Product Description

On arrival at the prisoner of war camp, circa 1941, you will be introduced to life as a prisoner in Nazi Germany, as well as a variety of interesting characters from around the world. Soon you will be devising a cunning escape plan involving the theft of tools from the Nazis' own living quarters. There are three meticulously modeled, fully 3D, historically realistic prisoner of war camps, including the infamous Colditz Castle. These camps are rich, detail-packed environments, brought to life with outstanding lighting, weather and other graphical effects.

The immersive game world is made vivid by the artificial intelligence of its population. Sophisticated detection, flocking, socialization and other artificial life algorithms work together to create a living, breathing world of distinctively-characterized inmates and guards. Your character is able to talk to anyone he meets, pick up and drop objects, climb fences and walls, crouch, crawl, mantle along ledges, peek around corners, tap on walls to distract guards, throw stones, use a telescope, and perform a wide variety of special actions with particular objects. An intelligent context-sensitive action button system ensures maximum control intuitiveness at all times. It is possible to replay any completed level, and aim to beat recorded escape times in order to earn new abilities.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7110 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Codemasters
• Released on: 2002-07-19
• Platform: PlayStation2

Amazon.co.uk Review
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.

Graphically, the game looks great; the effect is only spoiled by the stilted cut scenes, which never seem to flow properly and break up the plot in a rather annoying fashion. Sound is quite sparse and some of the voice acting, especially for the Allied characters, is weak and wooden. By contrast, the Germans all have 'Allo 'Allo-style comedy accents guaranteed to bring a smile even after being caught for the umpteeth time.

Players looking for quickfire action would be well advised to steer clear of Prisoner of War and head for the superb Medal of Honor: Frontline, but for those looking for something a bit more cerebral, Prisoner of War provides hours of stealthy, silent entertainment. --Chris Russell

Play Magazine
"Occasionally exciting, constantly aggravating, but saved by true originality and a great sense of intrigue. 79%."

Manufacturer's Description
Built on a rocky outcrop, with barbed wire and search lights around its perimeter, the infamous Colditz Castle was designed to be the ultimate holding camp for WW2 Allied Prisoners of War (POW), and was said to be escape proof. Gamers will have the chance to put the castle's security to the test with its recreation as one of the featured camps in Prisoner of War.

Codemasters' 3rd-person adventure game captures the heroism of Allied escape attempts from POW camps during World War II and Colditz is its toughest stronghold. The developer has built a faithful recreation of the castle's exterior. Its interior has been developed from historic references right down to the rich detail of elaborate rooms, peeling wallpaper in the corridors and the ironwork on the balconies. Unexpected areas of the castle have also been added, including tunnels and secret passages.

In POW there are many ways to outsmart the enemy and escape, but beware - failure could change the course of history...

Customer Reviews

Incredible
I read all the reviews on amazon and from what other gamers thought of this it didn't seem that good, i took a risk and bought it and i was not dissapointed. Okay some of the dialog is cheesy humour but that doesn't spoil the great great gameplay. Tension builds up as you get closer and closer trying to sneak past guards to steal vital information, to me this game was better than metal gear solid 2. You do have to use your head when playing P.O.W. you can't go round breaking guards necks, but you think on how to succeed in your objectives by just using boot polish etc. This is a perfect game for people who love stealth games, and it is also one of the best ps2's titles. A brilliant purchase

One for the more mature and patient gamer
I had been reading about Prisoner of War for weeks before it was finally released with much anticipation, I was not disappointed. Let's get one thing straight though right from the start - if you expect a shoot-em-up and think that as the game progresses you will get some kind of machine-gun and blast your way to freedom, then you will be disappointed. The game involves hunting for objects (such as german uniforms,keys and crowbars) to help you escape. Creeping around outside barracks at night with guards nearby and searchlights scouring the camp. The graphics are excellent and the atmospheric music helps to build up the intensity. The German uniforms are even authentic right down to the collar patches on the Luftwaffe and SS officers. It does get repetetive though and I think it would have been better if there were several different ways to escape from the camp. Instead there is just one and you have to follow a set pattern of collecting items and information from your fellow prisoners before making a dash for it. This is well worth buying though if you liked The Great Escape movie and want a game with a challenge. One more thing though, it's very hard and gets frustrating when you keep on getting caught by the guards and sent to the cooler. Keep on trying though and be patient and you will reap the rewards.

Move Prisoner...Schnell !!
I've waited a week and given the game a good play-testing before passing comment on it. This is a hard game to crack, if your expecting an MGS2 like game then i'd suggest looking elsewhere. The overall idea of the game is good, the control method, whilst a tadge fiddly at times is adequate. The first couple of levels are fairly easy, getting you into the game, but the interaction with the other prisoners is limited to simply asking the same questions over and over again. The gameplay can become repetitive (you constantly have to travel over old ground to complete objectives) this may be due to the claustrophobic nature of a prison camp but it can prove a bit of a chore. Once your a couple of levels into the game the guards suddenly turn from extras in "Hogans Hero's" (i.e - dense) to crack SS Officers, making the game extremly frustrating. Maybe that adds to the longevity, but how i wish you could silence guards with a quick neck break (ala MSG). Overall this is a fairly good game, one that will last you a fair bit if you can put up with the niggles, but i feel too many people will get frustrated and throw the towel in. Maybe worth checking your local market stall and getting this as a pre-owned game more so than paying top dollar for it.