The concept of a free-roam game set in occupied WW2 Paris is really awesome, sadly Pandemic didn't quite hit the mark with this game. The noir-ish black and white graphics paired with jazzy radio tracks really hammer in the atmosphere but lose much of their charm when you realize that most of the game world looks the same. Outside of the French countryside, which is all but forgotten beyond the first couple hours, the stone paved streets and building facades of Paris quickly blend together. Aside from the excessive amount of Nazi banners, soldiers and the rare firing squad, Paris just doesn’t seem that oppressed. Parisians wander mindlessly along the sidewalks and.. not much else. The world is lifeless, even in “liberated areas,” few changes besides a return of color and reduced Nazi presence.
Some missions take you to striking new areas and more still are simply set in the middle of a random and uninteresting space in the game world. The objectives cycle through same three things which is eliminating a target, destroying something, or escorting a character. Most missions allow for some degree of stealth, but they almost always devolve into mindlessly shooting Nazi soldiers, simply because it’s quicker and more practical. The game’s disguise system is unique and it feels accomplishing to slip into a heavily guarded base undetected, yet the mechanics of this system are too shallow and require more patience than seems necessary.
As the title suggests, you’re a saboteur. Accordingly, there are tons of “freeplay” targets scattered around the world which you can to destroy in exchange for ingame currency. This system sounds perfectly logical, but destroying these targets is rarely worth the risk or the effort. If the alarm is sounded, a red circle will center on the player. If and only if you escape this circle, you escape the Nazis. Every time an enemy spots you, the circle will recenter on Sean. Escape sounds simple in theory, but the absolutely absurd amount of Nazi checkpoints, patrol cars, wandering soldiers, and watchtower snipers often makes it seem impossible. Ironically, the game encourages you to destroy said targets in order to make escape easier, though avoiding sabotage completely seems much simpler
