The Saboteur - The Pièce de Résistance

The Saboteur is a fondly remembered classic from the wonderful Pandemic Studios, which has mysteriously just made its way to Steam, so this feels like an excellent time to dive into some delightful French Resistance shenanigans...
The Saboteur on Steam - store.steampow...
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Fanfare for Space, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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[@korpdawg]

Full series. Completely missed this game

[@Palaquack59]

Please Jon

[@JulieanGalak]

Thirded

[@gnaskar]

Yes. Full series.

[@Smitje_0]

We really need to figure out cloning for more series!

[@MandaPii_]

We need this!!!

[@RinAldrin]

Funny thing is right after Jon talked about the Phony War I immediately recognized him using an STG-44 which did not enter service until 1943 and even then mostly appeared on the Eastern Front. I suppose they wanted to give you an automatic rifle rather than make you use bolt actions.

[@leodesalis5915]

The tank he saw in the prologue looked a lot like an E-100 which I think only a wooden mock up was ever built if that even

[@Lacessit]

Also, the Grand-prix is in 'Sommer 1940', so almost a year AFTER the official start of WWII...

[@MarinaInChains]

there's a double barrel tank and death squads à la Wolfenstein, it's not a very historically accurate game

[@davids7847]

@@LacessitI guess "Sommer 1940" could be before May 1940 when the Germans invaded France, but it certainly doesn't seem to make sense given Jules saying the Germans are "itching for a fight" when they were already at war.

[@josephdedrick9337]

they offer mp40s, which would have been more time appropriate.

[@furioussherman7265]

Fun fact: Sean is loosely based off a real-life person. William Grover-Williams was a British race car driver, best known for winning the very first Monaco Grand Prix and for working as a spy for the SOE in Paris during the Second World War.

[@TypicallyThomas]

You just got me to check out his Wikipedia. What a life. Why doesn't this man have a biopic? His life sounds like a larger than life Hollywood film. Unhappy ending as he died in a concentration camp shortly before the war ended, but that could draw attention he was never given honours posthumously

[@RedAndy54]

Joe Saward, who is an F1 journalist and also (IIRC) related to Grover-Williams in some way, published a book called "The Grand Prix Saboteurs" about his wartime activities. Worth a read, if you can find a copy.

[@CarTii27]

Underrated classic from when I was younger... Ran here when I saw the notification!

[@RainbowJesusChavez]

Same!!!

[@matthewjohnson2488]

....F*** I'm old.

[@f82usa61]

pushing 15 to me at least feels old@@CudaZen

[@f82usa61]

@@CudaZen I feel like it's already gone last year I had a class that was planning for the future and stuff and it gave me constant anxiety I believe that stems from my fear of nuclear war and what the future has to hold with us you know at any moment something could happen if you know what I mean cuz I don't want to jinx myself and kill us all just like I did with covid and the 2021 Texas winter storm

[@Hoppelite]

@@f82usa61 You shouldn't worry about that shit to the point where it weighs you down. Life is too short to be constantly freaking out over things beyond your control. Try to keep the focus on your own life and do whatever provides you peace and fulfillment. Only worry about things you have direct influence on.

[@0SnakeDoctor]

This brings back memories! Honestly, The Saboteur is such an underrated gem.

[@LocoMe4u]

Very underrated game, please make a serie!!

[@jackedwards2203]

Playthrough! Playthrough! Playthrough!

[@wheresmymuffins]

"I'm liberating you, it's fine" would make such a great outro quote

[@knodelimperator8790]

You are being rescued. Please do not resist.

[@El_Rey_247]

This is my favorite Assassin's Creed. Seriously, though, it's amazing how much this game is what an Assassin's Creed set in WWII probably should be. If a full playthrough is possible, I highly recommend it.

[@HoJu1989]

You didn't take long to discover the glorious joy of punching cows in this game.

[@Dead-EyeJuncan]

The aesthetic of this game is so good. From what I recall the gameplay isn't bad either. Pretty sure I 100% this game back in the day.

[@marcelpursche5339]

I remember that the car physics were a bit clunky compared to other open-world games of the time. But the all other parts of the game totally made up for that. It was such soo much fun and the art style was incredible.

[@mikecripps6885]

One of those games that had no business being as all round excellent as it turned out, shooting, driving, climbing, explosions and the story is pretty good too with some great set pieces. And it looks so stylish too! So pleased to see this on the channel!

