Well since the only thing I got for Xmas was a stupid coffemug that broke on its first use, I bought myself the last of Pandemic studios game: "The Saboteur" subtitle "An Irishman in Paris". Pandemic doesn't perform as well as it was hoped, so EA is axing the studio as they have done so in the past with more software studios.
I've been playing off and on for a couple of hours now and I have to say, it is quite a nice sandbox game. It is not as good as Assassins Creed II, it is not as good as GTA IV, but it manages to pull of a good blend of the 2 games. The controls take some getting use to, the camera angles are not the best in all situations (as I've found with practically every game where you have to sneak, aim and other things the require positioning). But it never got to the point that it was really annoying, unlike some other games where you were fighting the camera more than the opponents.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpXwyja0uBI
As you might have guessed, the setting is World War 2 France, with most of the game focusing on Paris, but the also include missions in Le Havre, the Ardennes, Saarbrucken, Boulogne, and various other places a "merikan" would have heard of. You play an Irish race car driver that gets sucked into the French resistance after the death of your teammate. There is of course a love angle, but that isn't really playing the overtone in this storyline which I think is good.
The missions are a good mix of action and stealth, and as you progress your skills improve and you can collect "perks" which will unlock items, increase the capacity to carry items, increase firepower, etc. My favorite missions are sniping and blowing stuff up, so I tend to do all those things first. As a sandbox game you are free to choose what you want to do, but there are a few missions you will need to complete in order to unlock other parts of the playing field. It is sometimes quite a puzzle to figure out how best to approach a problem, though most of the time you can get your self out of trouble just fine. In a bind you can call in the help of your fellow freedomfighters (if you completed some missions) and they can cover your retreat.
All in all, I have to say I love this game. Yes it is not as polished as GTA, it is not as stealthy as Assassins Creed, but I still love the idea of blowing stuff up, helping civilians from getting rounded up or executed by the Gestapo and wehrmacht, taking out tanks, zeppelins, and AA guns. I think Pandemic has given us a good parting gift and I really recommend it if you are into WW2 and sabotage.
I've been playing off and on for a couple of hours now and I have to say, it is quite a nice sandbox game. It is not as good as Assassins Creed II, it is not as good as GTA IV, but it manages to pull of a good blend of the 2 games. The controls take some getting use to, the camera angles are not the best in all situations (as I've found with practically every game where you have to sneak, aim and other things the require positioning). But it never got to the point that it was really annoying, unlike some other games where you were fighting the camera more than the opponents.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpXwyja0uBI
As you might have guessed, the setting is World War 2 France, with most of the game focusing on Paris, but the also include missions in Le Havre, the Ardennes, Saarbrucken, Boulogne, and various other places a "merikan" would have heard of. You play an Irish race car driver that gets sucked into the French resistance after the death of your teammate. There is of course a love angle, but that isn't really playing the overtone in this storyline which I think is good.
The missions are a good mix of action and stealth, and as you progress your skills improve and you can collect "perks" which will unlock items, increase the capacity to carry items, increase firepower, etc. My favorite missions are sniping and blowing stuff up, so I tend to do all those things first. As a sandbox game you are free to choose what you want to do, but there are a few missions you will need to complete in order to unlock other parts of the playing field. It is sometimes quite a puzzle to figure out how best to approach a problem, though most of the time you can get your self out of trouble just fine. In a bind you can call in the help of your fellow freedomfighters (if you completed some missions) and they can cover your retreat.
All in all, I have to say I love this game. Yes it is not as polished as GTA, it is not as stealthy as Assassins Creed, but I still love the idea of blowing stuff up, helping civilians from getting rounded up or executed by the Gestapo and wehrmacht, taking out tanks, zeppelins, and AA guns. I think Pandemic has given us a good parting gift and I really recommend it if you are into WW2 and sabotage.
Best regards,
Leo van Miert
Horsepower is how hard you hit the wall --Torque is how far you take the wall with you
Leo van Miert
Horsepower is how hard you hit the wall --Torque is how far you take the wall with you
