The Great Escape Review

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The Great Escape

Review by Old RoosterAugust 2003

A British/American Marriage

One of the reasons my English wife married me 42 years ago had to do with my reminding her of Steve McQueen—cool, arrogant, sassy, action-oriented, sexy, and strikingly handsome! So The Great Escape, the film, became one of our all-time favorites when released in 1963. It told the story, as only Hollywood can, of the experiences of several of the hardest of hardcore prisoners in the infamous Stalig Luft 3 camp, located in Germany during World War II. Based on a true story, the film was gripping, climaxed by the incredible motorbike escape of McQueen.

Watch the Movie, Then Play the Game

Movie-licensed games have generally met with poor success, particularly in the eyes of critics. Based on my experience, the most faithful and fun adaptation I’ve played is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, followed closely by The Thing, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The City of Lost Children. In brief, The Great Escape ranks right up there with the best of them.

Following my pattern with games spun off from films, I viewed the movie prior to playing the adaptation. This led, for example, to The Thing (the game) to be viewed in quite a different light than as a completely isolated play experience. So, too, with The Great Escape.

Not only is my likeness, Steve McQueen, complete with voice and swagger, “digitally resurrected” (with permission of his estate), but virtually all of the key scenes featured in the movie are represented in the game—including the motorbike episode.

“There Will Be No Escape from this Camp” —Kommandant

Much like the lesser, and rather different, game, Prisoner of War, TGE’s overall theme deals with prison escape.  But the scope and settings move well beyond the experiences of sneaking past guards, digging tunnels, and avoiding searchlights—although all of these are parts of the game. Here, as reflected in the enclosed game pictures, we have almost half of the 18 missions played outside the prison walls. This adds tremendous variety to what becomes a quite compelling gaming experience. Much like the film, life is far from dull in WWII Germany!

“Keep at It, Sir” —Flight Crew to MacDonald

Beginning with MacDonald’s harrowing experience during a night bombing raid, leading to his eventual capture, we are introduced to the four characters you play in the episodes:

  • Flight Lieutenant MacDonald—intelligence and planning officer;
  • Flying Officer Sedgewick—good with machines;
  • Flight Lieutenant Hendly—wheedles, barters and scrounges; and
  • Captain Virgil “The Cooler King” Hilts—stubborn, tough, and excels at escapes.

You are assigned one character in each chapter and can’t voluntarily select among them. Although this seems a bit limiting, the specific goals will require specific and different skills, with this episode movement from one to another giving a very nice variety to overall gameplay.

Settings range from the burning airplane to a castle, a train, mountainous and rural terrain and, of course, the climactic motorbike chase.

“It Is Forbidden to Be out at Night” —Kommandant

Let’s say a few words about the technical aspects and mechanics of the game.

Coming on two CDs, with a fine 5×7-inch manual, TGE takes about 1.6 GB of space on your hard drive. It installed smoothly and didn’t evidence any bugs, let alone crashes, during my entire playing time of about 16 hours.

Even though we see signs of “consolitis” (a disorder plaguing the PC versions of many multiplatform games), the condition is not at all severe, only presenting the occasional control glitch.  Playing in a third-person, over-the-shoulder viewpoint (first-person look-around view available), we find the following camera does a nice job, and it rarely obscures our point of view by, for example, putting us in a visually obstructed corner.

Each mission has multiple objectives, brought up by the Tab key.  With the mouse fully employed, you can punch, peek, engage in special stealth moves, speak to NPCs, drive vehicles, and use weapons. There are items to be located, trades to be made, thievery to be done, conversations to be accomplished. An onscreen compass with health bar, danger meter (guards coming close) and action icons helps to guide you. Further, you are allowed a range of two to four saves per mission, depending on selected level of difficulty, which selection can be altered at the beginning of each mission. Thank you, developers!