[@ericlefontainethompson7917]

This reminds me of Why Not Wednesdays. I always enjoyed John revisiting the classics

[@TypicallyThomas]

It's the kind of content I've been sorely lacking from MATN for some time now

[@fadmanloki660]

Agreed. His Lost and Binary Domain videos are absolute classics.

[@CM-ux9yh]

Oh, this brings back so many memories… I remember loving both Battlefront games and the Mercenaries series, so the closure of Pandemic saddened me back in the day, especially because I never got to play The Saboteur at the time. I eventually got to play it years later, and even picked it up from Origin some years afterwards. Played it a year and a half ago, actually. Man, this game is…the most 2009 game ever. It’s glorious, in a way.

[@Howwitz]

Please Jon make this a series! It deserves to be shown off and can be picked up for a unreal price right now! Such a brilliant game! I remember getting this on release day on 360, bought it on GOG a few years ago and 100% cleared it. Underated gem, amazing fun. Young me always wanted a sequel but sadly Pandemic was closed down and I didn't know this until years later!

[@TypicallyThomas]

I love this game so much that I had already bought it on GOG, but bought the recent Steam release as well just to encourage EA that releasing these old classics makes them money so they should do more of it

[@the_Book_778]

The way you cut from the intro to immediately having 3 hedgehogs on screen made me laugh so much I got asked if I was alright. I love the artistic choices the game made, they're beautiful. I hope we can see more of this game in the future.

[@onewhowalkedaway]

This was me when he ran directly in front of his boss's car and just got launched

[@SeanPat]

This game was so fun, it's an underrated gem from the 360 and PS3 era. The unique art direction really made the liberation feel impactful and satisfying, and while I don't remember the exact details of the story, I do remember the ending very clearly. I wouldn't be opposed to some livestreams for some more of this game!

[@bloodyrage82]

The Saboteur hold a very special place in my heart, such an incredible game

[@zcullimore]

One of my favorite games of all time. The vibes are just perfect

[@Heartwing13]

I really really hope you make another video of this game instead of a livestream. I prefer the edited videos instead of the long livestreams

[@Rax0]

The invasion of France isn't early here. The race you're participating in is the "Saarbrücken Grand Prix Summer 1940", there are posters around (24:05 for example). So if anything, the invasion is a bit late since May is in spring, not summer.

[@bloodysimile4893]

Ww2 started in September 1 1939 when Germany invaded. Fall of France take place 1940 from may 10 to june 25. The closest grand prix race to start close to fall of france was Interlagos cruit in Brazil for the allies racers and Mellaha circuit in Tripoli, Libya for axis racers, both held on may 12 1940

[@CWRules]

Please do a full series of this. It was one of my favorite games as a kid. It's janky as hell, but the art direction and sandbox gameplay made it something special.

[@TypicallyThomas]

This is such a great game. I'm so glad you finally got round to a video

[@alexpage4355]

Game: There's a cover system and you might want to use it, 'cause people will be shooting at you. Jon: I'm Irish Rambo!

[@theoakgrovesquirrel3002]

Please this needs to be a series

[@aBigWhiteBear]

Yes! One of the greatest, most underrated games ever! I love this game, and I hope this video gets enough traction that you can develop it in to a full series.

[@TypicallyThomas]

I think these days traction isn't the reason to do a series anymore. Jon just does the stuff he likes. It's why Starfield is still going on. If he did that for traction he'd have stopped playing some time ago, I'd wager

[@FreemanJWB]

I bought this game after seeing this video. I've put a couple hours into it at time of writing. I love the gameplay and the art direction, but omg there are so many historical inaccuracies my head hurts a little, in ways I don't even know if Jon picked up on. The assault rifle he was using in the prologue is the StG44, which didn't enter service until 1943 at the earliest, an armoured car he blew up after the first initial mission looked like a british Daimler armoured car, pretty sure I saw a french B1 tank somewhere on the road in passing, and what looked like some weird amalgamation of a Panther and something from the prototype E series tanks at one point. I'm nitpicking, I know, but it's kinda just funny in a way. It's like they just grabbed an assortment of just known WW2 equipment and sorta dumped it in game, but it's fun enough that I can happily overlook it, I'm just gonna call this an alt-ww2 history game and get back to having fun shooting Nazis XD

[@JakeTheTrouserSnake]

As a teenager I remember laughing at how exaggerated the mother's reaction seemed to me, as a Dad now, that cut me to my core. Some amazing voice acting in this game, and some not so amazing voice acting too 😅

[@Kaarl_Mills]

the only thing I minded was the laughably bad accents on literally everyone

[@OmnipotentNoodle]

​@@Kaarl_Mills i think theyre charming 😹

[@drworm73]

@JakeTheTrouserSnake When you've heard it in real life it's hard not to take it seriously, even in a corny (but good) video game. Sadly I had when I first played this game.

