I never played Saboteur! as a kid, but I did own a C64, so I am familiar with that style. In this context, this is a really interesting game. Is it worth it without nostalgia? The answer is yes, in my opinion.
Saboteur! is an action-platformer game. The game is simple, but there is enough there to entertain. Dogs you can only attack if you have a throwable weapon (but you can dodge by jumping), guards that can shoot you (which you can dodge by ducking) and then fight into melee range if you have no weapons, a large map that is a bit of a maze at first, doors to unlock, and a few interesting objectives to complete make for a nice adventure.
Not everything is nice, however. The controls, using an xbox gamepad, are stiff. The first objective and the last run back to the helicopter are also on a timer, which ruin the exploration significantly (there are also some leaps of faith to take). You can lose health incredibly fast (at least the game lets you regenerate it if you stand still), and you can't save checkpoints until you complete the first mission.
The first mission seems to be a faithful remake of the original game, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's good for "historical" reasons, but in the frame of the expanded game, it's probably the worst part. The rest of the game rarely relies on timers, and they are well telegraphed, shorter, and don't require much exploration (some also aren't deathly if you fail to meet the deadline). The new segments have more of an adventure feel to it, which really complements the gameplay, and offers a few curve balls to keep things fresh.
The presentation is minimalistic, but it's in keeping with the original (you get a few extra options and you can also unlock extra graphic styles for the first mission). Sounds are limited and the music is good (but limited as well).
If you understand what you are getting into, you can actually have a few hours of fun. It's a fundamentally archaic game, but with a good core to it.
