The Saboteur
The Saboteur is a third person action-adventure video game set during World War II and developed by Pandemic Studios.
Plot
The game's protagonist, (based on war hero William Grover-Williams), is an Irish man named Sean Devlin,[3] a regular among the racing groups of Paris. During a race against Kurt Dierker, a prominent Nazi.[4], Kurt shoots out Seans tires when its apparent Sean will win. Sean and Jules follow Kurt and drive his winning car from a cliff. THey are swiftly caught and interrogated by the Nazi's, and Jules is exectued after neither admits to being a British intelligence operative.
Sean escapes to Paris with Vidrine and Jules sister, and begins to drown himself in alcohol. Luc, a French Resistance fighter and famous author, eventually recruits Sean into blowing up Nazi strongpoints. During is escapades, he is contacted by Skylar, a female British racer and Seans on and off lover. Skylar drugs Sean and presents him to Bishop, who reveals that Skylar is a British intelligence officer, and recruits Sean in exchange for delivering Dierker to Sean. Sean sneaks into a masoleum and hijacks a chest that the Nazis had been investigating.
Gameplay
The player will be able to explore an open world Nazi-occupied Paris and some of the countryside and parts of Germany.[1] Color is a key element in the gameplay, and players will experience an Ōkami-esque style when entering certain parts of the city.[3] In order to make that district colored ("inspired") again, players must weaken the German forces occupying the area. In doing so, that district's citizens regain their hope, characterized by the "Will to Fight" (WtF) factor, a measure of public morale.[3] In areas with low WtF, the area is dark, with color being various shades of grey (with the exception of several German flags, bright red and complete with swastika), whereas in areas with high WtF, the area is vibrant and with full color.
WtF also affects gameplay, as in areas with low WtF, the area is filled with German soldiers who patrol in most places of the map in large numbers.
In areas with high WtF, the Germans will not be completely evicted, but they will no longer be everywhere at once, and will primarily be centered around military bases, barracks, police stations, HQs, and other strategically important areas. In addition, the French people will play an active role in the struggle for areas with high WtF. For example, if Sean, the main character, gets in a fight with German patrols, allies like the French Resistance, Maquis, and even French passersby will intervene against the occupiers.
The primary missions will revolve around exacting revenge on high-ranking German officers and officials, and getting to the point to be able to exact vengeance. However, the presence of secondary optional missions has also been confirmed. The effects will include access to new weapons and raising the WtF for certain regions.
Players will be able to navigate the environment with a dynamic set of moves, allowing for the use of different tactics in order to complete their objectives.
Throughout the game, players will upgrade their character in the form of "Perks". These will improve accuracy, ammo counts, damage and more.
Extra content
A code for extra downloadable content will be made available for people who purchase a new copy of the console version of the game. Purchasers of a used copy may also pay for this downloadable content on Xbox Live Marketplace or on the Playstation Network. PC users, however, will not need to download anything, as the extra content will already be included on the DVD.[5]
The extra content will provide the protagonist with extra brothels and hiding spots. It will also unlock a minigame which lets the player earn more in-game items such as weapons and a special car. Finally, the extra content will unlock the option of toplessness for the brothels' girls.[5]
Development
The game has been called the developer's swan song, since Pandemic Studios was liquidated after its completion.[citation needed]
Technical Praise for PS3 Version
The PS3 version has won acclaim by pioneering a new anti-aliasing technique on a console that has traditionally had difficulty with AA. Using one of the PS3's SPUs to perform after-image edge detection and blurring, under optimal conditions it manages equivalent to 16xAA.[6]
Reception
IGN rated The Saboteur a 7.5/10, praising its sound, black and white visuals, and "cheap thrills", while criticizing its unpolished gameplay and somewhat silly animation.
Gametrailers gave the game 7.6/10, calling the game yet another open-world destruction game of 2009. The game was praised for being fun, although the site criticized the choppy voice acting, unpolished end product, and emphasis on vertical platforming.
X-Play rated the game 3 out of 5, praising its unique look and setting, and the large variety of gameplay, but criticized its poorly-executed story, enemy AI, and various glitches.[7]
References
- ^ a b c "The Saboteur Release Date".
- ^ "The Saboteur System Reqs Revealed". NewGameNetwork. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
- ^ a b c Torres, Ricardo (April 7, 2007). "Saboteur First Look". GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ "Saboteur Interview". GameSpot. April 6, 2007. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ a b Jim Reilly (December 3, 2009). "Nude Pack Gives Gamers Choice in The Saboteur". IGN. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
- ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-saboteur-aa-blog-entry
- ^ http://g4tv.com/games/xbox-360/45188/The-Saboteur/review/