The Saboteur (PS3)

"The Saboteur" in a Nutshell: Players play the role of Sean Devlin, an Irish race car driver living in Paris during WWII. After his close friend is murdered by a particularly brutal Nazi general, Sean sets out to get vengeance. The world is portrayed with a beautiful black and white color palette with only colors related to Nazi occupation and resistance showing through (Red & Blue). As Sean's actions affect the world around him and inspire the resistance to fight back, color returns to the world. Players familiar with the GTA series will feel right at home with the games open world, mission based structure.

Think you might be interested in "The Saboteur",

Another "Game of the Year" discussion is upon us and I must begin compiling my top 10 games of this year. There has been a lot to play this year and a lot that I had to pass on for a variety of reasons but there are some games every year that are sadly overlooked and under appreciated. The Saboteur is one of those games. With the impending doom of Pandemic Studios on the horizon, I am afraid that the game may have been rushed out the door before it was ready only to be completely overshadowed by games such as MW2 and AC2. While the game is definitely not without faults, it was certainly an enjoyable experience.

Negatives:

Lack of Polish: Pandemic has developed a reputation for producing flawed and sometimes, downright janky games. Unfortunately, the Saboteur fits the same mold and will often drive players to distraction with it's glitchy character animation and horrid climbing mechanics. While the game often encourages players to put on disguises and take the stealthy approach, the broken controls and unbalanced enemy AI makes this nearly impossible. I don't mean to knock the gun-play in this game because it is definitely one of the better mechanics but more time could have been spent balancing the various game-play options.

Too "Gamey": The dev team did an excellent job of creating a beautiful recreation of Paris and immersing the player in the world but they ultimately bogged the game down with HUD. Stealth and enemy awareness is measured on the map with a colored ring. The effects of players decisions are reflected instantly on the HUD rather than through environmental cues. Rockstar is still the best at open world immersion.

Glitches: When forced into stressful situations and when trying to get full control of the character's actions, players are likely to run into problems.  Much like Assassin's Creed, it is incredibly frustrating when the character simply won't do it what you tell it to.  Unfortunately, this happens quite often and makes escape sequences less approachable and unnecessarily frustrating.

Positives:

Color Palette & Graphical Style: While returning color to an oppressed world is a concept that has been multiple times in games, I must applaud Pandemic for this design choice.  The world is beautiful, especially in Black and White and the sight of red propaganda and Nazi symbolism does an excellent job of accenting the world.  The rain effects are particularly well done.  While certain character animations are distracting, the world itself is beautifully realized.

Immersion: Some of the most impactful moments in the game come in the form of natural occurrences.  On more than one occasion I witnessed Nazis executing or arresting innocent bystanders on the streets and a particularly brutal set piece at the very end of the game was really well done.  The music, landmarks, dialogue, and portrayal of one of the most brutal antagonists our world has ever known come together to create an accurate portrayal of the time period and setting.

Story: While the story itself is a bit predictable, it is portrayed in the same manner as a popular summer blockbuster and remained interesting from beginning to end.  It won't win any awards for originality but should definitely be acknowledged for it's presentation.

Sabotage: The games namesake provides possibly one of the most addictive and impressive game-play elements.  Scattered throughout the huge world are Nazi guard posts, searchlights, propaganda speakers, and defensive guns.  By strategically sabotaging these objects with dynamite, players can not only inspire the resistance but make certain missions a bit easier to complete.  While the mechanic acts as little more than a glorified collection goal, it has a direct impact on the world and missions that you are required to complete.  Not to mention, blowing stuff up is just downright fun.

Variety: While missions often boil down to shooting and escaping, the motivations and mission objectives differ enough to keep the player interested and invested in the story.  When not completing missions, players can enjoy a nice burlesque dance, various races, a number of side missions or mini games, or they can simply scour the world and take a stand against the Nazi's. While stealth is often incredibly difficult to pull off, it is rather satisfying if accomplished.  Other nice touches like the ability to call for resistance reinforcements add a bit of strategy to each mission as well.

Recommendation: "The Saboteur" is a game with many flaws but it is a game that I definitely would recommend to anyone who enjoys open world, mission based games like GTA.  It may be little more than a rent to most people but If you enjoy this genre of game and you have some cash burning a hole in your pocket, go the extra mile and make the purchase.  Shop around a bit and i'm sure you can find a good deal at some retailers.  With more than 15 hours of game play in the main storyline and plenty of extra content to sink some time into, t stands out as one of the most visually and mechanically interesting GTA clones in recent years.

-Nick