This week we got to check out Pandemic's "The Saboteur" at the EA's pre-E3 event. Taking place in the 1940's during World War II, we follow the intimate tale of a race car driver, Sean Devlin, and his journey to seek out a high ranking German and take revenge upon him. There are not any details as to why...yet. It was also stated that they chose Nazi's as the enemy because they're the best enemy to hate and kill. The best description we were given was The Saboteur is Indiana Jones meets John McClane.
The Saboteur is an open world game set in Paris. The beginning of the demo shows Sean in a colored, vibrant world. Looking around, the bold lighting and textures of water, buildings and environment really come to life and make for beautiful eye candy. As we drive Sean further into the city of Paris, we transition from colors of freedom to a world of black and white. This is Nazi territory. Pandemic wanted to paint the Nazi's as harsh and grim as we see the Nazi's harassing innocent pedestrians. One example was if we waited too long to intervene, the Nazi's would execute the people in question. There is a benefit for the player to go in and interact and kill the Nazi's. It feeds into the economy amongst other things. Our first mission was titled "Big Gun," with our objective being....well, taking out a big gun.
Sean is a climber, oh, yes he is. The rule is, "if it looks like you can climb it, climb it," says Lead Designer Tom French. As you climb, you can actually see the city of Paris. French told me they were actually flown to France to capture the spirit of Paris. (Lucky bastards) The game never forces the player to play a certain way, either. You can run and gun, with consequences, or quietly come in and surprise the enemy. French says he doesn't think he's played the game the same way twice. You can take out a Naziguard tower or leave it, resulting in Nazi snipers hounding you every move for more challenge. We were also shown one of their many Zeppelin enemies. French said they went a bit "Zeppelin crazy", with every reason too! While running through, we managed to snag a rocket launcher. Upon shooting the Zeppelin , it burst into flames and fell to the ground. It's nice shooting things out of the sky I say. Once we completed our objective the black and white scenery turns to color, symbolizing the territories newlyacquired freedom. Not only does this make for a beautiful visual image and accomplishment, it also helps aid in gameplay. Again, if you climb high enough to overlook the city, you can see where you've been and what needs to be completed.
I thoroughly enjoyed being showed this game. The beauty, the life of Paris, Sean Devlin's devastating story, blowin' up shit and killing Nazi's, what more do you need? There is no release date as of yet.