INVESTIGATES
Arriving last year for PC and console, Saboteur SiO is billed as the official sequel to the 8-bit Saboteur games. The release marks a huge milestone for series creator Clive Townsend, who has been trying to bring a third Saboteur game to fruition for more than 30 years. As Martyn Carroll discovers, the earliest attempts were destined to appear on the Spectrum…
The Background
The original Saboteur was a huge hit, selling more than 100,000 copies following its release in 1985. It was so successful that it was the only Durell Software game to receive a sequel, in the shapely shape of Saboteur
II: Avenging Angel in 1987. Even though that game only sold half as many copies as the original, Durell pressed ahead with plans for the third game. So what happened back then?
The Investigation
Durell owner Robert White is best placed to talk about the original Spectrum version of Saboteur III — not just as he was the boss, but because the game was based on his concept. “The proposed design was drawnup by myself,” he reveals, “with a layout drawing done by our graphics artist, Tim Hayward. It was still an infiltrate a base, plant a bomb and escape type of game, but it was multifaceted.
It featured seven different types of gameplay going into the base, then the same seven in reverse to escape. I remember one of the first bits involved a jet-ski which had to jump over mines and flotsam.”
Surprisingly, the game was being programmed by Mike Richardson, of Scuba Dive and Turbo Esprit fame, rather than Clive Townsend. “There was no particular intent to either include or exclude Clive,” says Robert. “It was all very much at the feasibility stage, just trying-out ideas.”
Mike worked on various test routines and actually completed the opening part of the game, which saw
Sab arrive in a helicopter and drop onto the roof of a lighthouse. “There were enemy guards and other obstacles, including naked electric wires,” recalls Mike. “Next to the lighthouse was a large lab containing scientists and animal experiments. The
to Elite. To Mike’s regret he no longer has the code. “I was quite proud of it, and sad the code has been lost.” However, his development Microdrive cartridges contain lots of graphics for the game and we are delighted to share some of them here.
If you want to play Saboteur III then the closest you’ll get is the new Saboteur SiO, which even includes a Spectrum screen mode for that authentic 8-bit experience.
Case closed.