“Once out of the Camp, You’re on Your Own” —MacDonald

The graphical renderings of the PC version may seem dated to some—certainly not up to the level of the Unreal II or even Quake 3 engine, for example. There’s a move on now to be ultrarealistic with water effects and facial features. TGE is not in the forefront of this technology. Yet I found the depictions of the varied settings fully satisfactory. The camp, farms and other arenas for your activities look as they should look. Character modeling, except for McQueen’s Hilts, is generic. But the overall goal of creating a believable and immersive alternate world is met, from this reviewer’s point of view.

Generally, audio is one of the strengths of TGE—from the ambient environmental sounds to the fine voice acting. During one episode, you can hear a rippling stream, with the sound rising and fading depending on your precise location. Even moving in a stationary circle changed the level of noise.

Bernstein’s rousing theme from the film is reprised, along with melodies appropriate to the settings. As mentioned, voice acting is convincingly done, including the McQueen remastered lines.

Tom, Dick and Harry

The producer of TGE describes his creation as a “stealth-action” game, one he hopes will bring suspense, adventure and excitement to the player. Indeed, there is a good deal of sneaking about, though not nearly as much as with Prisoner of War. But there are also opportunities to man a bomber machine gun, drive a truck and half-track, engage in sniping and, of course, ride the motorbike.  There are objectives to be achieved, but often there are multiple ways to proceed down those paths. It’s fun, after all levels are unlocked, to return to a favorite episode and see if sneaking by or distracting a guard may work better than a choke kill. Oh, by the way, Tom, Dick and Harry are names of tunnels.

“Halt, Sound the Alarm!” —Camp Guard

The artificial intelligence in TGE seems inconsistent, even faulty, at times. Some of this varies with easy to hard settings, and some may relate to the kind of guard encountered. Yet, as in many games, you may find yourself standing next to a guard at night who doesn’t notice you at all and a long way from another who suddenly and unexpectedly sounds an alarm! I guess this all adds to the tension, but the apparent inconsistency can sometimes be frustrating.

“If You Get a Chance, Steal a Motorbike” —MacDonald to Hilts

The Great Escape is an enjoyable, thrilling and suspenseful accompaniment to the classic film. Employing not only the skills of stealth, but also item-gathering, planning, and combat, the game captures and sustains your attention, involving you in a believable WWII experience. With scenes and a climax paralleling those of the film, I found the overall experience worthy of a solid Thumb Up.  Rather dated graphics, AI inconsistencies, and a touch of consolitis keep it from our Gold Star level. But don’t let this dissuade you from rejoining “The Cooler” Hilts and his pals in one of the very best movie-to-game adaptations.

What I Liked Most About the Game

  • Faithful to the spirit and theme of the film;
  • Credible and immersive atmosphere;
  • Variety of playing styles required (stealth to action);
  • Large, detailed and believable settings;
  • Interesting level design;
  • Fine voice acting;
  • Replayable, choosing other paths in missions.

What I Liked Least About the Game

  • Some control sloppiness at times, likely due to consolitis;
  • Graphically a bit dated;
  • The AI can be inconsistent. The End

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: Pivotal Games Publisher: Gotham Games Release Date: July 2003

Available for: PlayStation 2Windows Xbox

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Screenshots

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System Requirements

Windows 95/98/ME/XP Pentium III 933 (P4 recommended) 128 MB RAM (256 MB recommended) 8X CD-ROM drive 32 MB 3D DirectX 8.0 compatible video card DirectX 8.0 compatible sound card

Where to Find It

Links provided for informational purposes only.  FFC makes no warranty with regard to any transaction entered into by any party(ies).

      Copyright © Electric Eye Productions.  All rights reserved.  No reproduction in whole or in part without express written permission.

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14 Responses to Fear Factor

  • Fear Factor | Tap-Repeatedly.com | Reality Topics Blog

    […] nobody@flickr.com (graftedno1) wrote a very interesting post today.   Here’s a quick excerpt:My greatest fear is to be trapped alone in a confined space with a blind human, in total darkness. They have a heightened sense of smell and hearing, and. […]

  • Matt "Steerpike" Sakey

    Lewis, you made me think of the scariest moments I’ve experienced in gaming, and we’re very similar people.

    Bioshock had two moments – the dentist and the flooded room filled with mannequins.

