IGN: The Saboteur Review AU

It's an odd little saucisson, this one. Sean is distinctly unlikeable for the first two or three hours of gameplay, but gradually grows on you. The story is reasonable, although hampered by some laughable dialogue – which we hope was deliberate, and steaming 'round the city and surrounding countryside giving the Nazis what for is entertaining enough that you almost don't need a story.

While it's a little rough around the edges we enjoyed this game more than we thought we would. It's far from perfect, but it's great to see Pandemic going out with a bang.

9.0 Presentation
We really liked the stark contrast between occupied and free zones – as unsubtle as it is. Good menus, and the Perks screen comes complete with 'authentic' Irish comments from the big man himself.
7.5 Graphics
The graphics are a little jaggy, and there were a few frame-rate issues but, for the most part, this is a perfectly acceptable-looking game. Workmanlike, you might say.
7.0 Sound
Voice acting is pretty sketchy, but grows on you, much like the (deliberately?) bad efforts from the cast of 'Allo 'Allo. The music goes a long way to making up for the bad acting though.
8.0 Gameplay
This is one of those games that grows on you as you progress, even if you think it shouldn't. The simple fact is that blowing stuff up is heaps of fun, and The Saboteur has HEAPS of stuff to blow up.
7.5 Lasting Appeal
This is a single playthrough affair, but there's a huge amount of content to plough through that isn't directly linked to the main story.
8.2
Impressive OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

[sak500]

Graphics Jaggy?? Lets wait for 360 review.

[Lou-Cipher]

Why, Do you want to see if a 360 can stay alive long enough to complete a game that last longer than 5 hours?

Yeah, I'm curious myself.

[lh_swe]

http://xbox360.ign.com/arti...

[mal_tez92]

I do like the look of this game

[thabigboss]

i played the pc version and its great.i suggest buying it on pc if your rig can handle it and if you want the best possible graphics.

[Guido]

And they said:

Graphics
The graphics are a little jaggy, and there were a few frame-rate issues but, for the most part, this is a perfectly acceptable-looking game. Workmanlike, you might say.

Jaggy graphics, on the 360? What, the dev didn't turn ont he 4xAA?

[BldyShdw]

I think were starting to see the end of the so called "better" multiplatform games on 360, now their equal or better on PS3.

Crazy idea right? haha :)

[Shotgun_Roamer]

*weeps* i really wanted pandemics last game to kick a 10/10. A man can dream....

[Digitaldude]

IGN are lazy and do 1 review for both consoles anyway.

[robotnik]

I like the logo and the cover, a lot. Square Enix could learn from these guys.

[YellowLightofDeath]

"7.5 Graphics
The graphics are a little jaggy, and there were a few frame-rate issues but, for the most part, this is a perfectly acceptable-looking game. Workmanlike, you might say"

Well no wonder there's jaggies, they reviewed this one on the PS3

[lh_swe]

http://xbox360.ign.com/arti...

[GezForce]

but feels overshadowed by assassins creed 2 in every way.
review pretty much spot on. good but not awesome.

[UltimateSin]

New IP so I didn't expect it to get a great score, but that's pretty good.

[kingdavid]

Its actually a pretty fun game. But I think they shoulda delayed it for a while or maybe added new content. (I know pandemic has shut down but im assuming a new team will be opened).

[MostJadedGamer]

Awesome review I am really hyped about this game now.

A different breed of WWII game. Pandemic goes out with a bang.

It is not, however, remotely like the million other WWII games that have been cropping up since the beginning of time.

Such are the distractions offered by the wanton destruction of 'free play' that it's easy to forget about the actual story. The huge playable areas, from the French countryside to urban Paris, just beg to be explored – and liberated - and we often went an hour or two just causing mischief and listening to the wonderful in-car music – the main campaign didn't get a look in.

That is very rare for professional reviewers who usually just rush through games as fast as possible. That means the free roam part of the game must be something really, really special.

The impact of the Nazi invasion colours the entire landscape in a spectacular, but slightly unsubtle, fashion. Free France is brightly coloured, with birds twittering (tweeting?) in the background, babbling brooks – the whole shebang. The only thing missing from the sickly sweet Disney tableaux is some talking animals and some vaguely uplifting sing-a-longs.

The German neck of the woods by stark contrast is terminally overcast, and bathed in everything from black and dark grey to, uh, slightly less dark grey and grey. The only colour comes from the vibrant reds of the Nazi flags, banners and arm bands and the neon blue markers that guide Sean to Resistance safe-houses. It's oppressive and deeply unpleasant, which is kinda the point. French citizens still live there, but they're miserable, sallow-faced swine, completely unlike their miserable but brightly-coloured brethren in the liberated zones.

Upset them enough to raise the alarm level to Four or Five, though, and the locals start to earn their keep, with pockets of resistance springing up on the mini-map. These havens are populated with gun-wielding Resistance fighters and stacks of guns and ammo (actual weapons, rather than the magazine). If you're stuck for somewhere to hide, an out-and-out firefight can be just the ticket.

steaming ‘round the city and surrounding countryside giving the Nazis what for is entertaining enough that you almost don’t need a story.

Again this is something most sandbox style games fail miserably at(The lastest being AC2). Its nice to see a game finally deliver on the actual free roam part of the game.

Gameplay
This is one of those games that grows on you as you progress, even if you think it shouldn’t. The simple fact is that blowing stuff up is heaps of fun, and The Saboteur has HEAPS of stuff to blow up.

Lasting Appeal
This is a single playthrough affair, but there’s a huge amount of content to plough through that isn’t directly linked to the main story.

Well after this review I am really hyped for The Saboteur now.

[ian72]

Looking forward to this game. Watched someone play it on JTV and it looked quite good.