Games

The Saboteur (Electronic Arts; PC, PS3, Xbox 360; rated mature)

Everything about The Saboteur is cinematic. That’s both good and bad.

Good because the game looks and sounds wonderful.

The characters are crisply defined and engaging, even if they are clichéd. Sean Devlin, the protagonist, is an Irish mechanic turned race car driver who becomes a member of the French resistance.

The setting, Nazi-occupied Paris, is re-created with flair. The superb art direction makes use of black and white with flashes of red, blue, and yellow—a bold choice that works. As Sean liberates the city, colour seeps into the environment.

The perfect score is ’40s-era big band and jazz, ranging from all-out fanfare to the muted horns that I associate with Montmartre of the time.

Unfortunately, while The Saboteur is presented with cinematic polish, it does not provide a satisfying gameplay experience.

The display on the screen is cluttered with icons that seem to have been scattered all over the place, the controls are clumsy, and the animation stutters. Making Sean run around, sneak, and climb is more frustrating than fun.

It wants to be an open-world action game, a racing game, and a stealth game all at the same time, but the action lacks, the racing is sub-par, and the stealth is mostly a lark.

The Saboteur has style and panache, but it’s not much of a game.