How to play Saboteur online
- Move Hotot: arrow keys
- Fire: Space bar
- Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Choose a game variation: F11 (the console’s Select switch)
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it
Gameplay
The game has three stages. At the launch site, construction robots walk along catwalks carrying parts to a rocket, and you shoot them before the rocket is finished. You have allies here: the Gorfons, squat yellow bird-like creatures that steal rocket parts, lowering the rocket one step each time they reach it. Watching over the base is the Master Robot, which fires at both you and the Gorfons. You cannot destroy it for good; it comes back a few seconds later.
In the second stage the warhead’s parts move along a conveyor belt behind shielding. To get through it, you bounce the Master Robot’s laser blasts downwards to break the parts. It works like a small puzzle under a time limit. If the warhead is completed before you destroy it, you face it directly in a final showdown, where it has only light shielding and one good shot finishes it.
There are four difficulty modes. Normal is the basic game, Hard adds bullets that reflect, Difficult adds bullets from the sides, and Insane combines both.
Tips
- Protect the Gorfons. Every part they steal sets the rocket back, which buys you time.
- Treat the Master Robot as a tool. On the conveyor stage its shots are your weapon, so position yourself to deflect them rather than just dodging.
- Don’t panic if the warhead is finished. The final duel is short, and a single hit wins it.
Why Saboteur was never released
According to Warshaw, Saboteur was complete and close to release when Atari decided to turn it into a game based on the TV series The A-Team. The robots were redrawn as A-Team characters and villains, with Mr. T and Murdock trying to stop a nuclear launch, while the three stages stayed largely the same. The A-Team version, dated 1984, was never released either. Accounts differ on how finished Saboteur was: Wikipedia says Warshaw left Atari before completing it. In 2004 the prototype was issued as a reproduction cartridge for collectors.
