The Saboteur - Preview in Paris

By Andy Burt
October 27, 2009 12:12 PM PST
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Pandemic's latest proves that WWII doesn't have to be a tired video game stomping ground.

My stomach is grumbling as I eagerly await my food in an alleyway pizzeria not far from my hotel. The only thing distracting me from my hunger is the amazing architecture of the city visible from my window seat in the restaurant: Haussmannian buildings with their gorgeous facades parted by winding cobblestone streets, colorful brasseries full of thirsty patrons, and century-old monuments all fighting for my attention. My pizza finally arrives, only with a fork and knife and no discernible cut marks. "When in Paris..." I think to myself cracking a smile. Though the pizza is delicious, there's a question on my mind that's been nagging me since I arrived: How can a developer accurately depict a city as beautiful and complex as Paris within the confines of a video game? The following day I was going to spend a great deal of time with the Pandemic team seeing the ins and outs of this magnificent city, and learn just how their upcoming WWII-set adventure The Saboteur was going to pull off this lofty goal.

The Perfect Action Hero

Creating a hero that would fit into Pandemic's depiction of Paris but not be completely wrapped up in World War II was one of the challenges the team faced in the creation process of The Saboteur. When players take on the role of Irish racecar driver Sean Devlin it won't initially be to fight for the French resistance, but as the game progresses Sean will have more and more reasons to fight against the German occupying forces in France. "Sean is the action hero I want to be," lead designer Tom French tells me as we walk through the dark city streets of Paris. Traveling through open-world Paris, Sean is tasked with freeing areas from Nazi oppression using a mechanic called "Will to Fight" which visually affects the game by turning areas of the city with low "Will to Fight" from grayscale to color. Citizens in high "Will to Fight" areas will join up with Sean against the Nazis, while people in oppressed areas will hang their heads, avoiding confrontation as they walk through the city. "The Will to Fight concept started as a simple base capturing mechanic, like something you'd see in Battlefield," French tells me. "That idea quickly got scrapped because we wanted something bigger, something that would sell players on the German occupation. The black and white concept allows players see that their actions actually mean something, that they're inspiring the world."

Paris In Flames

"Even before we started day one of tech, we wanted Sean to be able to climb through the city," French tells me later on in the night. It's immediately apparent just by looking around us that Paris is a very... climbable city. Many of the set-pieces in the game such as the Eiffel Tower are fully scalable, and getting it to that point was no easy feat; the team had to jump through hoops with the French government just to show the structure lit up at night.

One of the areas that the team knew early on that they wanted in the game and that I was able to play through for the first time on my trip to Paris is the Parisian catacombs. The bone-ridden chambers of the underground tunnels make for perfect shootout areas, and the area also serves as one of the locations Sean is able to use as a French resistance hideout. Another great shootout area the team included is the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. The cemetery in reality stretches across 118 acres, and not only invokes a feeling of a dread in person but an equal thrill when surrounded by German soldiers in the game.

Having followed The Saboteur since early on in development, it was great to see how far the game has come. It's also nice to see that the team is utilizing World War II as a backdrop rather than the focus of the game, as the era in history has been played out by multiple titles over the years. Gamers looking for a fresh take on the action genre, and a stylized one at that should have many reasons to travel to Paris with The Saboteur soon.

Click here to see our exclusive interview with Tom French in Paris!