The Great Escape - PS2

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Also for: PC, Xbox
Viewed: 3D Third-person, floating camera Genre:
Adventure
Strategy
Media: CD Arcade origin:No
Developer: Pivotal Soft. Co.: Pivotal
Publishers: Gotham Games (US)
SCi (GB/GB)
Released: 25 Jul 2003 (US)
29 Aug 2003 (GB)
Unknown (GB)
Ratings: PEGI 12+
Features: Vibration Function Compatible
Accessories: Memory Card

Summary

Another film-turned-videogame, The Great Escape for PlayStation 2 rejects the flash of modern day blockbusters such as The Matrix and instead turns to a genuine classic from the 1960's.

Based on the 1963 classic, SCi’s The Great Escape follows the heroic efforts of Captain Virgil 'The Cooler King' Hilts in a virtual stealth adventure based on actual events from World War II. Your crusade begins deep in the grounds of the infamous “escape proof” POW camp Stalag Luft III in a game that requires the use of stealth, combat and even motorbikes to progress through some truly formidable levels.

Like most other games with an element of stealth gameplay, The Great Escape pits players in a 3D world infested with enemy troops, in which walls become a man’s best friend and greatest hope for survival. You’ll be charged with several crucial objectives whilst wandering the 3D gaming locales, and you’ll make particular use of the game’s “keyhole camera” and “distractions” features. In order to progress through certain stages of the game, you’ll have to interact with other prisoners and convince them to create a distraction for troublesome guards. It’s a nice touch that many other games of this type seem to have missed.

The game world itself looks great, and combined with some dramatic camera angles and perspectives, it offers an authentic atmosphere and a genuinely tense experience. There are some nice lighting effects and the general mood of the game is dark and intimidating, very much like the real thing, we imagine. It isn’t as visualy accomplished as its PC counterpart, but as a game, nothing is lost in terms of gameplay, style and presentation.

It is a game that will inevitably be compared with Konami’s Metal Gear series, but it shouldn’t. It’s a game out on its own, and a worthy addition to the genre.