Pandemic Studios deserved better. The development team behind the Mercenaries games and Star Wars: Battlefront closed its doors less than two weeks ago, shortly after completing work on its final project, The Saboteur. While it's sad to see such a talented team depart, at least it went out with its collective head held high. This World War II adventure lives up to the hype, with a stylish presentation and non-stop action,
You portray Sean Devlin, a no-nonsense racecar driver/mechanic taking part in a series of German events. In his latest one, he butts heads with a rival who shoots out his tire, taking him out of the race. To get even, Sean and his best friend sneak into a Nazi-occupied motor shop and crash the winning car. They're captured soon afterwards, and the driver who took him out reveals his true colors: he's a high-ranking Nazi officer. He kills Sean's best friend, but makes the mistake of leaving him alive. After breaking out of the stronghold guns blazing, Sean vows revenge and joins up with a resistance devoted to shutting down the Nazi regime in Paris.
The Saboteur uses a sandbox-style free-roaming environment, meaning you can complete objectives any way you wish. There are main story missions, along with side missions that earn you extra cash. You can use this to buy new supplies, weapons and ammunition refills, which are useful during Nazi confrontations. Sean also has other helpful skills, including stealth kills, car driving and hand-to-hand combat. Do these enough in the game, and you'll improve those techniques through a well-structured perk system. This gives you access to new tools and moves, which you'll need for later missions.
Along with strength, Sean also has surprising agility. He climbs up buildings with ease, jumping across ledges and sneaking up on his enemies. He's also handy with weapons, such as a machine gun, pistol or taking control of random AA cannons, destroying cars, trucks and huge zeppelins with a few well-timed blasts.
There are times when Sean is too good, and that's The Saboteur's bigger problem. He can take a few hits and dwindle down to almost zero energy, but go into hiding and recover it almost immediately. He's also much more agile than his Nazi enemies, save for the tougher soldiers later in the game. As a result, you'll win most (if not all) gun and fist fights. Harder difficulty bumps up the challenge, but if you're an experienced player, it's a cakewalk.
Lack of difficulty aside, The Saboteur plays wonderfully. Although the hand-to-hand combat is a little sloppy (punch, hard punch or kick your way to victory), the gunplay is very satisfying. In addition, there's nothing like dropping some dynamite on a huge fuel tower and scampering away before you're caught in the explosion. The climbing and sliding mechanics are equally impressive, even though it's hard to believe that Sean scampers along buildings and other structures without anyone taking notice.
What's great is the use of color. When you first begin, the city is almost completely black and white, save for little things like a blue scarf or the red blood that oozes from soldiers. However, once you liberate an area, it expands in huge, Technicolor fashion, giving you a clear notion of areas you control and what areas are still Nazi-occupied. This is a wonderful touch, giving you a better idea of what you're fighting for as you drive (or walk) through the city.
As for the in-game audio, it has its good and average moments. Dialogue sounds corny, although it doesn't go into laughably bad territory like the Resident Evil series. In addition, the game has an outstanding soundtrack, drawing you in to the World War II theme with several orchestral selections and 40s ballads. The sound effects do their part as well, from blaring sirens to the authentic hum of your vintage automobile's engine.
It's a shame that Pandemic Studios isn't around to work on a sequel for The Saboteur, because this is clearly one of its best games. The difficulty could've been tougher and the dialogue needed more work, but overall, this is a splendid action/adventure.
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