Alone Against The Mafia
The narrative was changed... just enough... to stop Clive from getting annoyed. This time, we aren't ninjas but secret agents for the police force. It's our mission to infiltrate the Mafia's hideout and destroy their secret data. Oddly, their headquarters look much like those in the original, but if you keep quiet, so will I.
Let's pause this read to take a gander at a couple of screenshots bursting with colour...
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.
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?
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 faithful. Many rooms have slight visual changes here and there, but the layout is comparable. This also applies to enemy placement, albeit to a lesser extent (the Speccy game has more guards?)
Arriving on a dinghy, we climb onto dry land and immediately notice that there are two types of enemies: guards and dogs. Our four-legged friends will chase, but the soldiers don't, reacting only when within sight. So, in true ninja (oops) secret agent style, explore using stealth and tactics. If you enter a room and see a guard, but are unarmed, then leave. He could be facing the other way when you return (tip).
The mafia's hideout is large with many areas to explore. Several doors are locked, thus blocking their access. 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 that 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. Look for bricks to throw at the guards. That never gets old! Of course, a gun is much better, with 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 the same as the original. On the left are the items you have found and are carrying. On the right, you shall see an empty box; it will only display an item if one is nearby. Next to that is the timer. I hate timers, but this isn't so bad. Finally, along the bottom, you shall notice the replenishable energy bar.
This bar decreases as you move and falling great distances also has an impact. However, I'm not sure it was needed, as a single shot from a guard kills instantly, regardless of its level.
Ditch the joystick. It's a fact that secret agents are best controlled with the keyboard. He can run, leap, and shoot/throw. Unlike the Speccy game, there are no fighting moves. Well, we're not a ninja now!
The keyboard control initially seems odd. 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 goes before you fully grasp it. Practice makes perfect. He says.
Take a look at this nifty table box I made...
| 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 |
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Aesthetics
Saboteur was a game of little colour, so black & white offers the perfect ambience. I love the backdrops that use a repeating, tiled effect, which faithfully replicate the original idea. 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 make sense, I guess?
The audio is light on the ground with only a few spot effects for the gunfire. 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, getting killed by the guards, and having to restart from the beginning. Thankfully, I didn't walk away and translated the instructions into English. Once learned, I could properly play. And boy, am I glad I did.
The keyboard controls work well with responsive movements. Even with missing mechanics for the guards/combat moves, I'm blown away by such an authentic conversion. Once you are over its initial learning curve, you can run around like an angry ninja with a gun, blasting guards in the Mafia's labyrinth.
Diethard must have been a massive Saboteur fan who spent months beavering away in GFA Basic. Sure, each screen has slight differences, but everything marries up to form the same game map as is in the ZX Spectrum original, mind-boggling!! A fantastic remake that I proudly rate a marvellous 80%.
Are you old enough to remember the original? Then I suggest you download Allein Gegen Die Mafia!!
> Download the floppy disk via Hang Loose at the Atari FTP Archive.
