The Saboteur

 PlayStation 3
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 54 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 25 out of 54
  3. Negative: 0 out of 54
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  1. XGN
    74
    Saboteur's gameplay isn't brilliant, but the presentation is just well done. We've seen it many times before, a game about the Second World War, but it's good to see that The Saboteur is original in a kind of way.
  2. Gamervision
    73
    The Saboteur could have been one of the year’s most impressive games. Sadly, Pandemic tries to do too much, and players are left with a game that never becomes more than the sum of its parts.
  3. Games Master UK
    73
    A solid action game, but one you feel you've already played a hundred times before. [Christmas 2009, p.65]
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  5. 3DJuegos
    72
    A new example of a great concept poorly executed. The Saboteur could be a surprisingly good sandbox if Pandemic just finished it. This game has neat ideas and the potential for being funny, but its gameplay suffers because of its weak development.
  6. Extreme Gamer
    70
    Pandemic's effort is commendable, but The Saboteur feels like it had a saboteur of its own lurking in the code. No matter how many times I came back to The Saboteur, or how badly I wanted to love the game, the unrefined gameplay became less, and less tolerable.
  7. GamerNode
    70
    Great visuals, unique WWII-era storytelling, and explode-and-run fun made me love the game, but the shooting, driving, climbing, and stealth gameplay made me want to choke myself. The game improves with time and is enjoyable, overall.
  8. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    70
    The Saboteur gets on by freedom and variety. [Jan 2010, p.110]
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  9. Vandal
    70
    This vision of nazi-occupied France is an interesting proposal but has some flaws in its conception.
  10. SpazioGames
    70
    The Saboteur delivers some good fun with the atmosphere of its beautiful setting. On the other hand, gameplay could disappoint demanding players, used to higher quality productions. If you like free roaming and Paris, you should at least give it a try.
  11. PSM3 Magazine UK
    69
    Derivative and clumsily presented, but not without its charms.
  12. Play UK
    67
    It's too rough around the edges. [Issue#187, p.67]
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  13. 1UP
    67
    As soon as you hit the city, the game's pace drops off, and the sub-par graphics and poor controls steadily bog down an otherwise terrific idea.
  14. Game Revolution
    67
    The limited variety of each type of weapon, the fact that Nazis can see through disguises too easily, the lack of auto-targeting for melee combat, and destroying Nazi property with dynamite over and over again does make boredom set in faster than it should.
  15. GameWatcher
    65
    The Saboteur can be both addictive and engaging, but also rather stale, all at the same time.
  16. IGN UK
    62
    Unfortunately the reality is something that harks back to the darker days of open world games, its individual elements uninspiring and its story a poor patchwork of clichés sewn together with juvenile smut and swearing - and it's a melancholy swansong for the once brilliant Pandemic.
  17. Gamer.nl
    60
    The Saboteur had a lot of potential thanks to the unique setting, but this hasn’t resulted in a good game. The story never gets really interesting and the gameplay is too bare-bones to really make an impression. Not a great farewell for Pandemic Studios.
  18. Eurogamer
    60
    Not half as bad as the limp first few hours suggest. It's perhaps not the greatest company epitaph in the world but, as Devlin might say, while throwing himself out of a speeding car, knocking back a slug o' the good stuff and mashing a Nazi's head in with one punch: "It coulda been a lot worse."
  19. GameSpy
    60
    But while the combat and destruction portions of playing as the Saboteur are fun, the story and effect you have on the world are disappointingly underdeveloped.
  20. Level7.nu
    60
    The theme and the design is impressive, but everything else The Saboteur does have already been done better in other, similar games.
  21. Giant Bomb
    60
    But The Saboteur's gameplay systems never let you forget that you are playing a game, and the nakedness of the underlying machinery is one of the game's greatest shortcomings.
  22. TheSixthAxis
    60
    The Saboteur feels a little rushed and incomplete but has an unexplainably fun side to it. Frustrating and boring at times, it does give way to some great moments and conversation pieces.
  23. Edge Magazine
    50
    The Saboteur is an awesome display of clichés, stereotypes, shortcuts and failures in logic. [Jan 2010, p.86]
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  24. Metro GameCentral
    50
    A poor swansong for Pandemic, with a few novel ideas spoilt by a host of badly copied gameplay mechanics.
  25. Total Video Games
    50
    It's hard to imagine why anyone would opt for The Saboteur when they've got Assassin's Creed II as an alternative. Beyond its Parisian setting, The Saboteur fails to add any new ideas to the sandbox genre other than breasts.
  26. Gamestyle
    50
    The Saboteur held much promise, which unfortunately never materialises whilst playing.

Awards & Rankings

88
#88 Best PS3 Game of 2009
18
#18 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2009
41
#41 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2009

User Reviews

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User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 159 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 118 out of 159
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 159
  3. Negative: 7 out of 159
  1. grenouille
    Apr 4, 2014
    6
    When I picked this title up, I expected to find a middle of the road game with some innovative mechanics (given how underrated others seem toWhen I picked this title up, I expected to find a middle of the road game with some innovative mechanics (given how underrated others seem to think this game is). However, the only two things I really enjoyed about this game was the music and the color effect that co-occurs with freeing districts.

    Otherwise, the mediocre gameplay feels unusually stale largely consisting of driving out of the red circle, pressing triangle to place explosive hear to blow this object up for the resistance, drive to this point on the map, etc. The game has stealth mechanics and they are terribly implemented. The combat largely consists of shooting out from cover and is nothing to be praised as fun nor innovative. The story was boring and characters often felt like cardboard cutouts.

    As someone who went into this expecting quite a bit from a studio I have always adored, I found this to be very disappointing. I found myself constantly wishing for this game to be more like Just Cause 2, as I tried to force myself to continue on to the next mission. This is one title that definitely has not been underrated, in my opinion.    … Full Review »
  2. bobbsyw
    Sep 5, 2010
    6
    Not especially bad, but not that good either. Disappointing more than anything. It feels unfinished, and there are so many glitches and littleNot especially bad, but not that good either. Disappointing more than anything. It feels unfinished, and there are so many glitches and little annoyances - like the underdeveloped stealth mode and the tedium of climbing buildings. I played it through, more out of sheer bloody-mindedness than anything else.… Full Review »
  3. CWCgamer
    Aug 31, 2010
    10
    The Saboteur is set during World War 2, in Paris, France. In the game you play as Sean Devlin, an Irish man who likes to drink and he also hasThe Saboteur is set during World War 2, in Paris, France. In the game you play as Sean Devlin, an Irish man who likes to drink and he also has a way with women. The story starts off when a man called Luc asks you to join the French resistance, who fight against the Naziâ… Full Review »
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