Review by: Jason McMaster

While rocketing through the Nazi-occupied French countryside in my racecar, it occurs to me that this is one of the coolest settings I've seen for a game. Paris is a beautiful city that drips history at every corner and makes for the perfect backdrop. One specific period of time in particular begged to be made into a video game and Pandemic, before being shut down by EA, finally obliged. Was The Saboteur a worthy swan song? Almost.

You start the game in a burlesque house, drinking away your sorrow. Your name is Sean Devlin and you're an Irish mechanic and racecar driver. In a few minutes, you'll discover a purpose and have your back story filled in, but for now you're trying to drink away your memories when a Frenchmen approaches with an offer. Apparently he doesn't like the Nazis and wants you to help him destroy the Third Reich. Since you have nothing better to do, you decide to help him out. After getting some explosives and winding your way to a Nazi fuel depot, you set to the task of blowing it up.

Up until this point, the game is in black and white. In one of the most interesting and elegant design choices I've ever seen, Pandemic made the change in the mood of the people of Paris manifest by transitioning from black and white to color, from despair to hope. As you progress through the game, more and more of Paris will be turned to color and thus will be friendlier to your pursuits.

After the mission to destroy the fuel depot, Sean experiences a very lengthy flashback sequence. During this sequence, we get a first glimpse of the cracks around The Saboteur’s exterior. While including the player in the back story can work, it helps if the back story isn't incredibly dull and pointless. One of the absolute worst "filler" missions I've ever seen happens to take place in this game.