Some Fuckin' Master Race

CD Projekt has a good track record for fixing up the "good old games" it sells on GOG, so when I saw The Saboteur released there, I got excited that maybe they'd fixed the mixed-resolution map issue I whined about back in 2012. As it turns out, they ... kind-of fixed it ... by locking the setting at 720p.

The game's overall technical (in-)fidelity is pretty much how I remember it, cutscene-warping and crashing and all. To be fair, I've played plenty worse - and to The Saboteur's credit, it performs pretty smoothly in highly explosive scenarios - it's just a little disappointing that no one's yet been able to polish this rough gem of a game.

Killing Nazis is still fun. Dynamiting Nazis is still way fun. And while Sean Devlin's story isn't about to win any awards, it holds up better after ten years than I would have expected. Compared to Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered, The Saboteur's characters are downright relatable.

What probably hurts the game the most, today, is its lack of fast travel. I'd completely forgotten that "no fast travel" was even a thing -- and somehow had a false memory that I would unlock fast travel after some story mission or another. Nope. Not only is it impossible to get from one end of the map to the other without driving there; your ability to call a car doesn't work out in the French countryside.

The game's rushed ending and lack of post-game story had already made the remaining freeplay targets (remaining Nazis to blow up) a weak proposition; without fast travel, I'm definitely not going to bother.

But while the main story lasts, and while Sean is discovering new city districts to explode Nazis in, it's an exciting ride that still feels worthwhile today.

Better than: Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered
Not as good as: Middle-earth: Shadow of War
I'd argue, on balance, about as good as: Marvel's Spider-Man

Progress: Killed Dierker yet again.