Rating:

BUY

There have been many WWII games that have come out, so initially I wasn’t too blown away by Pandemic’s game Saboteur. However once I read what people were saying on Twitter and got my hands on the game itself, I changed my tune fairly quickly. You play as Irishman Sean Devlin (who is actually based off of William Grover-Williams) who winds up trapped in Nazi occupied Paris after a race goes awry in Saarbrucken, Germany. Once escaping to Paris, Sean meets up with Luc Gaudin and he begins to take his place as an undercover mercenary against the Nazis.

The game essentially plays out as GTA but in Nazi occupied France. Now normally I don’t play GTA much except for freeplay, but with Saboteur I found the various missions fun and kept going to hear more of the story and to see what developed. The controls are pretty easy to pick up for combat and driving. In fact I have to say the controls in Saboteur are much smoother to me than those in GTA. And just because it is similar to GTA does not mean the game gets boring.

There are many various mission you play through from sabotaging Nazi bases, winning races, romancing women and helping restore spirit to the people of Paris. That last part includes one of my favorite aspects of the game. When you first start off in Paris, everything is in greys with the only the reds in Nazi flags and banners accentuated. However as you complete missions you restore the people’s Will to Fight and the neighborhood regains color. Traveling between areas you’ve already restored the WtF to and areas still heavily occupied by Nazis is seemless and it really adds a noir aspect to the game which I love. Scenery aside, the character animations could have been done better and seem rather rough.

I am sad that this was Pandemic’s swan song game. It’s a good game and really brings together interesting historical aspects along with gameplay. At the time of this writing I haven’t finished the game completely as I’m still working on various side missions on top of the main storyline.  And yes, I did enter the code for the Midnight Show. They did a good job at rendering the girls’… girls, and if that floats your boat you won’t be disappointed. I guess it just adds on to that cabaret feel.

Review product provided by EA, and does not affect the outcome of this review.

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There is a severe lack of news today, so I thought I would kick things off with trailers for you to enjoy.

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Watch the developers from Pandemic Studios play parts of the Saboteur live below!

Watch live video from the_saboteur on Justin.tv

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Pandemic sent word yesterday that the Saboteur has officially gone “Gold” on all three platforms (Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC). This is great news in the face of what went on over at Pandemic Studios earlier in the week.

The Saboteur will be available in Europe starting December 4 and North America on December 8.

It is with a heavy heart that I write about the confirmed information that Pandemic Studios is closing down. The studio was bought by Electronic Arts and has been responsible most recently for Mercs2 and Lord of the Rings: Conquest. Their next title, Saboteur is due out next month. Whether or not that will still happen is unclear.

Pandemic Studios has about 200 employees, some of which I know personally. I have always had an amazing time when I visited. Pandemic Studios felt like family. All the employees were close and passionate about what they are working on. They had their rock star in Tom French, but the team was made up of rock stars.

I hope you all find jobs soon. Please keep in touch with GamingAngels and let us know where you all end up. I saw on Twitter that Epic Games,Insomniac Games, LucasArts, and Microsoft are all hiring.

From us at GamingAngels.com we wish you luck. Thank you for everything you’ve done with GA.

UPDATE: Here are some quotes from an internal memo that Kotaku has:

“I want to make it clear that the Pandemic brand and franchises will live on,” Nick Earl, EA Games Label Senior Vice President, wrote in the memo. “In the months ahead, we will announce plans for new games based on Pandemic franchises.

“This type of change can be difficult. But the situation calls for us to act decisively, to take control of our destiny and to run a stronger, more focused development operation. That’s how we will continue to make great games in our LA studios.”

Earl said that the move was made to “improve our cost structure, ensure quality and build schedule integrity for this studio.”

Recently we were invited to Pandemic Studios in beautiful Westwood to demo Saboteur and interview any members of the team. We’ve talked about the beautiful art, interviewed Tom French through EA.com and now I finally got to play it. Before I give you my impressions, here is an interview with Art Director, Chris Hunt.

Q: What is the inspiration behind the art? It’s amazing and very different than what we’ve seen in a game before?

A: First of all I would say the inspiration is Paris, France. France and Paris are just inherently beautiful as most people know, especially if you’ve had the opportunity to go. But the first and foremost we wanted to make sure we captured the essence of Paris, of France so if one where to go there you would look at that and say, ah that looks just like what I saw. Went through and explored all different styles, not just for games but historical art, also different films. Film Noir was the kindof dynamic tension and crunchy style that we were looking for. Also Sin City. That was one of the first films that I actually took that to heart and said okay let’s make a film about it. Many of the other styles came from traditional painters from Pre-Raphaelites and Impressionism, some Expressionism in certain cases.

Q: Did you actually get to go to France?

