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Clive Townsend worked on two more incarnations of the Saboteur saga, neither of which came to fully exist. The closest to being another Saboteur game is probably The Reaper from 1990, released by Ubi Soft in 1991, but it failed to gain much attention.

You can stop your ninjing 'cos Durell has released Saboteur II - Avenging Angel. Phil South gets his shurikens shaken and his sword rattled.
Swish Thud "Urgh!" Pad pad pad. "Halt! Who goes..." Swish snap!
Silently sneaking through the darkened corridors, the slightly built Ninja dropped the two guards before they could make a sound. She climbed the ladder at the end of the corridor, only to find another three guards at the top... she expertly spun a pair of shuriken, injuring two of them. But the third ran after her. The corridor ended in a sheer drop down the side of the building... she backed up a step and without hesitation flung herself into the void, bunching her body tightly in a fast, high spin.
Phew! It's exciting all this Ninja stuff, innit! If you enjoyed Saboteur, you'll just lurve Durell's spanking new sequel, Saboteur II. Subtitled 'Avenging Angel', it's the adventures of Sab's sister, a fetching gel called Nina, who it seems is a Ninja too. Poor old Sab, though he escaped intact from the last adventure with the enemy's computer disk, got himself iced (clumsy beggar) at the end of Saboteur I. Sis is understandably miffed about it, and sets out to make home cooked catfood out of the evil foreign power who did for him.
The format of the game is similar to Sab I in that you are a black clothed figure, with all the high leaps, Kung Fu kicks and punches, and a lot of shuriken and dragon's tongue swordplay besides. Where Sab II wins out over Sab I is in the sheer size of the thing! Over 700 screens take you through tunnels, the rooms in the three buildings, through the grounds around the base and even beyond ...if you can escape.
Nina has discovered that her brother was knocked off because the disk he stole contained the plans for a new missile base, which the enemy is building inside a mountain. She hang glides over the mountain and drops into the enemy's base. On the top is the original missile base, a building containing all the enemy's ammo, and the new missile base. Previous Ninja warriors who tried to destroy this base have left their weapons behind, so there's plenty of stuff for you to fling at the flame-throwing androids and maneating pumas...
You must get in, destroy as much as possible, prevent the evil toads from nukeing the western world, and get out again on the flashy motorcycle you'll find in the lower caverns of the mountain. As in Sab I, you must also collect computer tapes, but this time if you feed them into the computer you'll blow up the missile. There are lifts to negotiate, 14 pieces of computer code to collect, pumas to outrun and eight foot tall androids to beat the living springs out of. Yep Sab II's a hell of a lot more difficult than its prequel! In order to drop a guard, you have to kick it, pierce it with shuriken, beat it over the head with spanners and lead pipes and generally duff it up for some minutes before it consents to have a little lie down. On the whole I avoided confrontation with the metal mickies and ran away rather than waste my energy.
All the computer tapes are in boxes along with your ammo - in order to find them you have to riffle through the contents of the boxes. The lifts save you a lot of time going up and down levels 'cos you can travel up to ten floors in one fell swoop. This comes in very handy when your timer's running short and you've got to get right down to the bottom level and on yer bike before the missile blasts off!
The graphics are smaller and a little more detailed than on Sab I, and the characters more animated. The androids seek you out, so you have to keep moving a lot more than in the previous game. For 128 music fans, the music for the Fat Speccy is fantastic.
This is a fine sequel, but possibly more important, it's a fine game in it's own right. Saboteur was an original twist on an old platform riff, so that makes Sab II a double twist with a backflip and a lager chaser!

Phil South

Central security of the Dictator's mountain hideout was breached and details of his missile systems stolen in Saboteur 1. With the Ninja warrior who undertook that mission now dead, his sister continues the work, using the newly acquired information to alter the missile's target.

To do that our Ninjette must first enter the headquarters, which are protected by androids and pumas, by choosing her moment to drop from a hang-glider. There she finds an armoury, missile silos, offices, lifts and underdeveloped open areas. Inside the complex she can run left and right, jump up, drop down, or use ladders to reach other levels, while avoiding vampire bats in the lower levels.

Although android guards carry throwing knives and flame throwers, with each programmed in unarmed combat, they can be evaded and their weapons avoided by leaping or reaching areas where they do not follow. Androids and pumas can be killed, by punching, high kicking and flinging objects, (a marital arts throwing weapons is initially carried), but their great strength generally requires several lethal blows to be delivered very accurately. For every blow landed and opponenet killed, money is earned.

No energy is consumed by running or climbing, but puma bites, bums, drowning, falls and contact with guard's weapons reduces our heroines reserves. This can be replenished by standing quietly in screens where all guards have been killed, or do not follow, but not by waiting on ladders.

As progress is made through the 700 or so flick screens, supply crates containing objects, such as pieces of pipe, spanners, knives and some items not immediately identifiable are discovered. Crates can be searched - a stash searched message appears when this is complete - with their contents successively displayed in the 'near' box at the screen's base. When there, they can be transferred to the 'held' box and subsequently hurled at attackers. Only one object can be held at a time.

Computer tape may be contained within supply boxes, and when sufficient has been collected, it can be used to redirect the missile. At higher skill levels the terminal next to the missile can only be operated when extra sections of computer tape have been collected. When acquired computer tape pieces are displayed at the bottom of the screen. Other computer terminals control lifts and the electrified perimeter fence.

Once the missile's flight has been altered, survival depends on escaping by motorbike, along the single exit from the mountain - the tunnel protected by electrified fences - before missile launch. A clock shows time remaining until ignition.

Once a mission's been successfully completed, the next game level, with its separate mission objectives, can be started.



CRITICISM
'Considering the time that Durell have had to develop Saboteur II it isn't a step on from its predecessor, more of a lateral move really. Having said this, it isn't a ba game and it's sure to keep Saboteur fans happy for ages. There are a lot of screens and the guards are tough, so overall it's a very hard game to play - but it is rewarding when you find the first piece of tape, or the bike. The jerky graphics can be annoying at times, but they're generally bearable. 48K sound is reasonable, with a title tune and some worthy effects during the game; the 128K version has the same effects but is graced with a great tune.'
BEN

'No surprises here, folks, the basic concept is very similar to the first game. Graphically it's exactly the same, but contains many more features; flame throwers, hang gliders, etc. The animation is superb - especially that of the pumas, and I like the idea of the player controlling a woman leaping about - it makes little difference really, but I'm sure lady players will find it appealing. Overall, Saboteur II is a much more challenging game than the first, with more obstacles and many more rooms. A superb follow-up with great depth of content.'
PAUL

Saboteur II is as appealing its predecessor. I had hours of fun playing the - this follow up has all of its qualities and lots more. Screen layouts are pretty much the same, and so's the sound; which may imply it's a copy rather than a continuation. Not at all! Playability has increased greatly, with keyboard response being improved. You might get a little bored with the same aspects of play, but although Saboteur II is slightly expensive, it's well worth having as a follow up.'
GARETH

COMMENTS
Control keys: A/Z up/down, N/M left/right, Space to fire
Joystick: Kempston, Interface 2
Use of colour: strong and clean
Graphics: large, nicely defined characters, tendency to flicker
Sound: good tune and spot FX
Skill levels: one; codes for other 13
Screens: over 700
General Rating: Involving and challenging beat 'em up which successfully incorporates its adventure elements.

Presentation 84%
Graphics 83%
Playability 86%
Addictiveness 79%
Value for Money 78%
Overall 83%