Saboteur!

Saboteur! from Durell Software came out on the Commodore 64 in 1985 and became one of the most original efforts in the action-platformer genre of its time. The player takes on the role of a ninja who breaks into a sprawling enemy base at night to steal important data and then escape before being caught by guards, dogs, or a timed alarm. Besides running and jumping, the character can attack with punches and kicks, climb ladders and pipes, and swim, while the sprawling compound map, connected across many screens, gave the game an unusually open sense of exploration for its time, something rarely seen in action games of the mid-1980s.

A key innovation was the time limit on the mission and, in particular, the final phase of the game, where after completing the objective the player has to escape the area as quickly as possible before it explodes – with several different routes out available, including the option of stealing a helicopter. On the C64, the game made good use of hardware sprites for smooth movement of the character and guards, and worked with a fairly varied base environment, from offices to warehouses and technical rooms, all connected on a single continuous map. The sound was sparse but functional, with prominent alarm and combat effects that clearly signaled approaching danger to the player and forced quick changes of tactics.

Saboteur! is still valued today as one of the best action titles on the C64, and its open approach to completing the mission, where the player chooses their own route and way of resolving conflicts, foreshadowed the genre's later shift toward greater player freedom. Its commercial and critical success led to the sequel Saboteur II, which expanded and deepened the concept even further. Even today the game feels surprisingly fresh thanks to its combination of platforming action, stealth elements, and a tense final escape, and it rightfully belongs among the titles that anyone interested in the C64's golden era should play through.

Why play: Anyone who wants to experience the C64's golden era in the form of an open action mission with a player-chosen route and a tense final escape should play through Saboteur!, one of the titles every fan of the platform ought to know.