The Great Escape
We need Steve McQueen to get help us escape this game…
Tags: Great Escape Categories: PS2 Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Andrew on Sep 24th, 2003
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Escape (title page) | |||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
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For anyone that has had the audacity to watch a movie made before 1990, one of the all time greatest war movies was the Great escape, featuring Steve McQueen (and a incredibly famous motorcycle escape to freedom). Gothom games decided to try revive the action game genre by using the 1963 movie as the basis for their latest game.
The game, like the film, takes place during WWII as you play one a prisoner in a German concentration camp trying to escape. Throughout the game you play as 4 different characters – try to run, dodge, sneak and outwit the German’s. While this sounds a lot like Hogan’s Heroes (which in itself was based on the film), it lacks the ability to be funny, and the game can be quite difficult at times. The AI of the guards is pretty well done, with the later Gestapo being extremely difficult at times.
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The game has players (in character) going about different missions to enable their escape: from getting German clothing, papers or files, to reach telephones or making the actual escape. The missions themselves are somewhat repetitive, but do offer enough change to make the game livable. The missions themselves are often multi-part, and are mostly based on stealth.
While the player can pick up different items from guns to rifles and such, and can even take over gun batteries, the using of them draws attention and the bigger the shootout, the more guards will appear. The game itself is extremely difficult in parts, both due to the enemy AI as well as the slow frame rates which make controls almost impossible in certain parts.
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The graphics in The Great Escape are certainly below the top grade of what the PS2 can put out. The different effects such as the snow and explosions are average and do nothing to hinder or help the game, but add atmosphere. The PS2 can do better, but overall, it’s not bad.
After the initial escape attemps fail, the Germans decide to put all four prisoners into the same heavily fortified camp so that they will be easier to control (and also easier for the prisoners to plan and coordinate together). The game takes place over different locals and at various times during the day and night. There are other places, such as the first mission where you escape from a downed plane after shooting a few German planes from the tail gun.
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The Great Escape was a good attempt to bring back one of the all time great action movies and reintroduce it to the modern audience. Unfortunately the game is fatally flawed and while is still an ok action game, the difficulty and frame rate problems cause this game to suffer a lot. I still recommend it for people to check out and maybe rent, but it takes a very dedicated fan to the movie or the genre to appreciate fully this game
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
Great detail to story line and keeping with the movie Decent graphic engine The motorcycle scene and the song from the movie |
5.8 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
Frame rate slow down Extremly difficult Freakin' gestapo |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| As a great movie aficionado, I had a lot of high hopes for this game, and unfortunately like most great action movie actors, this game is destined to obscurity and to be forgotten, which at least in the game's case, is a good thing. | |
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Tags: Great Escape
Posted by Andrew on Sep 24th, 2003 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
