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Saboteur, The

EMAIL PRINT pc

7.7 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 20 critic reviews
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Based on 41 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: Pandemic Studios

Genre(s): Action, Adventure

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: December 8, 2009

Summary

Inspired by a true story, The Saboteur stars Sean Devlin, a street-tough Irish race car driver trapped behind enemy lines in 1940s Nazi-occupied France. Motivated by personal revenge, Sean fights, climbs, and races through open-world Paris, sneaking into the heart of the Nazi operations and sabotaging their every move. With the help of the French Resistance, the British intelligence, an arsenal of weaponry, street smarts and brawn, players exact revenge on those who aim to destroy Sean's life. From derailing trains and blowing up zeppelins to scaling famous Parisian landmarks and more, this action hero uses a broad range of weapons, explosives and vehicles to get the job done. As Sean takes down enemies, the citizens of Paris are empowered to resist the tyrannical Third Reich and their eyes open to the colorful world around them. This innovative mechanic, called the 'Will to Fight,' change the way Paris is seen and felt - from a dark and oppressed policed state to a bright and inspired world where the citizens fight back. As the player executes acts of sabotage against the occupying force, color returns to the stylized black and white world - both figuratively and literally. The ‘Will to Fight’ spawns an underground resistance that takes players not only through Paris, but across various parts of France. [Pandemic Studios]

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Computer Games Online RO

Thus, I warmly recommend the Saboteur not only to sandbox fans, but also to people looking for a special atmosphere beyond anything else, placed at the beginning of World War II.

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PC Gamer

Finishing it off and watching the credits roll is a bittersweet moment, as Pandemic's final game is also one of its finest. [Jan 2010, p.68]

GameStar

The GTA-clone has his strong points in lots of action and the thrilling setting of occupied Paris during WW2. Amazingly, a GTA-clone can be a great game, too, and if you like a hero fighting Nazis, then this is your game.

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Gamers.at

The Saboteur is a good "open world action game" with a great atmosphere, that unfortunately suffers from annoying AI-problems.

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PC Format

It's got entertainment in spades. [Feb 2010, p.86]

LEVEL (Czech Republic)

Refreshing journey back in time to World War Two. Perfect cast, spicy dialogues, stylish songs and adrenaline car chases help you forget about the messy physics. [Issue#186]

Games Radar (in-house)

The Saboteur is a charming mess. Yes, the unpolished gameplay can be frustrating and, yes, the storytelling can be silly. But as soon as we drove through the gorgeously stylized Paris – then jumped out of our nitro-fueled racecar to snap a unsuspecting Nazi’s neck – we didn’t care anymore. For us, the good overwhelmed the bad.

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Cynamite

Minor flaws prevent this game from reaching a higher score. Still, Saboteur is an atmospheric shooter with some innovative notions.

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Game Informer

The Saboteur may lack the polish of the contemporaries it boldly mimics, but protagonist Sean Devlin’s quest for revenge and an alluring 1940s Paris make this a World War II memory worth making.

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VideoGamer

As addictive as the perk goals are, it's the bread-and-butter sabotage that proves to be the real distraction.

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GamingXP

You can say whatever you want, but this is a great game. If you can live with some small bugs, you should go into the next store and buy this game.

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Cheat Code Central

A compelling if uninventive experience. Working in concert, this game's tired, uninspired mechanics still manage to get the job done; the whole is definitely more than the sum of its parts.

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InsideGamer.nl

The Saboteur causes mixed feelings. Paris is very living and the use of the black-white contrast is superb. On the other hand the game is rather glitchy and isn't polished up at all. The fun that you get out of sabotaging Nazi's makes up for most of it though.

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Total PC Gaming

A good game with some pretty outstanding aesthetic design. [Issue#29, p.52]

PC PowerPlay

A mix of good ideas, but they come off a little half-baked. [Feb 2010, p.59]

Strategy Informer

The Saboteur can be both addictive and engaging, but also rather stale, all at the same time.

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PC Zone UK

Combat feels clunky and unsatisfying. [Feb 2010, p.72]

Absolute Games

Five years ago, The Saboteur would have been lauded for its fresh ideas. Today, the only praiseworthy thing is its out-of-time soundtrack.

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GameShark

As it is, nothing really separates it and makes it unique. Despite the cool setting, this is by the numbers game design that you’ve played a million times before.

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Boomtown

The Saboteur was a great concept in an interesting historical period that's deeply broken by bad history, technical issues and poor gameplay choices.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.7 (out of 10) based on 41 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Nick N. gave it a7:
Very engaging beginning for me. But it gets slow and kinda gets boring blowing shit up for 5 hours. all around i had a ton of fun.

