You're scheming on a thing that's a mirage, I'm trying to tell you now it's Sabotage. So why did I just quote a Beastie Boys song? Cause it shares the same title as an upcoming third person shooter with stealth elements, and because anytime I can make a pop culture reference…I will.

The story of Sabotage takes place during World War II and features Violette Summer, an M16 agent, who finds herself in a French hospital, unsure of how she got there, but through time feverish dreams will take Violette away into her forgotten past as she remembers how exactly she came to be where she is today. Alone and behind enemy lines, sabotage is her goal – silent and deadly. Her secret missions will take her to various hotspots of the war, such as France, Poland and of course Germany.

Now, the clichéd "main character has amnesia" bit is starting to become played out (if it isn't already, cause I'm not exactly sure since I may be suffering from…amnesia) and a trifle tired if you ask me, but I can forgive that based on the story the developers are trying to tell with their game. The game's main character is inspired by the true story of Violette Szabo, a female M16 agent and heroine of World War II. After her husband died in combat, she committed her life to fighting the Nazis. From 1941 to 1944 she completed many sabotage missions, mainly in France. Two months before the end of the war, she was murdered by the Nazis in a concentration camp. She is one of only four women to have been awarded the George Cross for valor after her death. So, as you can see, it is easy to forgive the amnesia when the game looks to tell the tale of an amazing woman who did a great deal in her lifetime to fight the monsters of that war who were slaughtering innocent people left and right.

When asked about the gameplay of Sabotage, someone involved with the game said that it is "quicker than a point and click adventure game" and that it can be "compared to Hitman and Splinter Cell." The point and click adventure comment is actually quite distracting, as there are no elements of that anywhere to be seen within this game and it moves at a much brisker pace. I've played an installment of the Hitman franchise before, along with all the console Splinter Cells, and I'd say that comment pretty much nails the feel of the game, especially the Hitman portion since it has that appearance while walking through the world, though it takes to an over the shoulder combat perspective like the Splinter Cell games.

The game features more than 10 authentic weapons and many different spy gadgets. Sabotage also incorporates an upgrade system similar to Resident Evil 4, in which the player can choose to upgrade their various weapons so that they perform as to the player's specifications during combat. The player is also able to find certain objects within the game that can be used to unlock various game goodies. There are more than 20 spectacular killing moves, which were deemed as "close kills" while the game was being shown to us. Close kills reminded me of those in Manhunt, as the closer the player got to an enemy the better kill they received, and the close kill instant kills unfold as a mini cutscene that shows the player dispatching the enemy.

The game looks rather nice in general as they sported some very nice lighting, though it seems to give everything (including the characters) a bit of plastic sheen to them. One of the things I liked was how the bullets will react to things in the environment, so if a misplaced shot doesn't hit the meaty center of its target it can break into other objects laying around and splinter up the environment. The music is different than usual for a game like this, as it has chosen not to go the full orchestra route but instead incorporates a more horror-ish soundtrack mixed with that of a film noir movie.

I'm really intrigued by the story of the game as it is supposed to focus on the real life Violette Szabo. During the game, a typical assignment will involve: destroying a building of military relevance, which means infiltrating a heavily guarded facility, placing explosive charges, killing a target person and finally making a dramatic escape. Besides the story, as anyone can tell by this last comment, the game looks to also feature some pretty tense mission scenarios. Look for the game to be released during the fourth quarter of 2006.