Prisoner of War

"Great game, but doesn't quite live up to my expectations"

Like most other reviews I will divide it into parts, aspects of the game (gameplay, lifespan etc.).

Graphics - 8/10 :

At first the graphics look pretty dull, strange faces, ropey characters etc. but after finishing the game for a while I can say that they are quite good. The lighting is very good, lights from watch towers, personal flashlights that the guard carry all look very good. The rain and snow effects are also pretty good. Textures of buildings, gates, houses etc. are also solid and good. Now on the bad points. I've also noticed the weird frame rates other people talk about, often the game lags quite in some section (looking at some special place for example). Also the faces of the characters are quite ugly and their talking animation isn't the best in the world either. Another bad point is the animation that is quite clumsy (especially in cut-scenes). Sometimes the characters almost move like robots. But there is also some nice animation (for example when Stone is climbing up wall or a fence).

Sound - 7/10

The sound is overall pretty good in this game. But the German accents are a little weird. Personally I would have preferred that they actually talked German and then you would have subtitles on the screen. But other aspects of the sound is pretty good.

Music - 7/10

I haven't noticed the music so much, but from what I have heard it is pretty good. It can build up tension and give the player good atmosphere because when you are in trouble (like when a guard is running after you) the music becomes more intense and thrilling. So no bad thing here except that sometimes it is a little hard to notice. Yeah and one more things sometimes the music freezes, and the same sound plays the whole time (like diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, instead of di di di di :), play the game and you know what I mean)

Gameplay - 8/10

There is one thing I can complain about the gameplay and that is how linear it is. I was also (like some fellow gamers here at gamefaqs.com) hoping that this in this game you would plan out your own escape instead of doing planned out missions. Good thing though is that the missions are varied and fun, they also give you the chance to solve using different tactics. If it wasn't for that I would give the gameplay a 7. One other thing is that the guard A.I is sometimes very bad, or Codemasters are implying that the Krauts (as Germans were called in WW2) have VERY bad memory. Often when a guard spots from a guard tower (and even says, halt or i will fire, so he HAS seen you and didn't just think he saw something) and you run behind a building he'll just forget you and won't even call his buddies or anything. But sometimes the A.I is pretty smart too (especially in Colditz castle), following footprints, hearing when you bump your head into a pan in the kitchen etc. etc. But overall the game has very good solid gameplay.

Controls - 10/10

Easy and good controls. You can always see symbols of the square and x buttons in the top-right corner of your screen. When you come near something where you can perform a action it goes over one of those symbols, like if you are running up to a fence at first the square button is there but as you come up to the fence a symbol of Stone climbing goes over the square button symbol. So square and x handle all the actions. L1 puts you into fps (first person view) mode, but you can't walk in this mode though it's just for scanning your surroundings. D-pad or left analogue stick controls Stone and the right stick controls the camera (outside, inside buildings the camera position is fixed). Circle is used for crouching and the rest doesn't do anything (Triangle, R2, L2, R1).

Lifespan - 7/10

The game is pretty hard and should last for a while. Once finished you can return to camps and try to beat your rankings (rankings depend on : times taken to escape, times arrested, times shot and the number of times you used hints from fellow prisoners) and unlocking secrets but after that you are likely to be very tired of the missions. But that may be just normal for a game :)

OVERALL SCORE : 8/10 (above average)

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/16/02, Updated 08/16/02