| Taking the roll of Captain Lewis Stone, a confident and pretty cocky American pilot who has been shot down over Germany during a reconnaissance mission. You manage to parachute safely to ground and land next to a German base. Hence you get captured and locked up in a holding facility for prisoners of war. Prisoners are the processed and transferred to bigger, higher security camps including Castle Colditz.
As you might have guessed you have to escape from these prisons. The majority of the game is carried out in third person view, but a first person view can be used to examine items of watch soldiers. While wandering around you thinking of how to escape you may talk to fellow allies for advice and information and try to outsmart the patrolling guards. This all sounds possible but you only have limited time to carry out your missions as you have to line up for roll call every morning and evening. On top of this you must not cross the line surrounding the perimeter of the prison, approach fences or carry illegal goods as you will be shot or thrown into solitary confinement,
Papillion style. Rather than having a free reign to scheme your own plans for escape you must learn to bend the rules, you will become quickly embroiled in a plot involving the development of a German rocket.
The game consists of five missions with each mission having four main objectives. To carry these objectives out you will have to talk to other POWs, some will give you a name of someone to talk to, others may just point in the vicinity of where you need to be. Others my offer you ways to win currency, or where to find it for a fee, while others will sell you equipment to aid your progress, others can be paid to distract guards while you go about your business. Items you will have during the game will either be hand items or pocket items. The pocket items can be concealed within your uniform, guards will not be alerted if your are carrying these items around the prison. A lock pick is a pocket item and this can be used to enter restricted areas. Hand items are much larger in size so you are unable to conceal these items. If you are seen with any of these items you will be chased and either arrested of shot. Plus the items you where carrying will be taken from you, so you will need to find or buy these items again. The crowbar is a hand item and this can be used for breaking open locked doors.
Prisoner of War is a game of watching and learning, you must watch the guards patrols night and day so you know where they all are at all times. You will also realise that there are some key areas in each of the prisons. There is plenty of snooping to be done as you will have to jump over fences and hide under vehicles so you are not seen. Should you complete three of the four missions within each level you will have to start again, and again. You must complete all 20 missions within the game for your escape. This is a bit of a shame as the game could have had a more open and free structure but it wasn't to be.
The first level tends to lead you into a false sense of security as you can do pretty much anything so long as you attend the morning and evening roll calls. When you get further in the game you will realise that preparation and knowledge will help you and endless amount. The further you go in the game the more you will have to plan your future events. Basically you have to sneak around getting the right items for the right places without any of the guards knowing any better.
Prisoner of War has been beautifully done with great attention to detail and very nice 3D graphics. The camera can be awkward but you do have the first person view for the sometimes difficult to see rooms.
Prisoner of War is a very absorbing game rewarding patience, perseverance and patience. This is a great original and innovative game that's definitely worthy of your hard earned cash. 7.5 out of 10
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