This deserves far better than a 72 Metacritic rating. I suspect "Saboteur" is a victim of it's namesake. Framerate hiccups and hand-to-hand combat is clunky, but it excels in story and the ability to suck you into the environment. Not to mention, the auto-cover system is the best of any game yet. I can't believe that the absolutely BORING "GTAIV" got a 98 and this can't scrape up an 80. Something is wrong here.… Expand

This game hasn't gotten its due. It is groundbreaking? No. But the 3rd person shooting is better, measurably, than GTA 4's, and the escape and climbing mechanics feel like they matter. Escaping Nazis has a certain air of mystique to it that this game captures perfectly. The setpiece or 'wow' moments are perfectly paced and particularly amazing. Are the traffic systems as refined as GTA 4? Hardly, but I still can't stop playing this game. It's an enjoyable experience start to finish, and a surprising one at that.… Expand

I really do not know how people like Total Video Games can give this game such a low rating, it is one of the best i've played, and i've played a few games similar to this, E.G assasins creed 2 and GTA IV and i still think this game tops both of them in areas uncredited for which im really annoyed about, because people are telling me that this game will get a sequel if the game sells well, but it wont sell well when people are giving biased ratings like that!… Expand

This is a game that not only compares favorably to some of the better GTA knock offs (CRACKDOWN) but in some aspects is as enjoyable as the GTA games. Great graphics, interesting missions and most of all addictive and FUN gameplay.

I'm having a lot of fun with this game. Driving around blowing things up and driving through cows :] The dialouge has some pretty funny moments and the story is decent enough. Recomended!

The reviews are mostly wrong.The driving is great, the action is great, the story is fun, the characters are interesting, the climbing is fun and not ripping off Assassin's Creed 2 doesn't mean it isn't, the settings are wonderful- the only accurate thing is that yes, the graphics are ground breaking. Who cares. It's a great vibe, a great atmosphere, fairly brave to use such a huge extent of black and white, and at it's base, it's just fun. Do yourself a favor and try this game. If the box said "RockStar" on it, it'd get over 90s easily.… Expand

I've been following the game since they first announced, and I must say, I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I've easily spent the better part of the day running around Nazi infested Paris and sabotaging the Nazis. I was shocked when Nazi's randomly carted an old lady away in the streets! Makes killing Nazis all the more fun.

Game much better than ratings it has been getting. It doesn't need to load every 5 seconds like Assassin's creed 2 and has much richer enviroment that allows user to solve missions in a variety of different ways. The stealth system is better than creed, I also prefered the climbing system, at least it is clear what you can or cannot hang on to. Just a shame about voice acting and script. EA haters shame on you! Got it wrong on this one.… Expand

The game is tell about wwII ussually this genre is fps but the one of this. They make Sandbox no FPS again (like Call of dutty, Medal of Honnor, etc)

an awesome game. sure, the graphics might not be amazing or the combat the best, but the artistic style and sandbox world make this one of the sleeper hits of 2009.

This game has been highly underated. It is also huge I have now played for 20 hours and I have only finished 50% of the main missions and 20% of the freeplay goals. I just performed a mission in which I had to free a prisoner from a nazi prison and in order to do this I first stealth killed a soldier to get a nazi uniform, then I planted some explosive on a nazi vehicle and left it near the main entrance. Next I used a sniper rifle to clear the roof of guards and then used a rope to climb to the roof. I then killled a guard carrying a submachine gun with a suppressed hand gun and swapped out my sniper rifle for the submachine gun. I decided it was time to get loud and gunned down the two guards that were carrying flame throwers that were guarding the prisoner. The machine gun fire was heard and the alarm sounded and my cover was blown. I opened the prisoner cell, detonated the fuel tank which wiped out most of the guards on the front entrance and then sprinted to my pre-planted sports car escape vehicle with the prisoner and escaped to a area of the city which I had already liberated and which fought back against the Germans that were chasing me. I think that if this game gets any negative reviews the reviewer has not given it enough time to understand its nuances as it took me about 5 hours to realise the depth of options available with missions. Sorry to see Pandemic closed down after they release a game that is so great.… Expand

I'm really very curious to see what the reviews are like for this game once they all come in. This title sounded extremely promising when I first heard about it, but the actual execution is a great fall from it's potential. Not only that, but the gameplay is nearly identical to the 'Godfather' games, only with a much stronger emphasis on climbing and mass destruction. And in my opinion, the 'Godfather' games are actually superior. The story, voice acting, atmosphere are all mediocre at best and oftentimes sub-par. This mostly stems from the developers apparent desire to turn a story about Nazi-occupied Paris into a Steven Seagal film. These elements make up a mostly bland experience, but I still give it a slightly above-average score for the times when it does get close to it's potential.… Expand

The critics are totally wrong about the game, the story is great, graphics are ok but the gameplay is outstanding. While you played the first five missions or so you really get into it.