    Thief had Return to the Cathedral, which was terrifying to me. Thief 3 had Shalebridge Cradle, which is so scary it ought to be fined.

    System Shock 2 kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was more lonely panic than true fear.

    Korsakovia was so scary that I uninstalled it.

    And STALKER. Oh, god, the haunted labs in STALKER. The latter two games don’t have scares like that. Few games do.

    It’s especially rare for a game to have more than mere “moments” – for a game to be scary from beginning to end, that’s a triumph.

    Wonderful article. As if Gregg’s review wasn’t enough to convince me that Penumbra is not something I have the courage to play!

  • DPenn

    I’m with you Lewis … I’m a bit of a puss. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of dread as entertainment.

    Still, I’m drawn to dark stories when they have something interesting to say, whether it’s a game like Thief or a film like, say, Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible. So I’ll push through, sometimes peering through my fingers.

    The trouble with games, though, is that if you look through your fingers, you’re probably just going to have to play through the scenario again. :~)

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    I wanted to play this game. I downloaded the demo but the controls were just too wonky for me to get my head around. I liked the atmospheric vibe a lot. I think I’m a bit desensitized from an overdose of horror movies in my youth so I don’t so much get the dread thing from these games as a nice creepy vibration. If only the controls were better…

  • Lewis B

    @ Mike, what’s wrong with the controls bud? As someone who despises poor control schemes, Penumbra’s is just like any other FPS, except to examine things you right click on them.  To use things you left click.  I’m not sure that can be considered difficult 🙂

  • Gregg B

    @Steerpike: Yeah my greatest shit-scared moments were with those games too. A few spoilers below people, so beware.

    Bioshock – Haha, I remember the dentist. I didn’t really find the game that scary overall but the bit where you go into the wine cellar and notice a mannequin facing the wall and after upgrading your weapon it’s stood directly behind you motionless and quiet just for a moment before attacking you. I shat a brick. I also missed that bit originally until Lew told me about it.

    System Shock 2 – same as you really, more unremitting tension all the way through rather than specific terrifying moments. Oh actually, theres a bit where you call a lift and it breaks then you realise a service droid is coming to fix it… I do remember having sleep issues after my first encounter with the cyborg ninjas though.

    Thief: The Dark Project – The Sword and Return to the Cathedral and Down in the Bonehoard and well, loads of them. The Sword made me break out into goosebumps though because there was a bit where you could hear this creepy giggling which seemed like it was following me about then it suddenly changed to this horrible throaty noise. What made matters worse was that the EAX (bless you Creative) made my foot steps sound like somebody else was there with me. That level was incredible, a bit too incredible as it seems I missed great chunks of it because I was so eager to leave.

    Thief II: The Metal Age – Trail of Blood where you end up in that opening with those damn tree beasts. God the first time I saw one of those hurtling towards me I actually died shortly afterward. Do you remember that Mechanist child walking around on one of the levels? That was a little creepy.

    Then there’s Penumbra: Overture – quite a few bits but I’m not mentioning them here.

    Oh and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – The brain scorcher lab just because it was so damn quiet. My imagination seriously got the better of me there. Those stuffed animals and heads I’d seen in various buildings led me to believe that those creatures were lurking somewhere in the Zone, specifically that lab.

    @Mike: My control setup was perfect after some tweaking (as well as the simple weapon swing fix). If you ever fancy giving it another go, give me a shout and I’ll let you know my setup.

  • Lewis B

    I’m not sure why guys, but one of my starting paragraphs had gone missing, even though I copied it straight from the original source, and It was fine earlier. 

    Incase you missed it due to some technical issue you might want to re-read just after “Well no she wouldn’t in truth, but in Penumbra: Overture you don’t want to move anyway.” at the very start for those who’ve already read the article. Apologies 🙂

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    Lewis, it was the weapon swing. It had this terrible, unresponsive feel to it, like trying to hit through molasses. I couldn’t stand using it. I tried the .ini fix as mentioned in the review but it didn’t seem to help. Of course this was the demo…but that shouldn’t have made any difference. I might try the second game instead as I guess they did away with the weapons thing.