[@andresramirez4469]

As a soon to be dad I still laughed at the woman’s fake sobbing

[@OlofTheBald]

The timing of this video is eerie for me. Just last week I dug my Xbox 360 out of a box to play this game again specifically.

[@deaconfrost2009]

Wow, that may have been the quickest intro-to-hedgehog time in MATN history.

[@ub1486]

Such a great classic, please bring it back!

[@meredithvaughan5946]

something about the late 2000s and early 2010s really hits me in the nostalgia for classics, and I wasn't even a kid then. Great video!

[@joselrocher1484]

I have never heard of this game nor do I usually comment but this was a 10/10 video and game please make it a series.

[@bowen9212]

I'd never heard of this but I just bought it on steam because of this video. Thank you for showcasing this!

[@TheHongKongHermit]

One of the best open world games. Never got its due, as it came out in that period where any open world that wasn't made by Rockstar or Ubisoft all received very sniffy reviews. Coming out 2 weeks from Assassin's Creed II so it got lost in the hype of that game. I will DIE on the hill that Saboteur's climbing is more satisfying than in AC though, because you can plan your route up as you climb with the edge highlight system. I adore this game though. I took it to 100%, did a minimal upgrades replay, found a way to trigger the secret hidden ending, and learned the play the opening song on guitar. I did basically everything you can do on this game. The open world objectives (being marked on the map if you buy the black market maps) can be chained together organically in ways that feel like you created your own mission on the fly. It's wonderful. So sad we never got DLC or a sequel. But we'll always have Paris.

[@josephhelgersonjoseph6115]

Fun fact: The option to enable/disable boobs was originally DLC.

[@loblegonst]

Now this is unexpected! I really miss Pandemic

[@diseabronx5075]

GOG has had this game for a while.

[@MarquisSmith]

I think it's on pc game pass too.

[@TheLazyFinn]

I was about to say the same, had to check and first sales data was from 2021... Jon needs to look more on alternative platforms

[@greg_mca]

Historical point: there was fighting along the Saarland border in September 1939. France had promised direct attacks on Germany to aid Poland within a few weeks of any war starting, and they cautiously invaded Germany from the west before calling the plan off and retreating to the border. It didn't really go anywhere and there wasn't that much fighting, but there was combat so while the game is being very dramatic about it it's not completely made up. Fun fact: the protagonist of this game shares a surname with the IRA operative who aided the Germans in the classic WWII novel The Eagle Has Landed

[@DemolitionDane]

One of my favorite games of all time

[@WordSonFoRealz]

We praise the, oh mighty hedgehog. Savior and saint of monetization. Thank you, oh mighty hedgehog.

[@NostalgicCopium]

please continue this series!

[@Alectium]

A bit bummed it’s not a full series but that just means I’ll need to check it out myself.

[@crickett3536]

Never really was interested in this game, but it looks really good! Thanks for showing it and pointing to it on Steam.

[@mattS550]

There were also Vehicles and Weapons that didn't exist until close to the end of the War in the flashback parts, so I'm not surprised they missed the Phony War out. Great game though.

[@PHILD0]

Such nostalgia with this game. The open world and the whole "liberation brings colour" mechanic blew my mind. Also, being Irish, I loved being a smoking, swearing Irish badass. 😅

[@trustmeimbritish2061]

This was one of my favourite games on the 360. Thank you Jon for hitting me with a metric tonne of Nostalgia!

[@kobra6660]

I had this on ps3 and was the first game I ever platinum and 100 percent

[@trustmeimbritish2061]

​@@kobra6660It's an absolute Gem. And I won't talk about how long it took for me to get the achievement for jumping off the Effiel Tower and surviving

[@batshit36]

I played the hell out of mercenaries as a kid, it was so much fun. God I miss pandemic

[@ASBO_LUTELY]

Can't believe I missed this in the PS3/X360 era !

[@bulshock1221]

The art direction in this game makes the graphics hold up exceedingly well.

