Prisoner of War

"Suprised Me..."

I have the UK version. In case you don’t know the premise of this game is to escape from a variety of POW camps using other prisoners etc. to help you.

Sound: Nice background music if not played enough which really adds to the atmosphere. The voice acting is interesting. Some voices are done perfectly, while others are really over-exaggerated trying to add a few cheap laughs to the game. The sounds for objects are pretty unforgiving as well. If you bump into certain objects the guards will come straight to where you are meaning you have to hide very quickly indeed.

Gameplay: This is very addictive. At first you may find the game a little slow with no guns or gore. Soon after you start exploring the camp you find that it really is good fun just to explore and work out different ways to get to different areas of the camp. When you start the missions they can seem quite hard at the beginning, but slowly you get a feel for the game and you will be sneaking round with skill. The only annoyance I find with the gameplay is some slightly dodgy AI. Sometimes guards will give up looking for you if you are seen after two minutes, whereas sometimes they will look for a long time. Overall= 9

Graphics: I own the ps2 version of the game but also have finished the x-box version with a friend. The only real difference between the two games is the graphics. On the ps2 the graphics are slightly jaggy whereas on x-box everything is nice and smooth. I would say that there’s a 25% increase in graphical quality. The character animations are very good with realistic body movements. The camera angle though is not amazing however. It often does not pan round without you doing it manually, which can be frustrating. Overall= 8

Replayability: Well so far the game seems to have pretty good replayability. I am on the last mission and have already started replaying a few levels. You get a grade (A-F) depending on the quality of your performance. Most people will get a low grade on their first run through due to being caught and shot etc. Then when you try again you will find the game a lot easier due to already knowing where everything is. If you get a grade A you unlock a cheat and these tend to be quite cool. So there is quite good replayability. Overall= 8

I will give this game an 8 overall as it is a very good game, but could have been made better by sorting out some of the graphical glitches etc.

Overall= 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/25/02, Updated 07/25/02