Gaming Target - Xbox: Prisoner of War

Written by Nick Doukas on September 09, 2003

Full Review: I had no idea Nazi prison camp guards treated allied soldiers better than my sweet, old grandma ever wouldЕfresh Bauernwurst cookies anyone?

I thought long and hard about Prisoner of War after I played it. On one hand, you have a cleverly designed game, set in a German POW camp in 1941, that stars an American flight officer named Lewis Stone. Captain Stone needs to put together an escape plan that will take him back to safety, as it's every American soldier's duty to escape enemy captivity and rejoin the war effort. On the other hand, you have a game with questionable AI, lackluster graphics, and no weapons play at all. The entire object of the game is stealth, though some other unique play mechanics will present themselves throughout the adventure. I fear that if you're a fan of action, this title won't be your cup of tea. Our hero Stone is no Solid Snake (he's not even a Raiden), but no one ever said guns were the only way to play. POW shines in the adventure arena, and brings about some intense scenarios and character interaction, as well as an open-ended approach to the completion of each mission. It's an interesting concept that ultimately falls short.

You begin the game after an opening cut-scene that sees Lewis shot down and taken prisoner. After being processed into the camp you meet up with the first NPC's in the game, and begin your quest for answers, options, and eventually, escape. You'll use the left thumbstick to walk and run in any direction (while in first person view, it's used to simply look around), and the right to move the camera around the character. Hold down the L trigger to activate first person mode, and the black and white buttons to lean right or left respectively (which can also be performed with the right analog stick). This is useful for peering around corners and spotting potential hazards before they become a viable threat. The right trigger is used to reposition the camera behind Stone and pressing Y will cause the character to crouch. Use B to cancel an order and the back button to open and close your journal. A and X are both context sensitive. Depending on the situation, they trigger actions such as talking to NPC's, opening doors, picking up and using objects, and donning disguises. Stone can also tap on walls to distract guards, as well as rummage through secret areas, sidle alongside buildings, and climb fences and other obstacles.

You'll find yourself walking a thin line in POW, as your German captors will expect you to show up at various times throughout the day for roll call. The rest of your time will be spent sneaking around the camp, interacting with various NPC's (who you can accept tasks from which can advance the plot, though the game does give you the option of refusing if you wish), nabbing useful items and searching for the best point of exit from the camp. You're provided with onscreen radar straight out of Kojima's masterpiece (right down to the cones of light that represent each guard's field of vision), as well as a clock that shows the current time of day. A green arrow on the perimeter indicates when the next scheduled event in your daily routine is due to occur. It's always important to keep this in mind, as missing an event will quickly land you in solitary, and add a substantial amount of time to your score. If you get busted or shot enough times, the war will be over for you before you make it past the first guard. You'll be able to stash and retrieve equipment (broken down into hand objects and pocket items), using your locker throughout the game. The best strategy is to stash hand objects until needed and cautiously guard your pocket items, as screws that catch you milling about where you're not supposed to be may search you, and if they find anything you'll lose it immediately. The missions in POW range from infiltrating a German barracks by having an NPC cause a distraction during morning exercise, to stealing a lock pick and using it to gain access to the Commandant's theatre, and everything in-between. The missions are well thought out for the most part, though I must admit I did find my attention waning from time to time due to the lack of action. Hey, you can only get shot or caught so many times before you want to go berserk with an automatic weapon.

Visually POW is unimpressive. The environments are fairly well done, but the character models lack detail and look blocky and unappealing. The framerate takes a hit once in awhile as well, and though the weather and lighting effects are okay, they're definitely nothing to write home about. The sound on the other hand is quite good, with above average voice acting and a good variety of different accents to be found throughout the game. The music adjusts on the fly depending on the current situation, and does an excellent job of building suspense. The story is fairly well put together, and though a bit uninspired; it does manage to capture an admirable amount of WW II atmosphere, though the lack of aggression displayed by the guards is rather unrealistic. I doubt real POW camps were quite this relaxed. All in all, Prisoner Of War is an interesting, if somewhat plodding title. Fans of stealth action will have to settle for the stealth part, but if you're a patient gamer looking for a different experience, POW may be just the ticket.