The Saboteur

[MJ12]

Gameplay doesn't look particularly good, but the visuals are nice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2gClnlzo4o

http://www.joystiq.com/tag/the-saboteur,@10-01-2009

The Saboteur has been catching eyes since its announcement way back in 2007 and now, with the game only a few months from release on December 8th, we got the chance to sit down with lead designer Tom French and art director Chris Hunt to discuss Nazis, their black-and-white recreation of the city of Paris, and killing the one while running around the other.

French did a quick presentation before our interview, where he told the story of William Grover-Williams – the racecar driver-turned-saboteur that the game's protagonist, Sean Devlin, is based on – as well as the cinematic influences on The Saboteur, from Raiders of the Lost Ark to The Third Man. Afterwards, we sat down with both designers to talk about why you'll find plenty of color, but no ghost guns (you'll see) or multiplayer in their upcoming game.

The Saboteur, Pandemic's latest open-world shooter about a rough and tumble Irish lad bringing color back to Nazi-occupied Paris, showed promise when we played an early build back at E3; but it definitely needed work.

Previewing a current build, I found that development has continued to progress. For one, you won't confuse The Saboteur with any other title this holiday season. The black-and-white landscape (part Casablanca, part Sin City; as lead designer Tom French describes it) is distinctive, with the "City of Lights" living up to its name and various splashes of Nazi-red creeping in among the buildings. The "look" of this game will definitely win some admirers, even if the gameplay doesn't end up quite as polished.

 

[CptStern]

what do you mean by the gameplay doesnt look good? I cant watch video. I've been waiting for a game like this for years. my hopes are high

 

[Lucid]

It's by the people who brought us such masterpieces as Mercenaries 2 and Lord of the Rings Conquest.

My hopes are lower than snake shit.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buj7dR5AdKY

 

[jimbo118]

I'll get it for the Irish main-character.

''Go take a shoite!''

 

[lefty]

The guns look too accurate and the jumping and flipping looks too weightless... The fact that it's third person and you can see him pull an entire rocket launcher out of his letter bag makes me think it's supposed to be a little fantastic, a little tongue in cheek, but I think that style of gameplay clashes a bit with the visuals and the setting.

 

[jimbo118]

Yeh the dev said there is alot of fictional stuff in it. Like special weapons, Zepplins(Zepplins werent used after the Hindenburg etc) and other stuff.

 

[the cow says moo]

I was gonna get this right away, but sort of lost interest in it. Now I'll probably wait until it's cheap.

 

[smwScott]

I think it looks cool, I wish he had actually used stealth in that gameplay vid though to see how good it was. I agree that the somewhat ridiculous GTA style gameplay doesn't really jive real well with the artsy Nazi-occupied France them they went for, but it still looks good.

 

[Shamrock]

Looks like it should be a fun game. I really REALLY like the concept behind this game though, and he was right, the art direction is definitely something worth picking up for. I'm going to see how people react to the game and probably try a demo (hopefully) or rent it.

 

[MRG]

The Saboteur left me pleasantly surprised after playing it.

From what I have seen so far, ( Quite a bit has happened within the first hour alone ) the game appears to deserve it's 7.0 to 8.0 rating. With a mixture of good audio, decent graphics & more or less fun & engaging gameplay, The Saboteur is on it's way to holding my attention past the initial "Ooo & Ahhh.." that comes along with playing a new game for the first time.

I was reading a review a few days ago where the game was compared to GTA & Assassins Creed. This of course caught my attention as I really like the GTA series & I thought Assassins Creed was great, that is up until the very end, where I thought the game fell apart. The first hour of playing, showed me a bustling city, during a dark & stormy night, complete with NPC's driving & walking along the streets, which in turn very much reminded me of the game Mafia, since both games took place about the same time. To out in the country, driving along dirt roads, passing farms.

An added "bonus" or perhaps I should say added level of tension, is the fact that the game takes place during WW2 & so there are a great number of German troops within the city. Manning check points & walking along the streets. Dotted around the city, are armored check points, complete with a light tank, though the tanks don't really look German. More like a mix between a Panzer 3 & Russian T-34. Of course if you cause problems, the German soldiers will come after you, Either with firsts or bullets, which in turn brings up a stealth monitor on your screen, showing the Germans awareness to you if you are out of sight. The AI does it's job, but is more or less basic in complexity.

The game isn't realistic, & I don't believe it's meant to be. Vehicles can take a lot of damage, they handle much better than a car will in real life @ high speeds & off road, though that's not to say they hug the road. because they will skid around & wipe out if you drive too much like a moron. One mission I snuck up on an enemy soldier up on a building, when I grabbed him & gave him an uppercut off the roof, It looked cool & he screamed all the way down, but I was too close to the edge myself & thus I fell off the roof. About 25 feet. My screen went red & I limped, but 5 seconds later, my health regenerated & I was fine. Ala Call Of Duty.

Being able to climb up the side of a building or structuer, ala Assassins Creed, is great. While perhaps not exactly realistic, unless you happen to be a Parkour expert, it's still an excellent gameplay mechanic I feel & from what I have so far seen, you can climb up almost everything in the game. Well, within reason that is. Being able to jack a car is nice as well for a quick getaway. Earlier while driving in town, I took a corner too fast & slammed into another driver, which resulted in him getting out of his car, yelling at me & shaking his fists. I then snuck up behind him, grabbed him & then beat the crap out of him, ending in a curb stomp. Well a passerby started yelling, which brought the guards, who shot me dead.

I like having perks I can unlock in game, which unlock new abilities. I also really like the Black & White visuals that fade in & out to color as you play. Keeps things Interesting & mixes well with the gameplay. The voice acting is well done I feel and the cinematics are well rendered, though not cutting edge by any means.

Anyways, that's just my brief thoughts on the game. So far, enjoyable.

oh, & the game comes with the ability to turn on or off "Nudity". Thus far, south of the border seems to be covered, though scantily, but the rest goes bare throughout the game. Not everywhere of course, just places where it would be.... appropriate. Not safe for Children or jealous wives/girlfriends. The random conversations in such places are at times amusing to eavesdrop on. The audio in the opening place of business that you start the game at, is well done.

-MRG

 

[Tyguy]

i was gonna shit all over this game but the movie didn't make it seem TOO bad.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

I've been having a blast with this.

 

[VictimOfScience]

I think I will be getting this when it is cheap as well. I can wait. Too much that is REALLY good that I have not finished or is coming out in Q1.

 

[Ravioli]

looks like it could be fun. Release date?

 

[Acepilotf14]

looks like it could be fun. Release date?

Been out for a while.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

Since the 8th of December.

 

[MRG]

looks like it could be fun. Release date?

December 2009.

Amazon, Bestbuy, Target all carry it.

-MRG

Spoiler

Update: - Alright, this is just cool. As you know, the game is in black & white w/color highlights. By this I mean, the game world will be in black & white, but things like Nazi armbands will be in bright red or windows in buildings will glow yellow & fires will have their normal color. An interesting effect I feel. I also noticed that randomly, the game would go full color, which is very nice. Tricks the eyes, as often times you'll not even notice it, until "you notice it". Well the full color isn't random I just found out. As you progress through the game, your actions will raise the moral of the underground Paris resistance. As you "Liberate" areas, the game unlocks from black & white to full color.