing is a bit more realistic than in games such as Prince of Persia or Assassins Creed, but unfortunately this means that it takes Sean quite a bit longer to scale buildings and considering how often he is going to do that it would have been better had the game let him climb at a faster pace. The driving controls have an arcade-like fast paced feel, whereas the shooting mechanics feel responsive, though again, more of an arcade feel instead of realistic.The control over Sean can be a bit stiff, making him difficult to move around. Eventually the player will get used to it but at the outset it feels unwieldy.
One of the game's bright points is its "perks" system that rewards players for performing certain tasks around the game world. These can be 10 head shots using a sniper scope, or collect every vehicle in the game and store in the garage. The rewards Sean can get from them can be really beneficial such as obtaining new weapons, new vehicles or even character traits that stop him from getting knocked over by explosions, for example. The problem is, other than the main story, The Saboteur isn't really that much of a "sandbox" game per se. There are limitless possibilities of destruction for anyone who's willing to investigate and just mess around in the environment, but other than about 12 side missions and over 1,000 pieces of German presence that need to be blown up, it seems to be skimpy on the sandbox aspect. The environment itself though is absolutely huge and represents all the major landmarks of Paris in stylish fashion, and it can be fun to lose an hour or two just driving around and finding Nazi items that can be destroyed.
GRAPHICS (8.0) - The first thing that will impress gamers is the use of color. When Sean first enters Paris the city is almost completely black and white, save for little things like a blue scarf or the red from the Nazi flags. However, once a mission is completed it will "liberate" that area and the color expands in a huge fashion reminiscent of Prince of Persia, giving the player a clear notion of areas he controls and what areas are still Nazi-occupied. This is important as the player will receive support from the French resistance if he gets into a fight with the Nazis in a liberated area, while if he's in the grey areas he knows he's on his own. It's a great touch, giving one a better idea of what they're fighting for as they drive through the city. Unfortunately there are some problems, such as occasionally poor character animations or glitches such as dead enemies or weapons floating in the air. The game suffers from feeling like it was rushed out the door and needing a few more months of development before it was released. In summary it gets high marks for its art style but low marks for its technical issues.
AUDIO (8.0) - The audio has its good and average moments. Dialogue sounds corny, although it doesn't go into laughably bad territory. Most of the accents, including Sean himself, sound more like they come from a low budget movie than authentic. The game has an outstanding soundtrack, drawing the player into the World War II theme with several orchestral selections and 1940's ballads. The sound effects do their part as well, from blaring sirens to the authentic hum of the vintage automobile's engine.
VALUE (9.0) - While The Saboteur does not offer any multiplayer modes it should give most gamers their money's worth. By the time I finished the game I had put in over 25 hours. This did include completing all of the side missions as well as randomly destroying hundreds of Nazi items. I have to say I can't imagine anyone attempting to play this game by only doing the main story, as not only are the sidemissions fun and interesting but they can greatly aid Sean in completing the main story by liberating different areas as well as providing extra cash for obtaining improved weapons and equipment. This is a game I am continuing to play as there are still hundreds of pieces of Nazi equipment left to be destroyed, and this is a much more enjoyable way to pick up those final achievements as opposed to just finding hidden items as most other games are apt to do. Speaking of achievements, by the time I finished the main story I had 750, definitely more than I usually end up with.
SUMMARY - The various technical issues don't keep The Saboteur from being compelling. The game's missions are generally well thought out, and the extra freeplay activities substantially extend its lifetime without getting stale. Despite some questionable accents the story was well told and the acting was entertaining in a B-movie sort of way. The Saboteur is a game that action fans should enjoy despite its shortcomings, and most will probably find themselves going back to it when they have a little free time.