World War 2 is a strong market for almost all media. WW2 books and movies have had a history of doing decent business, some of the most successful Video Game titles are about WW2. In all of those games, you ended up being the man behind the rifle (Call of Duty, Medal of Honor), or flying the plane (Heroes of the Pacific), or leading an army (Close Combat, Company of Heroes, Men of War) or a team of special agents (Commandos, Silent Storm) against the Nazis in battle. Pandemic Studios takes a new take on story-telling during the World War 2. Enter Sean Devlin, an Irish mechanic turned race driver turned secret agent (loosely based on a true life war hero – William Grover-Williams), who is fighting the Nazis from the inside as a French Resistance fighter, an open world – Paris under Nazi Occupation, a whole new direction of in-game art and a lot of Nazis to kill. Saboteur could have been a fun game, but for the attempt on game play depth. Saboteur comes up as the elder brother of Mercenaries only without the comic appeal.
So whats it about? A gritty dark Paris under Nazi occupation. The city is overcome by grief and fear and has lost its colors (quite literally). Fugitive from the Nazis – Sean Devlin (incorrectly identified as a British secret agent in the prologue though he did become one later) is hiding in a night club in Paris, drowning his hatred for the Nazis and his grief of being the cause of death of his best friend in alcohol comes, face to face with the Nazi resistance and seeks to be a part of it only to avenge his friend. The blowing up of Nazi Items in the game, the sabotage missions are fun and satisfying. It is the story that is an overkill. Told in (an attempted) blockbuster hollywood style and a well-written story for that, it fails in its story telling. You really wonder out loud why the heck are things happening. Though remember! Every dark cloud has a silver lining.
The world is richly detailed and visually appealing. Models are well detailed and graphics is top-notch. But then, the in-game cinematics are purely crappy in their technical implementation (many times characters dont even move lips, forget lip syncing) and bad bad voice acting. The game is set in a Paris sandbox. There are many ways of completing your missions and the replay value is high with the freedom. But then, at times the freedom becomes so much that you get lost in your attempts to identify one feasible way of completing the mission. If you find that strange, try googling for a game walk-through – none exists, at least not yet (its almost a month since release). And I desperately need one!
The in-game music and the art direction is the best element in the game. The periodic soundtrack and the Jazz really sets the mood, also all the night club oomph (bewarned the game has more than a touch of nudity and the safety options aren’t much help) brings in the Parisian flavor. Add Nazi nests and patrols, guards around the city, subdued citizen who need little inspiration to kick and thwack that Nazi you just downed and the city comes alive. The visual art direction to better express sentiments and emotions is a charmer. Sections of the city that are under Nazi occupation and where the citizen are completely opressed by the police state are colored in gray. Only the lights and Nazi elements are in color and it really accentuates the fear and sorrow of a beautiful vivid city under occupation. Citizens are more quiet and subdued in these areas of the town. As you destroy and defeat Nazis the color returns and life returns. The citizen are more inspired and more lively now. Its a beauty to be a part of this emotional transition.
This emotion and sentiment is reflected in-game by a WtF meter (no you are wrong, it means Will to Fight). Areas with low WtF are colorless and insipid. Areas with high WtF are colorful and vivid, with the highest being Resistance Zones, which are like safe havens for you. In places with higher WtF, the NPCs come forward to help you in times of needs (aka brawls and chases). Cool as it might sound, the gameplay has many WTF moments and you guessed it right this time.
The game play involves a lot of sneaky stealth action. In fact, this part of the game has me most confused. This is not a Splinter Cell back in time, nor is it Call of Duty, just what exactly is it is not clear. Mercenaries was loud and and all out action, and game play made sense. Here, your weapons are deception and stealth. Okay. It plays out well for most of the time, but in true open-ended fashion, there are moments when you can completely bid stealth goodbye (if its not a mission requirement).
So what is Saboteur? A visually appealing game that has beautiful women and a very beautiful Paris. A many varied game play elements and a lot of potential for a balance, which is missing. Should you go for it? Well how do I tell you what you should do, but Hey! Mercenaries 2 is so much more fun.
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Author: Kinshuk Sunil (72 Articles)
Kinshuk Sunil is the founder of the WiSy Blog. An active evangelist for Open Source and a enthusiast Game Designer, Kinshuk focuses on reviewing Softwares, Services and Games here. However, a jack of all trades, Kinshuk can be found talking about almost everything. Catch up with him on twitter @kinshuksunil.
