The Saboteur is a game with great concepts, fun missions and vast land to enjoy, it also features some issues though...
User Rating: 7.5 | The Saboteur X360
The Saboteur is entertaining and unique, which is why i like it, but unfortunate flaws or little game design issues hold it back slightly. Graphically it isn't all consistent, occasionally it can look rather brilliant with gritty wet flooring reflecting off street lights and lightning, however it can also look very graphically behind the times, short draw distances are obvious (if you see a large building a few meters away, it can look blocky) and simple things such as rain dropping onto the floor inside buildings when its raining can leave you feeling it needs more polish to make it better, but most of the time the graphic style is unique and works great for the games purpose. Storywise the game lacks a little but its decent enough to keep you enjoying it. Its got some nice cutscenes (some are better than others), some brilliant missions (impressive mission design throughout the game) and some decent characters, but personally i disliked the way bad language was used in most of the dialogue for your character... as if it was cool, because its not. Gameplay for the game is good, cars all handle nicely, your character moves freely allowing simple climbing mechanics similar to Assassins Creed, and shooting is absolutely perfect for the game being very similar to the Gear of War style of free third person shooting. Game design is a bit old styled however, with some obvious glitches and little design flaws which leave it feeling a bit clunky occasionally, like swimming which looks ridiculous, your character floats around like he is on a pivot when you turn making it feel and look extremely wrong and dated. Sounds are pretty average or even below average for a game, car engine sounds are ridiculous, not that they sound bad, its just they are using the same sound every gear change and its obvious, and when you get to a certain speed the car engine stops making a noise and instead the car makes a rather odd hum as it shoots along. Although this is minor, its easily noticeable with a lot of the game being driving orientated. Shooting and explosions all sound nice though, thankfully because there are plenty of these sounds throughout the game. I do feel the game lacks certain things like helicopters or planes which are available to fly because the map is huge and varied, and can often be too big for just car travel, or even the lack of ability to fly a zeppelin which would have been fun (and its annoying how close you come to flying one twice in the campaign). There is plenty to do, with the game being open free roam with a twist. An average length story with decent missions keep you happy for a while, but extra tasks like blowing Nazi stuff up for money, stealing and collecting cars, trucks and tanks, and getting achievements gives some extras to keep you busy, aswell as some extra side missions, objectives and just having plain fun. Being able to stealth kill a Nazi and then wear his uniform is great fun, walking around undetected and getting through checkpoints with no questions asked (even if you can do this as the brown clothed Irishman). The saboteur is a great game, it has fun missions with an alright story behind a great concept, graphically it is a mixed bag but it mostly serves its purpose, and gameplay wise its pretty spot on too. Unfortunately because of tiny drawbacks, it fails to meet the thrills of some other games, and sometimes it feels rushed or unfinished, but still its definitely worth a try, and if you don't believe its worth a try, let me just say you can jump off the top of the Eiffel tower and survive.
--