Pandemic have suceeded in creating a game worth it's weight in Nazi gold; or is it fool's gold? Read on and find out.
The number of times I have found myself doing a web-search for "Sin City - The Game", was getting worryingly high right up until the release of Pandemic Studios' final contribution to the world as we know it. The Saboteur casts players as "Sean Devlin", an Irishman with not much to lose after he lost everything at his spiritual father's home in the East of France to the Nazis. Now in Paris, he's out for blood - and nothing is going to stop him, not even the Third Reich's tyranny itself.
Essentially, The Saboteur could merely be viewed as one more "Grand-Theft-Auto" clone with a both a twist in character and a stark taste for destruction alike, yet this Stealth-Action-Adventure game plays out more as a cross between Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and of course the former mentioned GTA; as seen through the eyes of Sin City creator's Frank Miller.
While showing off an immersive yet flawed "Stealth and Infiltration" system, "Saboteur's" prime boast comes in the form of a stunning black-white-and red art-style presentation, which in turn dynamically changes depending on the protagonist's ultimate control over the area, or should I say ultimate freedom for that matter. With each area of Paris as well as the surrounding countryside cleared of Nazi control, color returns in a sweeping cloud of bright light respectively, giving The Saboteur a definite and obvious edge over most other games of it's caliber. Not only, yet throwing in the addition of memorable characters as well as an engaging plot, Pandemic have finally succeeded in creating a game worth it's weight in Nazi gold; or is it fool's gold?
Plot:
After his farm is burned to the ground in a blazing raid on the nearby town by Nazi Germany, Hard-Boiled and soon to be revolutionary, Sean Devlin moves with the little friends he has left to the red-light district of Paris [this questionable "twist of fate" is easily excused by the explanation that one of Sean's friends just happens to own an exotic dance club in the center of the most notorious district in Paris]
where he is in turn invited by the underground guerrillas to aid them in taking Paris back from Hitler and his cronies; and all the while cause some ample destruction, climb the Eiffel Tower multiple times with the intention of falling to your death simply for the sake of it, and taking advantage of the lovely ladies of France. Playing out as a brash combo of both Mel Gibson's Braveheart and Die Hard...wait, what? At it's heart, a typical revenge plot - The Saboteur features a likable protagonist who knows every curse word in the book, and enough film-noir inspired scenes to make Quentin Tarantino raise an eyebrow or two, while integrating explosive fast-paced moments right up until the end of the game.
Gameplay and Aspects:
With a heavy focus on an underdeveloped stealth system, as well as emphasis on sabotage and assassination, the experience as a whole slouches as a bitter-sweet experience throughout, yet; solid gunplay sequences and the ability to take any fallen Nazi's disguise [as long as he was killed with bare fists] add an intriguing twist, that - while slightly clunky [especially the latter mentioned] provide enough differentiationfrom other stealth-based games to stand tall at certain scenes.
To top off the combat-system, Pandemic set aside the time to integrate a half-baked melee system, which - while slightly unresponsive and tricky to control, adds some satisfying skull-cracking moments during stealth kill sequences.
As a side note, driving does make a solid appearance throughout the game, as protagonist Sean Devlin's background as a professional racer suggests. While sluggish at some moments, vehicles are authentic and fun to drive.
Another addition to the already fleshed-out gameplay, is the ability to climb any building without much practice - in fact, it's as simple as jumping onto a wall and pressing the "Jump" key continuously; you'll eventually reach the top of any given building in the city; early impressions of this system gave many the hope that the developers would continue to tweak it until it bore a similar resemblance to games such as Assassin's Creed or Mirror's edge per se. While it does provide some alternate routes to approach missions with, unfortunately it feels underdeveloped and monotonous at best, taking a seat in the crowd as merely an afterthought by the developers.
Visual Notes:
Paris is a bright place, with much variety and vistas to witness over the course of your exploration of it's rooftops. Besides the lights of the city, there is an expansive country-side to be explored, and while it does not offer the same rich presentation that Paris gives players, it's palette is so bright and vivid, that one must resign themselves on occasion to take such a mesmerizing sight of the sweeping valleys and foothills. As stated before, the inclusion of black and white adds a strong sense of character and time-period alike to the city's atmospheric essence.
While the absolute quality is not on par with other games of it's type such as even the now "over-a-year old" Grand-Theft-Auto IV, the character models are refined, the city is believable, and most of all - the personality exceeds most all other modern open-world games.
Further Explanation:
Other than the previously mentioned, the sound plays an important role in such a game as the Saboteur; it does not disappoint. Weaponry is believable, the soundtrack is enjoyable - and radio playlists are suitably obscene sounding in such a violent time [despite the fact that some of them seem to have floated back in time from the 1960's a few years back - seeing as their first recordings exceed WW2's ending date].
Furthermore, the voice acting is top-notch and provides much of the believability to the eccentricity of many of the games' lead characters.
Ultimate Conclusion:
While The Saboteur is not the market's average World-War-2 game or Open-World GTA clone for that matter, neither is it benchmark in today's gaming scene. It does provide some much needed refreshment to the visual department, yet like they say - graphics do not represent the rest of the product itself. The Saboteur is a flawed yet strong, and sometimes even stunning game. In terms of going out with a bang, Pandemic have done just this.
Why-To-Buy:
With a strong story, and believable cast - the alternate take on the ongoing battle against Nazi Germany has never been so compelling; The Saboteur carries it's own genius when it comes to it's novelty.
The artistic edge The Saboteur carries is no flop - anyone with a taste for both electronic gaming as well as art, should try Pandemic's last production on for size.
Why-To-Trash:
Clunky controls and gameplay aspects plague The Saboteur from start to finish - and while it's certainly not game-stopping it's obvious that EA set the release date a little too close to the bone for a fully polished product to emerge in the end; rendering it not on par with similarly driven games such as THQ's Red Faction Guerila.
-- SirMordredX