Prisoner of War

Review by Old Rooster
January 2003

Prisoner of War attempts to build a stealth-adventure upon the kind of sneak/evade components found in such games as Thief and Metal Gear Solid. Although the setting and gameplay premise may be appealing, the title is unfortunately brought down by some rough edges and, perhaps, being too much of a good thing.

Let's set the game up, both as to location and play design.

"You're Captain Lewis Stone, shot down over wartime Germany. You must fulfill your mission to destroy the enemy's devastating new super-weapon, despite imprisonment at Stalag Luft. Stealth and cunning are the only available 'weapons' through your multiple prison camp internment."

"Now, We Have Just Three Rules in this Camp—Report to Roll Call, Don't Go Near the Perimeter Fences, and Obey All Rules!" —Camp Kommandant

Except for cutscenes and involvement in the progressive storyline indicated above, all of your time and efforts are spent in various prison environments, the most famous and interesting of which is Colditz Castle. And, speaking of time, there is a prominent clock displayed in the upper left corner of your screen, which informs of the next objective and where you should be at a particular point in the day. The rest of the interface is logically and clearly presented, including a small map and indicator of nearby guards.

Resembling very much my life with Frau Wife, "Home Kommandant," our Captain Stone's daily routine looks like this—morning roll call, meager breakfast, morning exercise, a bit of lunch, limited afternoon free time, what one may call dinner, evening muster, lights out. Deviating substantially from this structure, as indicated in the Kommandant's "three rules," can lead to a stay in the sick bay or, worse yet, solitary confinement. You can't be killed, only delayed in mission accomplishment. Sometimes being caught can be serious, however, as you stand to lose all of the goodies (inventory) you have painstakingly acquired.

Prisoner of War has our hero engaged in many conversations with prison guards and other inmates. The goals typically are to acquire information about items (disguises, crowbar, etc.) needed to accomplish particular objectives. The overall mission is to escape each camp, moving along the story path, culminating in Colditz. There is an open-endedness, sometimes too much so, in this regard. In that sense, it resembles some of the more ambiguous adventure games we so often enjoy. While sneaking about the camps, Stone needs to avoid the purview of roving guards, displayed via a cone on the map. Attention and alarms may be drawn to him by "sighting" even a small portion of his body within the cone, or even his making too much noise. There sometimes is an inconsistency (A.I. problem) in this regard.

Ambient sounds and background music are very nicely done—perhaps the strongest part of the game. Voice acting, though, is uneven, sometimes a caricature of Hogan's Heroes' cast members, producing groans and a smile, although this isn't intended to be a funny game. Unfortunately, graphics, even at 1024x768 resolution, are as bland and flat as the camps themselves. Which brings us to ...

"Sorry, I Don't Like Your Rules" —Captain Stone

In the first couple of hours, I was really excited about POW, sensing that it was a very creative approach to contemporary adventuring—no shooting, hitting, killing; just conversations, inventory collection, puzzle-solving. The environment is "alive," populated with interesting characters, both prisoners and guards, who seem to have agendas of their own, and most of whom can be conversed with. However, although receiving "points" for originality of design and intent, some important gameplay and technical areas left me disappointed. I finished POW only because I was doing a review and am not giving the title a permanent place in my library.

Prisoner of War is a multiplatform release, with the bias clearly toward the console. The dreaded camera and control issues rear their heads, much as with so many third-person games, particularly those that are console-ported and/or created with the console in mind. For example, there are two hint buttons displayed onscreen that are easily confused with action buttons and clearly designed for the Xbox. Camera following is sometimes awkward, often failing to reveal what you would like to view; as is the sometimes imprecise movement of Stone. I guess we're getting rather used to this port phenomenon, but I still resent the failure of developers to fully employ the flexibility of the PC (mouse, keyboard) in most games of this type.

Saving a game follows common console guidelines, as well. To accomplish this critical step, you must return to the bed in your barracks, sometimes a harrowing trip. Given the trial-and-error nature of the game, this presents a serious impediment to the gradual progress we enjoy with "save anywhere" approaches. One has to repeat enough as it is, given the difficulty of POW, without having to add territory to it by going back to the barracks!

Finally, those mechanical components could be overlooked somewhat if gameplay was more involving and interesting. However, the "FedEx" running about for inventory items and other "keys" to progress in the game becomes soon redundant and boring, as well as frustrating. I really wanted this almost unique game to be a hit, but I'm afraid it falls substantially short. As mentioned earlier, the first couple of hours are novel and motivating, but the next twenty, through four major missions, are much less involving, leading, I'm sorry to say, to an overall rating of "not very good." Rent this if you own a console, and buy it from the bargain bin, preferably with a return privilege, if you own a PC.

What I Liked About Prisoner of War

• Attempt by developer to be innovative
• Interesting setting
• Potentially involving overall storyline
• Thoughtful gameplay without weapons
• Good use of ambient sounds and music
• Conversations with NPCs
• Ambiguity and multiple ways to solve problems

What I Didn't Like About Prisoner of War

• Awkward control and camera
• Flat, colorless graphics
• Console-type save game mechanism
• Subpar voice acting
• High level of difficulty
• Overall timed nature of the game
• Tension/frustration with having to meet the camp schedule or lose items
• Uneven A.I. that is hard to accurately predict
• Ambiguity and multiple ways to solve problems 

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: Wide Games
Publisher: Codemasters
Release Date: September 2002

Available for:  

Four Fat Chicks Links

Player Feedback

Screenshots

System Requirements

Windows 95/98/ME/XP
Pentium II 450
128 MB RAM
8X CD-ROM
16 MB 3D DirectX 8.0 compatible video card
DirectX 8.0 compatible sound card

Where to Find It

Gogamer (PC) 27.90
Gogamer (Xbox) 44.90

Prices/links current as of 01/07/03
Links provided for informational purposes only. FFC makes no warranty with regard to any transaction entered into by any party(ies).

For More Info, Visit: