Saboteur isn't your average World War 2 shooter. If anything, it's the antidote to the WW2 malaise that has been setting in since Call of Duty 3 highlighted how generic the genre has become. How so?
Saboteur puts a new spin on old themes, making them feel fresh and different. It's something that's threaded through everything from the game's stylish art-direction to the genuinely deep and interesting lead character and backstory.
It all starts at the concept stage. During our exclusive look at the game, Pandemic lead designer Tom French explained that instead of looking to the usual suspects like Call of Duty and Saving Private Ryan the team found inspiration in quirky French film Amelie, the Indiana Jones movies, and the Parkour-lead game Assassin's Creed.
Check out the game's website (www.pandemicstudios.com/saboteur) and there's a gallery of images labelled 'Influences' which include pictures of WW2 objects like Zeppelins and barbed wire, mixed with arty shots of hands cradling whisky glasses and ladies in lingerie.
Sensibly, Pandemic made the choice early on to shun historical accuracy in favour of slick gameplay and a great story. The lead character, Sean Devlin is half based on William Grover-Williams - a real life war hero - and half on John McClane from Die Hard.
And although the game is set in a recognisable Paris, it isn't a faithful representation of the French capital. As you play through, you'll meet Nazi storm-troopers kitted out with beyond-WW2 weaponry, and unfeasibly hi-tech Zeppelins that chase you across the rooftops. Realistic? No. Fun? Yes.
The colours and the shapes However, the most striking part of Saboteur is the visuals, and the way the game uses colour. All the Nazi controlled areas of the game are rendered in black and white, whereas the liberated regions all buzz with vibrant colours. When Devlin liberates a section of Paris by completing a specific mission the colour will bleed back into that district as the Nazi oppression is lifted.
The action itself is a pleasing mish-mash of Freedom Fighters, GTA and Assassin's Creed. For the most part, Saboteur is a shooter, and Pandemic has confirmed there will be 24 weapons in the finished game, including run-of-the-mill armaments like MP40s and Lugers, through to more unusual items like flamethrowers and specialist sabotage explosives.
There are elements of stealth and melee, but they take more of a backseat - there's nothing as complex as, say, Splinter Cell's light-meter system. A shame really, because the stealth sections in the demo saw Devlin creeping up, snapping the necks of guards and throwing them off balconies - much more entertaining than the generic shooting sections.
Where Saboteur lifts itself above the common shooter is in the freedom it hands you. Although this is a Pandemic game, it doesn't run on the same engine as Mercs 2 - the emphasis is on using the environment instead of detonating it, so the up-close detail is more impressive.
When you're in Paris, you can climb any building and race across the rooftops. You can even scale the Eiffel Tower. Climbable ledges are highlighted in yellow (very Mirror's Edge), and the animations, as Devlin scales brick-faces like an Irish spider, are seriously impressive.
Grand Theft Tank The mission structure's more focused than most open-world games too. We were shown a demo of Devlin escaping from the Doppelsieg factory. It started off linear - Devlin shooting guards from cover and running down corridors.
Then he was outside, with miles of countryside between him and safety. Legging it is an option, but Devlin opts to dive into a car, Mercenaries 2 style. During the explosive chase he's forced to change cars and shoot his way through barricades, but he finally makes it to the French border.
It's a great illustration of how Pandemic gives you freedom to explore your surroundings, but will always point you towards the next objective or try and hook you up with a side-quest. Another example is the way message couriers will run up to you with letters from characters that need your help.
There's an escalation system too, which seems identical to GTA's 'Wanted level'. This kicks in when you start attracting The Hun's attention - something you will do when you start picking up objectives based in unliberated areas. Draw enough heat and Jerry will throw tanks and even zeppelins at you. To escape your pursuers, you have to get outside the red, circular zone that appears on your radar - yeah, just like GTA IV.
In terms of extras, Saboteur again takes cues from Rockstar's behemoth. There are stunt jumps to find, additional targets to destroy (like towers and tanks), and other goodies to find. Pandemic has confirmed that the PS3 version will have SixAxis support, which will probably be implemented into the game's combat mechanics, but won't have online multi-player or co-operative play.
No multi-player? No endless brown fields? No battle-chatter? Saboteur certainly won't be welcome in the WW2 shooter Gentleman's Club. No. This is the kind of shooter you'd find smoking a Gallois cigarette in a stylish Parisiene cabaret, and that's precisely why it looks so promising.
This sounds like it could be good. Never been a fan of WW2 games but if they're actually gonna put some fun and original ideas in this, I'm interested.
Well hook me up and send me back Doc,yep I'm going back in time to WW2 for a die hard film/game.Wicked that arty film Amellie is a dam good chuckle and the indy films this sounds like GTA crossed with FUN.A game that looks seriouse but really is laughing at itself and in my books all the way to the bank,dont let this fall under the radar PSM3.
Loved the Trailer I saw about 18 months ago and thought it looked really promising and really interesting. Then EA bought Pandemic and my interest went down. Then I played the Mercs II demo and thought this was a no go. Greats news it has a different engine to Mercs, interest up. New website looks great and although its still EA (in little more than just the publishing), could well be a surprise game of the year!! Interest going right up again!
this sounds great. definatel keeping my eye on this one. bored of endless WW2 fpss.
more over i'm sick of Call of Duty. I loved the first 3 but since its been turned into fifa (war ed) its fast become generic and dull. oh well at least the casual crowd have another game they can pick up every year.
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