'The Saboteur' video game review

Developer: Pandemic Studios (“Mercenaries 2”)
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Available On: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
Reviewed On: Xbox 360

In video games, the second World War is usually played out in first-person shooters, airplane dogfighting games and real-time strategy showdowns. Similarly, most “Grand Theft Auto”-style open world games cast you as either a criminal, a superhero or a mutant…who uses his powers to commit or fight crimes. But in combing the former's conflict with the latter's gameplay style, albeit somewhat superficially, “The Saboteur” largely succeeds in forging a unique path.

You play as Sean Devlin, an Irish race car driver who vows revenge against a Nazi for killing a friend. That he'll have to kill a lot of other Nazis, and undermine the German army's presence in Paris during World War II to get to his man is just the icing on the cake.

Like many open world games, especially those with cars, “The Saboteur” has a mix of story-driven and side missions, though you'll spend as much time driving to and from said missions as you will doing them. There are also numerous collectibles spread around the world, though most of the side missions actually feel like they're advancing the story, and aren't just busy work or dumb errands like in so many “G.T.A.” clones.

But while this does feel a lot like “Grand Theft Auto” if they set that game in World War II, there are some subtle differences.

One of the more striking aspects of the game is how it uses color. While the world starts off black & white with occasional splashes of red, yellow and light blue—think “Sin City”—it slowly gains color as you complete missions and thus help the mood of the French people turn from downtrodden and submissive to rebellious and eager to kick some Nazi butt.

As for kicking said butt, it is here that Sean shows his versatile side. Besides knowing how to use his fists, he's also proficient in firearms. But shooting first and asking directions later, or asking directions after you've knocked a guy out, doesn't always work here, so it helps that Sean can also be light on his feet when he needs to sneak up behind some German soldier. He's even learned how to peer around corners or hide behind boxes, so he can get the jump on someone.

Though it helps that everyone wears the same size shirt, since it's easier for Sean to sneak into a German military installation when he's dressed like a German soldier. When that doesn't work, though, Sean can show off his climbing skills by scaling the sides of buildings or using power lines to zip over a fence. Granted, he's not as nimble as his counterparts in the “Assassin's Creed” games, but since climbing around like Spider-Man is less of an emphasis here, it's not a big problem.

What's ironic is that for all its differences from “Grand Theft Auto,” most of its problems are also “Grand Theft Auto”-esque. Trying to shoot people is as inaccurate here as it is in “G.T.A.,” though the Germans aren't great shots, either. The game's steering controls and brakes are rather loose, again like in “G.T.A.,” so expect to run over tons of pedestrians and sideswipe a lot of parked cars.

Despite these problems—which are more annoyances than deal breakers—all of the disparate aspects of “The Saboteur” work well enough, and work together well enough, to make this a rather compelling (though not wholly original) game. Granted, killin' Nazis never gets old, no matter what the perspective, but with a more personal story to go with the action (and a personable rogue to center it around), “The Saboteur” doesn't feel like a rip-off of a certain game. Or games, for that matter.

Bottom Line: Listen all of y'all, this is some good sabotage.