A: Yes! That was probably one of the greatest things about the project was to be able to see the notion you had before of what you think Paris looks like or what France looks like from books and stuff like that. To be honest, I thought I had it down. Going there and realizing, wow there’s an eight way intersection here. The style of architecture, it’s very different to see that first hand and then start to think about the realization that I have to change this or rethink this going forward. Seeing that and gather the references and come back really made an impact and there was alot of information I could share with the team.

Q: Do you think any of the coverage from the trip will be added or created as a video blog for fans?

A: I hope so but would have to talk to marketing about that. There’s a host of information available. I took hours and hours of video and probably a couple thousand photographs.

Q: One of the things I didn’t know about was when the color changes from black and white to color then the Resistance starts to help you in the game?

A: Historically, the French Resistance did everything that they possibly could to fight off the Germans. Upon doing alot of research and actually going and seeing the French museum where they have dedicated to the Resistance. We were able to look at all the things that they did not just some of the pictures of them fighting in the streets. There were people that were very covert. We wanted to make sure we incorporated that into the game. When the Nazis first clamp down people scattered like rats and keep their heads down and keep out of the way. But eventually they’re going to start to kick back. Where Sean Devlin comes in, he starts inspiring people.

Q: This week a lot of speculation has come out as to why Saboteur has included nudity in the game. Can you describe how the nudity fits in the game? Is it true that the player can turn off the nudity?

A: Nudity is part of the game, but it’s not a part of the game just because to sell the video game. It’s part of the game because that’s what happened in the time period. People think of it now and it happens now, but actually no. America is actually the conservative country. Those kindof things have been prevalent in Europe for years. Paris was sort of the Las Vegas of Europe. People went there for vacation, for shows and different kinds of entertainment for the past 100 years. The nudity, the burlesque shows, they are all in context. We’re not doing it for the sake of doing it, we’re doing it because it helps tell the story. If you didn’t have it, you would find it to be strange.

Q: Is part of the nudity a part of the mission? Meaning the characters interact with you to help you through the story?

A: Sure, and they are just characters. If you are dealing with someone from the Red Light District and you are getting information from that person, that’s the job you are doing in the Red Light District. Those are parts of the city and they are part of the game. It’s not as if you are just seeing that and continuing on, it’s part of what you are doing and it’s part of the mission.

Q: Games that include nudity get increased attention from media, both good and bad. Do you think that gets too much attention by Game media?

A: Absolutely. There are several types of opinions but there are two camps it falls into are the people that see the word nudity and are automatically offended by it and that’s because they see video games as a child’s medium and they really haven’t learned that it’s a medium. Some entertainment is geared toward teenagers, adults, and games are no different. Then there is another camp that says nudity we can use this to sell the idea and get people talking about it. They think that there is no bad press, so they latch on and run with it.

Q: For GamesCom you had to do a new trailer that took out the blood and Nazi Symbols. Is it difficult to edit things from the game in order to make it available in other countries?

A: I’ve had experience with this before on other games where you have to be sensitive for licensing or nudity or things like that. Certain elements you can’t put in the game because of various reasons. Some are legal and some are abstract. In this case, it’s been a slightly gray area because there are elements we put in the game that are historically accurate. Certain symbols are accurate to the time period, however we run into issues like Germany not wanting Nazi symbols. Okay, we have to figure out something else. Or it could be where some company may still own the rights to a brand of cheese. Definitely have to be careful of brands from that time period but someone owns that symbol. With so much content, some things just slip through the cracks. We’ve been working very very hard to stay within the rules set by EA and the different standards set by different regions.

Q: That must be asset management to the highest degree.

A: Tens of thousands of assets. Actually at the very end I want to go do an asset count and just see how many assets we made and I’m pretty sure that it will top hundreds of thousands.

Q: The demos here are on the Xbox 360. Do you think you maxed out the capabilities of the 360?

A: We definitely tried. We pushed every limit that we could. Everyone wanted to do that. I said the greatest challenge was achieving the look and then saying okay, we know we have to pair back. How can we still maintain the look that we achieved and still fit the parameters of the hardware? I think we were able to do that.

Q: The game has always been single player with no thought or mention of multiplayer. Do you think that was important to keep the game about the story? It seems like every game is forcing multiplayer for re-playability and sometimes it doesn’t work.

A: It’s interesting that you ask that question. Saboteur has always been a story driven game so to change it to mutliplayer would basically negate the story. We’d have to make a different game if we didn’t have the story. The market pressure is out there. But this is the kindof game we know we need to make, this is the story we want to tell and we need to stick to that. By doing that we made a better game than trying to attach different elements onto it that don’t fit with the original idea.

Q: What did Zack Levi (from Chuck) have to say after playing Sabateur?

A: I had a chance to meet him really briefly in the hallway when he came by. He said he loved it and loved the style. He was geeked about it. I was shocked.

Q: It does fit Chuck. Do you think they will feature it in the show?

