The Saboteur does the trick between blockbuster game releases

When I finished Grand Theft Auto IV, I didn’t know where I was going to find time-killing sandbox goodness next. Then The Saboteur was released in December. I had found my new back-burner title.

I played the third-person action-adventure game for the first time with the expectation of being somewhat entertained, at least long enough to pass the time between one blockbuster title and another. I knew going into The Saboteur that I would be most impressed with the game’s art style. Using Sin City/Schindler’s List-type black and white palettes in Nazi-controlled areas, it is quite gorgeous. As you free France, it turns to vibrant colour (and by vibrant, I mean mostly yellow).

The Saboteur works. It contains half an interesting story and a compelling sandbox feel. You play as cussing, Irish-born race-car driver Sean Devlin, who gets employed by a prick in a blue scarf with a bad (I mean terrible) French accent. Searching for revenge against a Nazi general who killed your best friend, you find yourself running different errands for some random anti-Hitler pansies with no desire of their own to get the job done themselves. Currency in this Nazi occupied France is contraband (bad stuff). You’re to destroy Nazi stuff to gain more contraband (when not completing missions), and for some strange reason, when you destroy a sniper tower, tank, or fuel depot, it spits out alcohol or cigarette cartons! Uh, reality check?

It’s a fun game—a well-rounded title with few flaws. The gunplay mechanic is a little screwy and climbing is like watching Assassin’s Creed in slow motion, but otherwise, it does the trick for a game from the lackluster end of 2009. For those of you trying not to squeeze in another play-through of Mass Effect before its sequel is released, The Saboteur is a tasty—although not 100-percent filling—final meal from the late Pandemic Studios.

Wyatt Fossett can be reached on Twitter at twitter.com/SheriffEarp.