The Saboteur is great fun. In a world where GTAIV gets 10's, seeing this game recieve such a low score feels like some kind of injustice. The gameplay mechanics stand head and shoulders above GTA, and while the story may be a little cliche and contrived, but overall the game is very enjoyable!

Phenomenal experience. Brilliant voice-acting, action, and a wonderful stealth system. This is Pandemic's swan song and even though they've broken my heart with Mercs 2 but I love this game. Anyone who enjoys a sandbox experience should own this game.

Not great... and I'm unsure how that destructoid fellow found that opinion, to me, each and every game mechanic is broken.

The game pulls you in with its Sin City look. I got this on the cheap and its worth it so far. Yes, it does have sluggish controls but its just fun to play. I think its an 8.5 actually. It reminds me of a 1940s GTA with a little Assasins Creed thrown as far as the climbing elements. If you like GTA and you have interest in shooting Nazis then you will enjoy this one.

Great game totally underrated by metacritic as usual, actually enjoyed the gameplay better than AC2 due to the multiple ways to accomplish each objective on your own time. Great game.

I am not a Pandemic fanboy, I loved the first Mercenaries game, but found the second unplayable. Ditto with Star Wars Battleground (and don’t get me started on LOTR Conquest!). So, before buying The Saboteur I waited till all the critics were listed on Metacritic. Having seen the game get a lowly 7.2 and lots of warnings about ‘broken’ game play and glitchy graphics I passed by on the other side. However, after playing everything decent game for the X360 I decided to rent TS.... and oh boy am I glad I did!........ Dear reader after playing the game for 6 hours I bought a copy! Quick review and rebuttals: Game mechanisms. Nothing wrong with the driving - this is an area I usually struggle with, but I find I have no trouble with the vehicles found around the streets of Paris. The stealth elements are also fine and problem free - wether its going over the roof tops or by using a dead soldier’s uniform as a disguise. The latter has come in for some criticism as ‘broken.’ Not proven in my opinion - you just have to be very careful how near you get to enemies and what you get up to while being ‘watched.’ Climbing has been bashed by the critics. This too is fine. Sure Sean Devlin is no Altar, but he is a whiskey loving, womanizing, chain smoking Irishman not an elegant renaissance assassin. And after he scales a building and reaches the rooftop playground he is much more fun and easy to use than his ancient counterpart. Shooting and brawling are great to.... Sure there is no ‘lock-on’ but I have always thought that was a little bit like hand holding in other titles. So I don’t miss it a all. Graphic aren’t cutting edge, they more detailed than Saint’s Row 2, but not as eye bleeding as GTA 4.... and there are ‘jaggies’ which I hate - hence the loss of one star from my score. Many critics have reported graphical ‘glitches on glitches’ and ‘bugs on bugs.’ With sandbox titles I always install them to my 360’s hard-drive which usually minimizes such issues. And so in 12 hours of game play I have only spotted a couple of minor (not game breaking in any way) errors - a piece of the nose cone of a V2 I destroyed got stuck in the sky for a few seconds and one character ran backwards into a cut scene. The music is limited (only a handful of tracks), but right for the WW 2 French setting, I would have liked more.... Reasons to be cheerful. The setting is terrific. The action is intense (yes that includes the stealthy in disguise moments - some of which actually made my pulse race). It a great, fun, true sandbox game! And that it doesn't spoon feed or hand hold the player all the time is a plus for me. There are, for instance, moral dilemmas , that, as far as i know do not effect the game, the players standing, or get any achievements. They are not even drawn attention to....... An example is that while traveling through Paris you will see the civilian population being mistreated or even about to be executed by the enemy. Do you ignore their plight and leave them to die, etc or do you rescue them - which usually results in the player being chased by enemy soldiers and so delaying whatever it was you were going to do in the first place? Also, the ‘free play’ destroy anything that belongs to the enemy element, has given me some of the best moments I can member in gaming (better than many missions in other sand box games). For example, there is a coastal installation consisting of V2s (both above and underground) an AA gun, a tank, a train and lots of enemy soldiers. This took me quite a while to crack and could have been tackled in many different ways. Also, there is the problem of how to get into ‘closed zones’ that Devlin doest have the correct ‘papers’ for (no GTA lover no waiting for them to be opened for you here!). So why did a great game like this do so poorly with the critics when a piece of over hyped tat like Halo ODST got rave reviews (I was sucked in by them.....)? Well its fashionable to say WW2 games are passe, and that EA aren’t particularly hip, and only the GTA franchise can legitimately use the sandbox genre..... Also, it may be that some critics are paid up members of the P[olitically] C[orrect] brigade, and do not like a game whose main character is a hard drinking, chain smoking. brawling, womanizer (based on me then!) whose secret hide-our is at the back of an adults only night club! But for those of us that do like WW 2 games, don’t need spoon feeding and like our playable characters more Gene Hunt than Gene Autry this game is fabulous!… Expand

