The Saboteur™

The Saboteur is an action-adventure game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in December 2009. A mobile version of the game was developed and released by Hands-On Mobile for BlackBerry on January 21, 2010, and for iOS on March 24, 2010. The game is set in German-occupied France during World War II, and follows Sean Devlin (based on William Grover-Williams), an Irish race car driver and mechanic, who joins the French Resistance to liberate Paris after his best friend is killed by Nazi forces. Gameplay in The Saboteur combines driving, shooting, melee combat, and exploration. Players can make use of a variety of weapons and abilities to fight enemies or explore the environment, such as Sean's parkour skills, which allow him to climb tall buildings in seconds to facilitate traversal. The game features an open world comprising Paris' various boroughs and the surrounding countryside. Initially, most of the map is occupied by German forces, symbolized by a black and white filter applied on the in-game map, as well as the environment itself. By completing main and side missions, each borough is slowly liberated, and the environment returns to its natural colors. The Saboteur received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics. While it was praised for its visuals, sound design, setting, amount of content, and entertaining gameplay, many criticized its repetitiveness, the storyline's execution, various technical issues, and the general unpolished feel. It also drew many comparisons to Velvet Assassin, a game with a similar premise released earlier in 2009, as well as the Grand Theft Auto and Assassin's Creed series for their similar gameplay elements. The Saboteur was the final game developed by Pandemic Studios before their closure in 2009.