[@BeepTheHiver]

Oh my god please do a stream on the Saboteur

[@TypicallyThomas]

"Aye, and the super convincin' Irish accent" Edit: I just found out Sean's voice actor is Stephen Hogan, who actually is Irish lol

[@PHILD0]

​​@@TypicallyThomas It's Robin Atkins Downes, the voice of Brynjolf in Skyrim, Colter (the outgoing Overboss) from Nuka World in FO4, and the Cockney Player voice from Saints Row 2-4. Born in London but is American.

[@christopherjoachimwallat1429]

This is a fantastic game. Please do a full series!

[@davada123]

43:06 This is a haunting cry.

[@ModeratelyMiddling]

Absolutely one of my favourite games. So sad that it was never made backwards compatible to run on newer gen xbox. i played the heck out of this game! One of the best open world GTA style games ever!

[@Soapbox81]

Was literally just umming and ahhing over whether to buy this whilst the steam sale is on. Thanks for helping me make up my mind!

[@thomashill4858]

This needs a miniseries! I loved playing this when It first released.

[@Taolan8472]

A full series of this would be a lovely memorial to Pandemic.

[@XDieKillDieX]

"Die you mooing basterds, die!" - Jon If we've learnt anything about Jon, it's that he apparently hates cows. lol

[@peterclarke7240]

I suspect he may be lactose *intolerant*

[@PHILD0]

Don't kid yourself Billy. If a cow had the chance, he'd eat you and everyone you care about.

[@nigelnigelson3988]

This was unexpected. This game was awesome!

[@rickb3650]

There's no chance any "AAA" company will ever get it, because it costs a few bucks, but the secret ingredients to a successful game is the talent we see and hear as the story unfolds. Rockstar went from half a dozen guys grinding out the code to global dominance, by telling great story and spending the money to have that story written by talented story tellers and presented by talented actors. Vice City was, from a software development POV, a bug-ridden POS that usually required a re-install and fresh start after dozens of hours of playing, to the best-selling GOTY because the story sucked players in and the voices telling the story were professionals. (Dennis Hopper describing his character's visions for a shark-based porn extravaganza was brilliant. The list goes on and on)

[@oneprizeonegoal]

I had this game . Loved it. The only thing I'd change is the horrendous "Irish" accent of the main character. Also, you can kill the main villain just after the first race

[@kobra6660]

One of the few games where everything you do actually made a difference freeing the city and watching yhe color change

[@TypicallyThomas]

It does what all the very best open world sandbox games do: give you some tools, a few loose objectives and just says "You work out how you want to use the tools to complete the objectives". It never tells you how to achieve anything, you get to decide for yourself

[@atillathekitteh3957]

Who had The Saboteur on their MATN bingo card?! What a pleasant surprise to see this underrated gem pop up on my feed.

[@jason9152]

i loved this game when it first dropped. sooo good. I'm jazzed that you are playing it. doing a full run of this would be epic!!

[@MrLightmass]

Man I actually have a lot of fond memories for this game. It was fantastic.

[@NRE56]

I cannot believe I’m watching this- this game was soooo fun and I’ve been waiting for this to get more coverage

[@LarsaXL]

How have I never heard of this game before???? It seems amazing, especially for the time!

[@Steve_A93]

Yes livestream please!! This looks so cool, amazing idea, great execution

[@Zombiewho117]

I’d never even heard of this game. The fact that I’m not the only one in the comments shows we need a series of this

[@NMN]

Ah it's great to see this up on Steam where hopefully it'll find a bigger audience - I owned it on GOG for ages before someone managed to patch out issues with modern multi-core processors and get it running properly, so it was a delight to finally be able to play it on my PC.

[@1SaltyPito]

Jon, ive never asked you for anything, (regardless of the fact weve never spoken) and i think that means you owe me one... my simple humble request sir, FULL SERIES!!! thanks team MATN for the years of hard work. Luv u all.

[@titanuranus3095]

I remember when this game was lambasted for its DLC locking nipples behind a paywall. I think it was the first payed DLC after Skyrim's horse armour.

[@JohnSmith-bu5zs]

The nightclub was included free in my new copy, the paywall was for the gamestop resells, lol. Just pulled out my copy and the code card looks like an old time ticket, Entree 1 Personne, and Votre Entree Au Spectacle De Minuit

[@Biscotum]

37:00 I'd say this is actually fine. The race wasn't before the war kicked off, it was during the Phony War - the poster for the race you competed in said "summer 1940," which is about the exact time Nazi Germany marched on Paris. It would also explain why the border was so heavily fortified and why there were literal tanks in the town - France and Germany were technically at war and the race was only happening because it hadn't actually gotten hot yet.