    I’m see your first paragraph just fine. It’s the dialogue, right?

  • jdeuel

    I like the argument that weapons can remove fear, but even loaded to the teeth with ammo in AVP’99 the Marine missions were frightful because the enemy was anywhere at any time.

    As for Penumbra Overture, if the controls are anything like the original Penumbra they need to hack in some Wii-Remote 3d controls. I did not like using my mouse for 3d movements.

  • Gregg B

    @Mike: I’ve read that many people avoided conflict altogether in Overture which incidentally is something forced upon you in Black Plague. As somebody who has been renovating a house over the last 6 months with no DIY experience I can safely say that swinging a hammer is significantly easier in real life than it is in Overture without the fix. The fix balanced that for me.

    I’d highly recommend completing the first Penumbra because it’s one big build up to Black Plague which spoils the ending to Overture in the intro. And it’s a great ending too. Just so you know!

  • Lewis B

    @ Steerpike, those moments you mention are all my worst too!!  Do you remember the Robot labs in SS2? Absolutely terrifying, waiting for robots to burst out on you! 🙁 oh and have you ever player Condemned?

    @ Mike, The use of weapons in Penumbra is different to say HL2, where the player is physically holding the weapon, as in Penumbra it floats slightly infront of you.  However, if you change the control method to normal weapon swing, it’s no different!  Speak to Greggi and he’ll tell you what to do 🙂

    @ jdeuel, AVP the original and its sequal were scary however what type of fear do you think it is? I don’t think it’s anything more than sheer tension.  Having a Smart Gun makes you feel incredibly powerful.  I can honestly say in Penumbra the fear is sheer unrivalled terror, where you actually have to force yourself to play on.  It genuinly is that scary! 🙂

  • Jason Dobry

    It’s so true, an arsenal of weapons and ammo rapidly deflates any sense of horror or uneasiness in any game for reasons you already mentioned. Sakey, I thought Bioshock was more “lonely panic,” while I was pretty much always terrified in System Shock 2. I really, really, REALLY did not want to enter The Many’s nursery, and my weapons were so unreliable and ammo so scarce that I never felt safe.

    Silent Hill was terrifying for the same reasons. Ammo was rare and I frequently had to rely on my pipe for self-defense.  Even when I had ammo, the game mechanics prevented my character from being anything other than marginal with any firearm.

    Fear had one moment for me: I was climbing up a ladder, and as I reached the upper platform, my guy briefly looked down as he climbed off. As my perspective looked up again, that Ring-esque little girl was RIGHT THERE, reaching for me. I screamed and she was gone.

    What else…the original Aliens vs. Predator sent me into a locker room and I could only hear the facehuggers scurrying about somewhere within. I had to go in there. I advanced about three steps before the damn thing screamed and filled up my screen with its repulsive underside as it implanted me with its spawn. My roommate made fun of me for weeks for screaming like a girl child.

    Korsakovia–meh.  I was too annoyed and frustrated by the box rearrangement/jumping puzzles to be scared. I uninstalled it after an hour of play, I think. Maybe the scary parts were later, but I doubt it.

    As for Penumbra, I did play through about half of it before other games distracted me. I remember unease and creepiness, but no sweaty fear. I think I’m to blame here, or, more precisely, my daughter, who was still an infant at the time and generally allowed me only to play during the day for 45 minutes at a time. I was denied total immersion and the fear effect suffered. Maybe I should give it another go after I finish Call of Pripyat since she sleeps through the night now. With any luck, Penumbra will keep me from doing the same.

  • Gregg B

    I played the demo of F.E.A.R. but that ladder scare is the only bit I remember. Christ, that made me jump. I’m not too good with cat scares.

    Also I felt exactly the same about Korsakovia. It was creepy at first but then it began to irritate me far too much and it just soured the experience. I stopped playing as a result. Not to mention, when I realised I could bash those smoke-things with my crowbar they didn’t bother me nearly as much.

  • Online Up

    Great article. I look forward to reading more in the future.

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