Allein Gegen Die Mafia

Alone Against The Mafia

If Allein Gegen Die Mafia looks familiar, it's based on an old ZX Spectrum called Saboteur by Clive Townsend/Durell Software. Developed using GFA Basic by Diethard Zellmann in 1990 and translated into English by me (okay, the web helped too). It only works in monochrome and isn't something I'd heard about until a while back (greetings Jim!).

The narrative was changed... just enough... possibly to stop Clive from getting annoyed. This time we aren't a ninja but a secret agent for the police force. It's our mission to infiltrate the Mafia's hideout and destroy their computer and secretive data. Oddly, their headquarters look very much like those in the original but, if you keep quiet, so will I.

Let's pause this boring read to gander over a couple of screenshots bursting with colours...

Right, we've arrived and are ready for action. Bring it on, Mafia boys!

Hardly a ninja! I practice with the controls and end up looking like a knob.

Gameplay

The moment the game begins, it feels familiar yet excitingly surreal. Fans will note that the mafia's lair is remarkably faithful. Many rooms have slight visual changes here and there, but the overall layout remains comparable. Quite a feat!! This also applies to the enemy placement albeit less so. I remember the Speccy game having more guards (?)

Arriving on a dinghy, we climb onboard dry land and immediately begin to notice that there are only two types of enemies; guards and dogs. Our four-legged friends will chase but, the soldiers remain still, reacting only when you're within their line of sight. So, in true ninja style... sorry... in true secret agent style, explore carefully using stealth and tactics. If you enter a room and see a guard, but are unarmed, leave. He could be facing the other way when you return (/tip).

The mafia's hideout is large with many areas to explore. However, several doors are locked thus blocking access to further areas. This is probably the only puzzle element in the entire game. These locked doors have an ID number. Remember that number. To unlock seek the corresponding computer terminal with the associated number.

To succeed in Allein Gegen Die Mafia, you must be stealthy and quick on the draw. Explore carefully and unlock doors only as and when you need to. Don't waste time blindly roaming around, have a plan. And while you're there, look for bricks to throw at the guards. That never gets old! Of course, a gun is much better - with limited ammunition.

Fancy a couple more screenshots? I hope so because here they are...

Oh no, that guard is facing the wrong way and will kill you. Find another route!

The guards are tough but I'm tougher. He's dead and I'm alive. What more do you need to know?

Interface & Controls

The status panel is just like the original. On the left are the items you have found and currently carrying (limit of one removed). On the far right you shall see an empty box, this will only display an item if nearby. Next to that is the timer, I hate timers but this one isn't so bad. Finally, along the bottom, you shall notice the replenishable energy bar.

This bar begins to zap with every move and falling great distances also has an impact. However, I'm not sure it was needed because a single shot from a guard kills instantly - regardless of your energy level.

Ditch the joystick. It's a fact, that secret agents are best controlled with the keyboard. He can run, leap, and shoot/throw objects. Unlike the Speccy game, there are no fighting moves. I guess that's why we're not a ninja now?

The keyboard control might, initially, appear awkward? They're not as bad as you first assume. Well, yes they are. No, they're not. Look, it's gonna take a couple of go's before you fully grasp it. Practice makes perfect. He says...

cursor left = run left cursor right = run right cursor up = climb up cursor down = climb down	shift + cursor left = jumps left shift + cursor right = jumps right shift + cursor up = item pick up shift + cursor down = item drop
spacebar = fire gun or throw an object shift spacebar = use computer when at a terminal or switch weapons

Aesthetics

Saboteur is, effectively, a game of little colour so black & white offers the perfect ambience. Hey, at least there's no colour clash!! I love the backdrops that use a repeating tiled effect, copying the original idea well. Also, the characters look good with extra details in high resolution. However, I still find it odd that the guards don't walk - like they're skiving, frozen solid, or waiting for trouble to come to them! Still, without combat moves that makes sense, I guess?

The audio is very, very light on the ground with only a few spot effects - for the gunfire and sadly, nothing for footsteps. In fact, almost all the gameplay is silent which, I fear, heavily detracts from the atmosphere. Disappointing.

Enough yapping, let's see some more sexy secret agent screenshots...

Deeper into the adventure I find a room with an exit sign. Surely a trap?

Talk about overkill, I accidentally killed the guard with dynamite. Sod it, I'm still leaving!

CryptO'pinion

When I began playing, I thought this was nothing but a lame ripoff. I wasn't happy with the controls or instantaneously getting killed by the guards and having to restart from the beginning. Thankfully, I didn't walk away and translated the instructions. Once learned, the keyboard controls work very well with responsive movements.

Diethard must be a massive Saboteur fan who spent months beavering away in GFA Basic. Sure, there are visual differences but the screens marry to form the same map. So impressive. Once you are over that initial learning curve, you can run around like an angry ninja with a gun. So blast those guards and explore the Mafia's massive labyrinth.

Even with missing mechanics for the guards/combat moves, I'm blown away by such an authentic conversion. This is a blast and something I cannot recommend highly enough, especially if you liked the original. A fantastic remake.

I proudly rate this 75% and suggest you download Allein Gegen Die Mafia. Right away now - go!!

Download the floppy disk via Hang Loose at the Atari FTP Archive.