Prisoner of War attempts to recreate the heady antics of World War II's Allied escapees in a plotline which combines Nazi secret weapons, tunnels, disguises and daring breaks over the wire. Players must take the game's hero, US airman Captain Lewis Stone, through a number of camps including Stalag Luft and Colditz, completing a large number of mini-missions which culminate in full-scale escape attempts. The game is structured to mimic the daily life of prisoners: roll calls must be attended, dinners eaten, and failure to turn up results in camp-wide searches by Nazi guards and their attendant Alsatians. Codemasters have done well to create a believable atmosphere for the game. Camp layouts are faithful to the real locations and the sense of claustrophobia is strong. In essence this is a Metal Gear Solid 2-a-like--there's little opportunity for shooting and stealth is the name of the game. Guards have razor-sharp senses, resulting in many trips to the cooler for a night's solitary detention after an abortive attempt to steal something vital from a locked storeroom. And therein lies the major problem with Prisoner of War: it can get very repetitive very quickly. Without a clear plan of what to do and how to do it capture happens often and can become very frustrating. This is a game that rewards the patient player gung-ho tactics have no place for the average PoW.
SKU: 413314-product