A: I hope so!

Q: I saw there was a whole lot of driving and you can obviously run over people while driving, but can you engage in combat while in the vehicle?

A: Typically you stop and get out of the vehicle. But there are exceptions and that’s all I’ll say. *laughs*

Q: I also saw in the demo that there was a perk for something you did. Can you explain the perk system?

A: Basically perks are personal rewards that you get for doing something. They unlock special privileges or assets based on how well you play the game. The gunslinger perk example is if you shoot five Nazis within a certain time period, then you get a gunslinger perk.

Q: So that kindof builds your skill level.

A: Builds your skill level, yes. You can upgrade to different weapons or unlock features. It’s a reward system for the player.

Q: The last question is that Tom French’s beard is one of the most talked about things in the community. Do you all poke fun at him about that?

A: Yeah actually we did. *laughs* When he started growing the beard, a few years ago and growing it thick and long, not just a goatee. But he’s always had his own style. When he first started growing it out, someone in the media said he looked like Fidel Castro when he was younger. Yeah he combs it, massages it. Probably won’t shave it off until at least Saboteur one is in the bucket.

I want to thank Chris and Pandemic for inviting us to check out The Saboteur. We had a variety of levels to choose from to play, but since it was my first hands-on I started at the beginning. The shooting controls work really well as does going for cover (which is automatic). The first area does a good job of teaching you what the controls are. The driving however was out of control. I won’t really know if that’s me or the game until I get more time with it. Which is exactly what I wanted when I left the Pandemic office. I can’t wait to explore the world of Saboteur.

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EA and Pandemic have released a new trailer for GamesCom. The group is demoing Saboteur about 50 miles from Paris where the game takes place. At the conference, it’s playable on the Playstation 3 for the first time which is good timing since the announcement of the price drop. Also new missions in the game will be shown.

For those of us that can’t be there, here is the gameplay trailer from GamesCom:

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The Saboteur is a game we have been dying to get more information about since seeing it at E3. We teamed up with EA.com to get more information on Pandemic’s latest title.

I’ve heard that the story for Saboteur is loosely based around a real life story that was found on Wikipedia. How did your team find the story and what types of changes had to be made to make it work in a video game?

The Saboteur is inspired by the true story of William Grover-Williams rather than being based on his actual life events. Andrew Goldman, one of the founders of Pandemic Studios, learned about three race-car drivers that were recruited by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and ultimately reinserted back into France to assist the French Resistance. Williams was a half-English, half-French Grand Prix Champion who drove for the French Bugatti racing team that fled to England when the Nazis occupied France. His experience as a race-car driver and inherent daredevil nature made him a prime candidate for the SOE to recruit him as a saboteur. We fell in love with this idea of a real “larger-than-life hero” and from there began crafting our hero, Sean Devlin, with this as our source of inspiration. We wanted to take our own spin on a story in this world, push the game outside of the typical WWII genre, make the story more personal and go a bit more over the top. So it made sense to go in our own direction rather than basing it directly off of Williams.

The disguise aspect was shown at E3. How does it work exactly? It seemed like when the character started shooting any enemy the disguise goes away? Is it something you have in your item list to change into?

Sean can’t just change into a disguise at anytime like Superman. In The Saboteur, Sean can commandeer disguises off of the bodies of most dead Nazis as long as you don’t bloody the uniform (i.e., the player takes them out with a stealth kill or melee attack). Taking a disguise allows Sean to move more freely around Nazi bases, but, like our general world suspicion system, you still have to blend into your environment. This means climbing buildings, getting into fights and especially firing a weapon will bring attention and shed your disguise.

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We saw one type of car in the demo at E3. Are there other motorcycles or cars that Devlin will be able to use in the game? Can he get into any car?

The car you saw in the demo was called the Aurora. It’s one of the many different types of race cars we have in the game. We have lots of different types of vehicles Sean will be able to take and drive around in the game; various civilian cars, trucks, tanks, motorcycles and armored vehicles will be accessible by the player. Our rule is that we allow the player to drive anything that they can get access to.

The time period is set and the location setting is Paris. What type of music will the game have as a soundtrack?

Our music comes in two flavors: soundtrack and score. The soundtrack is more used to add flavor – it’s a mix of classics and even some modern songs that feel like they fit into the period and setting. It’s been interesting to strike that right balance and find music that keeps us all entertained. The score is there to help bring some drama into the scenes or enhance the action of a mission. We have a lot of big music fans on this project (myself included) so we had a lot of talks early to try to find the right tone for the game.

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How smart will the AI be? Will you be able to talk to AI to get clues about what to do next?