[@titanuranus3095]

I know it was called the "phoney war", but surely it wasn't as phoney as that? Also, was Mussolini really a general?

[@spooky_basil202]

Never even heard of it. Looks brilliant. Laughed out loud at the dialogue multiple times 😂

[@MarkPeckham]

Had never heard of this game, but went out and bought it on Steam as soon as I finished the video. Runs great on my Steam Deck!

[@katieheys3007]

A stunningly ignored game, it was an absolute BLAST when I played it so I nearly EXPLODED with excitement when I saw this notification. This game is the BOMB!

[@bilboblib]

I loved this game. It always surprised me it wasn't more popular

[@bloodysimile4893]

Ww2 started in September 1 1939 when Germany invaded. Fall of France take place 1940 from may 10 to june 25. The closest grand prix race to start close to fall of france was Interlagos cruit in Brazil for the allies racers and Mellaha circuit in Tripoli, Libya for axis racers, both held on may 12 1940. So the race prix in the game never happened or close to it to fit the situation in game. But there was racing.

[@HelFrostKara]

omfg did y'all see the way they desaturated the colour starting at 35:40? ART! :D

[@ChristopherBrown-bj4zl]

12:34 (my favorite time btw)... that timing for Luc and the game over screen was great Edit.... 14:44... the timing on that was *chefs kiss*.... "better days" --> ragdoll lmao

[@Zach476]

Jon after seeing the 1940 Grands Prix "This is not what happened in France in September 1939".

[@tintim85]

I love this game, it’s charming, fun and broken in all the right ways.

[@TypicallyThomas]

Especially the broken bit. It's never bad broken (apart from some minor stability issues). It's just janky broken. Just those tiny bugs that give the game character and doesn't impact the game negatively at all. My favourite one of them is that if you do a race, you can pull a gun on your opponents before lining up for the start, and they'll just get out of the car. Then you can literally drive as slow as possible and still win the race

[@Carrrnage]

One of my fave games of all time! What a wonderful surprise!

[@patrickmarkland7834]

Please full series this game is amazing loved playing when I was a kid

[@farshnuke]

Loving this would like a series.

[@DronesClubMember13]

Such a great game...I wish there were more. An Irish protag, Stealth mechanics, and era racing cars that are beautiful. Plus lots of boom! Also works great on Steamdeck!

[@DronesClubMember13]

Stars when you shine, you know how I feel, Scent of the pine, you know how I feel, Oh freedom is m-ine And I know how I feel It's a new dawn a new day a new life fo-or me.....and I'm feelin good

[@sharkofjoy]

😆 lol Jon when you bail from a moving car, you still have the forward momentum of the speed you were traveling when you bailed

[@darkly7749]

Full series please! It's such a gem.

[@patrickbo2045]

Oh I was in need of a game about the french Resistance! Such a fascinating topic.

[@sanderhaak2000]

Full series please!!! I loved this game as a kid

[@HoJu1989]

A masterpiece of campy pulp action. And a great soundtrack. It does have a little bit of everything: a GTA/Mercenaries/Just Cause/Assassin's Creed mix with a little Hitman thrown in (the stealth system is surprisingly good).

[@MarinaInChains]

the intro song was stuck in my head for nearly a decade before I found what is was called (Koop Island Blues)

[@Kayakdes]

Adored this game so glad you are doing this

[@XandaxDK]

Played this so much 'back in the days'.... simple in a lot of aspects, but very fun and the vibe/style is so charming. I still have the title song, and a later cabaret song, in my playlist on spotify

[@johncitizen306]

Lemme guess Koop island blues?

[@XandaxDK]

​@@johncitizen306 yes that one, and "The finger points to you"

[@lol9945]

Please for the love of all the gods make this game a series

[@rettichdergeile9361]

"I'm Liberating you, it's fine" could be part of an outro

[@Rateus_Johanson]

1:13 Is that even including the Valentine's Day special you had planned for this year but couldn't get censored in time so it ended up with that wholesome game instead? 44:26 Series! Series! Series! Series!... Series? Ok, potential Livestream series. Same difference.

[@Swedishmafia101MemeCorporation]

One of those neat little games that are unlike anything else I've played. Love it!

[@thebirdcast]

Adding my voice to the many requests for a full playthrough. Would love to see Jon react to the many many historical inaccuracies in this game

[@apertureemployee215]

I always wanted to play this, and was so happy when it finally made it to steam. Absolutely great game, well worth the wait