First Impressions

It just seems hard to make a game that isn't full of bluster and explosions these days. The hype is so big for games such as Gran Turismo 3 A-spec (and we admit we're as much a part of that game's hype as anyone else) or Devil May Cry, that it seems difficult for a publisher to create a quite game. One that doesn't explode in your face with millions of bells, whistles and fruit-striped gummy bears. Which is why a game like Prisoner of War may become a sleeper hit in spite of its strangely quite nature, and its lack of marketing power.

Prisoner of War is Codemasters' inconspicuous entree into the world of stealth, via the war camps of World War II. Mind you, these war camps aren't based in Germany and don't in any way reflect the Jewish tragedy during that time. Prisoner of War involves other countries' prisoners, such as American, English, French, and others. In these camps, made up of tents, roughly built barracks, and closed off with miles of barbed wire along a grim plain of dirt and dying grasses, players find themselves caught in a daily grind of exercises, shoved from place to place, like cattle.

The kind of sneaky behavior exhibited in this game is not Tenchu-like roof climbing, nor is it Solid Snake body dragging-sci-fi-nearly impossible stealth. Prisoner of War requires you to figure out who's who in the small universe of the camp. Who are the guards that are mean and trigger-happy? Which are the tattletale guards, the informants, and the black market traders of cigarettes and candy? When you begin to learn the answers to these questions, you have taken the first step into the title's core gameplay.

In short, your game plan really is quite simple. It's all about escaping, period. But how? Well, the first things introduced to you are your cubbyhole and bunk. Every day prisoners follow a daily routine. For instance, prisoners move from the Mess Hall to the field to exercise, then to roll call, then back to their rooms, and then maybe out to work on some aspect of the camp. During these events if you simply try to escape in broad daylight, guards will spot and cuff you. Each time you get caught, it's into the cooler. When you reach 30 cooler days, it's game over, bub. Structured with several different camps across the world, POW then places players in a whole new setting, environment, and country. There are about five different camps that players "graduate" to.

The trick is to learn when you can deviate from the rigorous routines, and when not to. POW is created with a day-night system, so players can watch as the sun moves across the sky and then watch it set. While the graphics are quite simple right now, with plain environmental textures, rather rudimentary facial expressions and body movement, the game has time to perfect its look (it's due in mid-2002). Designed by Codemasters and in development by newby White Games, the game features a third-person perspective, but changing angles, too. Much like Tenchu and MGS, when players approach a wall, they turn their back to it, and the camera adjusts to face the character. Players can knock on walls, too, and can move about in both day and night. Sneaking around is all very good and fine, but as the ancient Chinese saying goes, "one must watch the shadows." Realtime lighting and projected shadows play a major part in either staying hidden or getting caught, and if you get caught, one more cooler night is added to the list. So, learning your own routine is important, but mastering the guards' routines is crucial, too. POW is about timed action, strategic preparation, and sneaky, sneaky behavior.

The trick to escaping is in locating the right people, the mildly friendly people who might turn the other way if you want to make a break for it, or who pretend simply to ignore your rebellious goals. Much like an RPG in which players are made to speak with non-player characters in villages to find out crucial information, POW requires players to talk to the other POWs. That's right, much of the game enables players to just walk around talking to other folks, and if you can, making friends with the right ones. In trying to make friends, players will find that everyone has a price. Some want candy, others cigarettes, others boot polish, and if you can get them what they want, you get what you want. The camps' "currency" comprises these ordinary things that are so vital to staying sane in a war camp. Currency comes in the form of chocolate, cigarettes, boot polish, candy, ropes, etc.

Another way to earn currency is to take part in the game's many min-games. In this interesting little set of side-events that become quite important, competitions are set up to earn currency. While Codemasters is still in progress with all of the various options for mini-games, one potential competition is boxing. Win a fight, earn much-needed booty. Others include gambling and stone throwing (knocking down targets), and even more.

Prisoner of War was quite early when I saw it at E3. The very basics of the game were still in progress. Players could pick a character and perform actions, such as walking, running, handling things, performing some of the mini-games (such as stone throwing contest), and they could climb fences and break into things, such as illegal huts and such. The animations were still stiff and far from being done, and the lighting left much to be desired. But like I said, it's still early for this game, and the raw potential for this title to become great is quite high. I was impressed with the way in which the ideas -- which have been seen in some games -- were used and implemented here. The setting is also quite unusual for a console game, and its bodes well for the PS2 market, which doesn't too many gams like it. In the end, Prisoner of War could be one of the sleeper hits of the year, if Codemasters handles it right.

--Douglass C. Perry

Previous Information

For the last five years or so game developers have been picking away at the idea of stealth and how games can employ it in fun and provocative ways. In games such as Metal Gear Solid, Goldeneye, Thief, and Tenchu stealth became an incredible aspect upon which much of the game revolved. Codemasters has cleverly thought up an excellent way to create a game that absolutely requires it in almost every aspect, Prisoner of War. We casually refer to it as digital Hogan's Heroes, but that is probably not how Codemasters would refer to it, since Colonel Klink isn't apparently making an guest appearances (darn!). I guess it was just too much exposure TV in the '70s...but alas, I digress.

Set in 1941 across four separate German POW camps, Prisoner of War focuses on characters that try and escape from prison camp. Each character is uniquely created with his on strengths and weaknesses, and each prison is entirely different. As you can see from the screenshots, the game is painterly, or rather, clean looking and stark. The characters are in plain garb, and their appearances are of those who have suffered from little food, lack of exercise, and of those who suffer from depression. In other words, they look like prisoner of war really do, and in representing these characters in such a way, Wide Games is going for a kind of realism that is rarely seen in videogames today. To put it another way, at least on the console side of things, the theme of war prisoners is a serious one that has never been approached in such a way, and it's eye-opening to see it happen on PS2.

In development with Wide Games, Prisoner of War requires players to escape from one of four German prison camps, including Salonika, Stalag Luft I, Stalag Luft III, and Colditz Castle. The prisoners are American, British, Dutch, and French. When was the last time you escaped from a prison? Well, you'll have the chance to do so in various stages of difficulty, with, most likely, dire consequences. Planning, scheming, clue-finding, exploration, and lots of preparation appear to be major aspects of this potentiall powerful game.

Built using the "3D Atlas Engine," this realistic simulation-adventure is expected to provide a phenomenal level of ultra-fine detail. Including adhering to curfews, the affects of charm on NPCs, and near-exact re-creations of the real life camps themselves, Prisoner of War is for smart gamers who loves games. It sounds like button mashers will simply have to stay in camp until they get it right.

Prisoner of War is currently slated for a fall 2001 release on PlayStation 2. We'll have more information about the title as its development progresses. Make sure to check out our update at E3!

--Douglass C. Perry