I was not excepting much out of this game considering the average reviews, but I must say, I found myself addicted very quickly and I consider the saboteur one of the surprises of 2009. The high contrast B&W style and the soundtrack are simply delightful. The setting (paris during WW2) is simply genius, especially if you have even been to paris, you will enjoy this simplified, stylized version of the city, with all of its famous landmarks. The game combines multiples gameplay types: open world, destruction, driving, shooting, climbing, sneaking, etc. Yes, not all of these gameplay elements are perfect, but they come together very well to make a very exciting game. The main story missions will often make good use of those different gameplay genres. The story is good and the ending is satisfying.… Expand

Some people are hard to please. This game is excellent. The dialogue is far better than 99% of other games and it's quite funny at times. I really enjoyed this game. It's got a massive map and gives a real sense of what the atmosphere would have been like in war torn France. The colour scheme is very dramatic and suited to the game, well done Pandemic. Shame on you EA for letting them disband.… Expand

The Saboteur has been a big surprise for me. I wasn't expecting much considering the recent news about Pandemic and the competition that's out there these days, but this game is great! I can't understand why the critics are so harsh on this one. Unlike Mercenaries 2, Pandemic has put together a polished experience here with strong characters, good-looking in-game cinematics, and sticky gameplay. The perks system and story will keep you playing for hours on end! And it just keeps getting better as the game progresses. Though it doesn't have multiplayer, it's a solid single-player experience that I can see myself playing through again with a friend to get them into it. Pick this game up! Thank you Pandemic for your contributions to the industry! I hope this game is remembered for being a solid sleeper hit.… Expand

One of the best action adventure games of the year for me and highly underated. I am really enjoying the story, cheesy humor, setting and characters. Sure it is a little rough around the edges, but it has so much atmosphere, character and charm. Gameplay wise it is like Assassins Creed crossed with GTA set in WWII era Paris fighting the Nazis! Oh and I almost forgot about all the eye candy. Those who have played it will know what I mean ;)… Expand

This is the last WWII game I ever buy. The Genre has gotten stale and while this game had what seemed to be a different take, it just falls flat. The graphics are garbage, the story is lame and game play sucks. Unlike the other people here I found the dialogue to be servicable with a couple laughs.

The game was a very positive surprise - I went in not expecting much, but the game just pulled me in and wouldn't let go. Going by todays industry standards I was expecting the game to be a lot shorter, but in fact it has a deep main story with side missions to boost the play time even more. Plus the free-play will likely take ages to completely finish. I did encounter some glitches - like getting stuck inside a wall and having enemies respawn, but then again having more nazis to shoot at is not neccessarily a bad thing at all :)… Expand

I thought it was one of the top games out this year, the storyline is great and the explosions are fantastic.

Most fun I've had in months. Deserves much more recognition. Some of the best sandbox style missions in any open world game yet. Awesome soundtrack and art style. Just don't dismiss it from the clumsy opening few hours.

personally I think this i a great game. Okay so the graphics aren't the best ever but there hardly terrible and anyway the stylised grey scale effects are fantastic and really and really add a sense of originality to the game. The game play is good although there are some little faults, the climbing system is a little to slow and should flow better instead of asking you to repeatedly tap a it should be more of an assassins creed style mechanic. Luckily though this neither ruins the fun of the game or is frustrating. Don't listen to the bad/average reviews this is given on websites and magazines this is a great game. Had pandemic not gone under shortly after release there could have been DLC/ a sequel which is a real shame.… Expand

a very fun game, it surprised me, i really didn't think it was going to be that fun. i will definitely pick this up for cheap the next time i see it.

