The final game from Pandemic Studios is a memorable one. Inspired by the life of William Grover-Williams, The Saboteur is an open-world sandbox WWII game, where you work to liberate Paris from Nazi occupiers.
The Saboteur has one of the strongest opening hours of the era. Yeah, it’s heavy on tutorials, but it also gives a taste of the game’s myriad mechanics while setting up a compelling story. You go from an espionage mission to a flashback where you learn more about the protagonist, Sean Devlin (who is based on Grover-Williams). Sean is a Grand Prix driver, and in this opening sequence there’s even a sequence where you get to participate in a proper race.
What’s striking about the “present day” sections are the black and white visuals. Not unlike the effects in the film Pleasantville, the city of Paris is monochrome during occupation, but regains color as you drive the Nazis back.
After the excellent introductory hour, the game settles into a rhythm typical of the genre and the era. You bop around town completing missions for various NPCs, which progresses the story bit by bit. The missions include escort and stealth, with all of the problems inherent to them.
Sean is a cool and likable character, driven by both revenge and sex. Yes, The Saboteur is a weirdly horny game. You spend a decent amount of time in a brothel, which acts as one of your home bases. There was even DLC that unlock nudity. AAA gaming in 2009 was wild.
The Saboteur isn’t exactly high art, but it’s a bold and memorable experience from a talented studio that deserved better. While some aspects are typical of the genre and the era, it remains a relatively unique experience today, and one that I’m looking forward to spending more time with.
All screenshots captured directly from an Xbox 360 console.
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