Saboteur II: Avenging Angel

Saboteur II: Avenging Angel

Publisher(s) Durell Software
Designer(s) Clive Townsend
Platform(s) Amstrad CPC, DOS, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum
Release date(s) 1987
Genre(s) Action-adventure game
Mode(s) Single player
Media/distribution Compact Cassette, floppy disk

Saboteur II: Avenging Angel is a video game created by Clive Townsend and released by Durell Software in 1987 for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 platforms. It is a sequel to the 1985 video game Saboteur. Saboteur II was one of the first action-adventure games to feature a female protagonist. In 1989 the C64 version was re-released by Encore.

Contents

Story

The player takes control of a female ninja named Nina (a sister of Ninja, the deceased hero of the original Saboteur), who must break into a dictator's high-security compound to alter the course of a nuclear ballistic missile and then escape.

The enemy’s command centre and office complex is being built on top of a mountain filled with underground tunnels and caverns. An armoury building is on the top left of the mountain, a missile silo is on the top right, while the central top area is still being developed; there is only one way out of the mountain, which is the long entrance tunnel on the bottom left.

There are nine missions of increasing difficulty level, each with more objectives (such as collecting more pieces of punched tape, or having to disable an electrified perimeter fence protecting the tunnel):

  1. Mission name: Rin (Strength of mind and body)
  2. Mission name: Kyo (Direction of energy)
  3. Mission name: Toh (Harmony with the universe)
  4. Mission name: Sha (Healing of self and others)
  5. Mission name: Kai (Premonition of danger)
  6. Mission name: Jin (Knowing the thoughts of others)
  7. Mission name: Retsu (Mastery of time and space)
  8. Mission name: Zai (Control of nature's elements)
  9. Mission name: Zen (Enlightement)

Gameplay

The game starts with a drop into the building from a hang glider. Then, while watching out for pumas and guards, the player has to search through the command center for boxes of supplies. Some of the boxes contain one of 14 pieces of punched tape, which must be collected and taken to the computer terminal. Once this has been achieved, the player must make their way to the bottom centre of the underground caves, and escape using the motorcycle which can be found there.[1][2] In all, the site covers over 700 computer screens.[3]

Versions

Despite the four released formats being very different in hardware and programming (ZX and CPC notwithstanding), the different versions all looked and played almost identically: with many of in-game Saboteur II images it is almost impossible to tell the difference between CPC, PC and C64 versions (colour clash being the giveaway for the ZX Spectrum version). For some reason, the PC version featured a male ninja on the cover.

Reception

 Reception
Review scores
Publication Score
Your Sinclair 9/10,[2] 80% (re-release)[4]
CRASH 83%[1]
CU Amiga-64 81% (re-release)[5]
Zzap! 52% (re-release)[6]

Reviews of the game were positive, with Your Sinclair rating it at 9/10,[2] and CRASH giving it 83%.[1] Phil South from Your Sinclair said that the game was "... a fine sequel, but possibly more important, it's a fine game in its own right. Saboteur was an original twist on an old platform riff, so that makes Sab II a double twist with a backflip and a lager chaser!",[2] while CRASH compared the game to its predecessor and decided that "Playability has increased greatly with keyboard response being improved."[1]

When the game was re-released by Encore in 1989, Your Sinclair gave it 80% and declared that "if it doesn't perhaps hold up too well now, it's still an entertaining enough chase-and-kick 'em up with the novelty of a female hero."[4]

Cheat mode and map

The game offered two subtle ways to assist the player:

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Saboteur II Review", CRASH, June 1987 
  2. ^ a b c d South, Phil (May 1987), "Saboteur II Review", Your Sinclair 
  3. ^ Saboteur II Inlay, Durell Software 
  4. ^ a b Berkmann, Marcus (September 1989), "Saboteur II Re-release Review", Your Sinclair 
  5. ^ CU Amiga-64 (Oct 1989)
  6. ^ Zzap! 52 (Aug 1989)
  7. ^ [1] CRASH map showing secret screen.
  8. ^ [2] Sinclair User map missing secret screen.
  9. ^ [3] Your Sinclair map missing secret screen.
  10. ^ [4] Contemporary (2002) map showing secret screen.
  11. ^ [5] Owner modified Sinclair User map showing secret screen.

External links