Fun for a while but then it becomes just another GTA clone in a different setting. Pity because I was sort of enjoying it. I got my $20 worth but it's just not for me. I don't think it could have been much better as it is what it is. Blowing stuff up is fun but becomes repetitive and very formulaic. The story wasn't very interesting (revenge plot oooooooooo). Overall it had some nice ideas that worked the best they could.… Expand

An amazing game that is just such fun to play. The city is well designed and the parisian landmarks are recreated in immense detail, notably the eiffel tower, montmarte and notre dame etc. The map is huge and just driving around the countryside is a joy in itself. The story and missions are excellent and a great mix of stealth, planning and all out guns blazing. Blowing up the nazi installations and killing nazis just never gets boring. Sure there are some faults such as escaping from alarms can be frustrating and the difficulty can vary wildly but this doesn't detract from the enjoyment. What a shame that Pandemic's masterpiece is also their last.… Expand

This is an example of a GTA clone done right: open world, but with its own unique theme, gameplay elements, and story. Let me break down the stuff IGN-style: Gameplay: A great mix of tense stealth, solid gunplay, and suitable platforming, all tied up in an open-world bow. It doesn't always gel, though; driving is awkward and feels almost on-rails during races, there are many silly arbitrary game mechanics (Aiming a gun at a Nazi's head raises the stealth meter less than walking within 20 feet of an explosion), and Sean is selectively superhuman, withstanding hundreds of bullets, yet oddly, not a 230-foot fall. 7.5/10 Presentation: The menus are stylish and accessible, though the map is 3 clicks in and it never tells you you can set waypoints. HUD is clean and easy to read until you're near death, at which point it becomes a blurry red mess, making it harder to get out of the line of fire. 8.5/10 Graphics: Super-stylish yet detailed, Paris might be one of the most convincing open worlds I have yet to play. I actually feel bad when I restore color because the black and white looks so good. 9.5/10 Sound: Plenty of voice-acting stereotypes, but the soundtrack fits the atmosphere well, and the dialogue delivers the same laughs evoked by most '80s action flicks. I am constantly annoyed by how Nazis screaming in pain don't affect your stealth meter, though. 9/10 Lasting Appeal: A game built to be played for a loooong time. The storyline is only about 8 or so hours if you play it in a line, but that's missing the point. The free-play missions (races, blowing up Nazi installations, climbing landmarks) are the real meat-and-potatoes of this sandbox. 9/10 Selling Points: Great graphics, fun gameplay, LOTS of things to do, sometimes hilarious dialogue Critical Points: Could've spent a few more months in the polisher, there are plenty of minor annoyances and bugs; Missions and story get disjointed near the end Rest in peace, Pandemic. And buy this game, console owners.… Expand

Seriously, WFT is wrong with the likes of IGN and Gamespot giving this such a low score? Just how much are those lowlifes getting paid by the companies to rate AAA titles so highly when they are sh*t, yet great games like this so poorly when they are great? The Saboteur is your usual sandbox game with a few tweaks. Set in WW2, both the graphics and audio aspects of the game go to create a superbly atmospheric world and as the game starts out it promises to be an outstanding experience. Unfortunately that promise falls a bit flat when you get out into the world and realise that it's just another sandbox game. However, when you persist past that you find that the game itself is just an absolute boatload of brilliant fun. Because of easy going freerunning controls and quick + exciting controls in general (makes combat loads of fun), cars which don't explode within two crashes, loads and loads of explosions + nazi killing and a ton of missions this game just chuffing rocks and rocks hard. Stealth is a bit sloppy (esp the disguise aspect of it), you can find yourself looking at your radar throughout the game a bit too often for my liking, and if there was a tiny bit more of an RPG aspect to the character interaction the game would be better for it. But overall the game's a blast - it finds a quality balance of OTT action and down-to earth realism for you to fear danger at most turns, but not be afraid to let lose and go crazy when you have to. In Nov 2011 I purchased this for £8, at Xmas 2011 I bought Skyrim + Dark Souls. Come Feb 2012 Dark Souls and Skyrim got consigned to the "games to swap bin" a while back and I'm still playing this which is firmly rooted in my "games to keep forever" collection. Buy it now.… Expand

This is a game with a great deal of fun action sequences and a brilliant alternate history story line, it has dragged me back in again to try and find all the tanks and to destroy all the emplacements