Stu W. gave it a5:
There are still issues with ATi cards. Ive installed the beta 1.3 patch and during the black and white scenes there are texture issues. There are also weird little glitches where AI controlled cars will drive over each other and flip over make the world seem a little unrealistic. All that said, these glitches do not make the game unplayable. The gameplay is fun, albeit a little repetitive. I would recommend the game overall, I hope with further patching the glitches would be solved.

Frank G gave it a4:
Played the first 'level' but it's called "Act" like a movie, and I'm almost tempted to uninstall it because of the terrible camera control. Often when a game is ported from consoles they don't quite get the mouse control perfect, and this is no exception. Also, driving cars is a bit distracting since those controls are slightly imprecise as well. On the good side, the visuals are quite pretty, and the mood is different than most 3rd person stealth action games, so that's nice. And there's even a censorship setting you can turn on or off but I hardly see why you'd want it off. I'm surprised to see a 7.9 User Score on this, and I wish I waited until this was in the bargain bin, which shouldn't be long from now.

[anonymous] gave it a9:
This game is very fun. It is a great combination of assassin's creed and gta4. I've put in about 10 hours now and can't get enough.

Kyle T gave it a9:
This game is certainly one of those hidden gems. Do not believe the subpar ratings it got in mainstream media. The color versus noir graphics work well together and serve as a means to make the player feel epic when they liberate part of Paris. The dialogue is great and voice acting is fantastic on most counts. Two characters in particular - Sean, the main character, and a priest who has been left frustrated by the Nazi occupation. The story, while nothing new, is fun to follow and serves to encourage the player to continue quite well. Revenge tales have all been told before, but Sean is an interesting enough character and he undergoes enough growth that the story does not become stale. Gameplay is great and this is by far one of the best sandbox titles out there. As many have said, it's like a combination of GTAIV and Assassin's Creed, but that's not a bad thing. The Saboteur combines gameplay elements from both and does it well and with a lot of polish. Climbing is great and only once or twice did I feel like Sean wasn't doing what I wanted him to and driving is way better than in GTA - sometimes, ultra-realistic vehicle suspension don't equal fun (I'm looking at you Rockstar). Blowing up Nazi installations at your leisure to gain contraband (the game's money) is fun in it's own right and there are plenty of weapons and alternatives to use while on your mission of destruction (including some wicked fun fictional Nazi weapons near the end). The set pieces are solid and get progressively more epic as you go with some truly fantastic gameplay moments like running through an exploding Zeplin or busting prisoners off of a moving train before it reaches the end of its trip at a bridge wired to explode. The gameplay is a mix of stealth and action with some fun minigames like racing or a duck hunt remix to break up the pacing. Graphics and character design are solid, although some optimization would help. I kind of felt that the game should have been able to run at higher settings on my lap top for the way it looked, but it wasn't too bad. There are games with far worse optimization out there. There are some bugs (the occasional floating object or Nazi) but they are rare. Sound design and the soundtrack is downright fantastic. Explosions and gunfire sound great and there's nothing like the purr of your racecar's engine as you flee from Nazi pursuers. The soundtrack is a blend of period music in English and French, many of which have been remixed or jazzed up in some way, but it's nice to drive to and the orchestral pieces for the more action packed moments serve to make them feel more epic. Overall, Saboteur is a must try for any sandbox or action fan. It's truly sad that it is Pandemic's final game as it is also the best by far. The ending alone is so simple, but so epic that it is one of the best game endings in a long time. The Saboteur is one hell of a ride and anyone looking for a solid title to fill some time should give it a shot.

wayne o gave it a9:
I have an AMD/ATI setup and i can confirm that this game runs fine on it, especially with the new beta patch installed (so i am pleased i ignored the previous negative comments). Had the game a day and so far loving it! The character of Sean (the irish guy) is great with his funny comments. The game kinda has a GTA meets Assasins creed feel to it..... it becomes really fun to try and do all the missions by stealth. Blowing up things never gets old :) Overall, i love the feel of the game and think this is gonna be one of those games i feel compelled to finish!!

Cody P gave it a10:
I was kind of unsure about this game when i first started, but I've come to very much enjoy the experience. I find myself constantly coming back to it and enjoying it every time. I've found a few glitches, but most of them have worked in my favor (ie. alarms not still going after loading a checkpoint) and even then they're nothing worse than I've encountered in other games. As for the people who have had issue with ATI cards, they must've fixed this somewhere along the lines, because I am running it just fine (hasn't crashed on me once yet and I've played quite a bit) under 64-bit Win 7 and an ATI Radeon 4870X2. Maybe that and the i7 just power through the problem spots, I dunno, but I do know that I haven't noticed any issues yet, even after playing for several hours straight. Moral of the story, if it runs for you, it's well worth a play.

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Saboteur, The

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