Our AI is separated into enemy, allied, and civilian AI, and all of them have combat and non-combat behaviors (e.g. people milling about the world, talking to each other, going about their daily lives, etc.). Because of the variety of tools we give the player to approach any situation (disguise, melee, vehicles, explosives, firearms, sneaking, high and low Will-to-Fight, etc.), all the different types of AI have a lot to react to. On top of that, it has to handle any of these situations anywhere in our huge sandbox. It’s a crazy web to build in this type of game, but it’s also necessary to keep the player involved in the world.

While Pandemic has some strong titles, the buzz about Saboteur is HUGE. How do you feel about the reception so far, and do you plan on supporting Saboteur with DLC or a sequel if it’s popular enough?

We’re really proud of The Saboteur, and the team is pouring its heart and soul, blood and tears into the game to make it as cool as we can. It’s been great to finally sit down with lots of people and show them the game running. The reaction has been extremely positive when we do, and people really seem to be latching onto the various aspects that just make it different from other games set in the WWII era. We’ve created a very rich world, and it’s great to see people getting really into it. Regarding DLC, we have not announced any plans at this point.

As The Saboteur, how will players learn of missions?

Sean will make contacts with various Resistance members throughout his story. When Sean escapes to Paris, he spends a lot of time during the early part of the Paris occupation drinking at a cabaret/brothel we call The Belle du Nuit. It’s a really sexy location in the game, not only because, well, the type of business they conduct there, but it is also a place where the Nazis act like they are in control while around them is a sense of inspiration from the resistance forming in that location. There, Sean meets someone who becomes quite important in the Resistance. The two of them share a common hatred for the Nazis, and Sean sees it as a way to begin getting back at those that hurt him. From there, the Resistance really forms and spreads across Paris into hidden underground HQs and other unsuspecting locals. Sean will meet up with these contacts through the other Resistance characters, or he’ll get passed a secret note while walking down the street. What’s interesting about the world we’ve created is that all of our characters have their own motivations going on behind the scenes, and Sean can chose to help who he wants or continue seeking following his own motivation of vengeance.

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As The Saboteur, what will you have access to that will allow the player to complete missions?

• The missions in The Saboteur are designed around a concept we call “Quiet In/Loud Out”. The idea behind this is that the missions allow and encourage the player to approach the situation quietly: snapping necks, taking uniforms and working their way into the heart of Nazi bases. The bases are generally crawling with Nazi soldiers, armaments, and mounted weapons to stop Sean’s approach. This doesn’t mean the player has to go this route, however. We encourage players to be whatever type of saboteur they want – so if shooting is your fancy, go for it! Want to pack explosives on a car and blow your way through the front gate? Sure, you can go for it! It may be harder to get Sean to where he needs to go, but that’s up to you. Eventually, the mission will reach a critical point where Sean has to crank things up and go completely “Loud Out.” Nazis will begin closing in, bullets will fly and reinforcements will arrive. The player will need to use cover and/or one of the many different types of weapons, ranging from pistols, rifles, shotguns, machine guns, rocket launchers, flamethrowers, grenades, etc., etc., etc., to stay alive. Out of ammo? Not a problem. Sean’s a brawler by nature, so pounce on a nearby Nazi and beat a weapon out of his hands. These moments can get pretty intense, and the best option at this point is to escape by running, climbing or grabbing the nearest vehicle and just getting the hell out of there. Now the choice is run or hide. Running is often not the easiest solution because Sean is fighting in an occupied country, so he’s likely to get spotted. But he has other options, and there are several different types of hiding spots scattered around the world where Sean can hide out and let things cool down before going back to his business.

Paris looks like a fun playground for this variety, can you explain how you decided on this environment?

The spark for building Paris really came from the inspiration behind the true story of William Grover-Williams. Building Paris was a huge undertaking but extremely exciting as well. As we looked at a lot of reference material and finally took a research trip to the city itself, we were blown away by the beauty of the gorgeous monuments, historic architecture and twisting streets. And not only is Paris very rich and interesting from the ground level, but – looking out across the rooftops – it was apparent to us why Paris is the birthplace of parkour. The whole world of rooftops looked like they would be awesome to run around on and explore. We opted to not build the city to a one-to-one scale because we didn’t want the environment to be overwhelming to explore; rather, we wanted players to find the unique content we have on literally every block in the game. We put a lot of attention and technology behind capturing the spirit of Paris, and this not only allowed us to build a city packed with detail from the dirty streets to the top of the Eiffel Tower, but it also supports racing through the winding streets in high-powered race cars all the way up the coast of France, through the countryside, into Germany and back seamlessly.

Make sure to check out Saboteur at San Diego Comic Con in booth #5213.

Pandemic has released a new E3 trailer for The Saboteur. The trailer shows drunk Nazis and a blurred out backside in a bar scene as well.

We got a demo of The Saboteur at EA3 and we’ll get another look at E3. Come back here for all our early impressions on The Saboteur.

The title is due out “autumn/winter 2009″ for PC,PS3 and 360.