The Great Escape is a stealth action game based on the classic Steve McQueen film.  Although the film is 40 years old now, the plot and storyline fits nicely into the video game mold.  The game features varied gameplay with a focus on stealth, the score from the epic motion picture, and even the likeness and voice (via voice snippets pulled from the film) of the late film star, Steve McQueen.  While all of the exciting elements from the film would make for a fantastic game, The Great Escape falls short, and ends up hackneyed attempt at the stealth genre, missing the bar set by games like Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid.  While it does a fine job of capturing the style and atmosphere of the classic film, The Great Escape simply doesn’t deliver in gameplay.

The Great Escape follows the exploits of a ragtag group of soldiers being held in the highest-security Nazi POW camp in all of Europe, the Stalag Luft III.  You’ll play as several of these soldiers, including Flt. Lt. MacDonald, Flying Officer Sedgwick, and Capt. Virgil “The Cooler King” Hilts (McQueen’s character) as they stage a huge and risky breakout.

The game’s plot follows the movie quite closely, shifting between the different characters as the story proceeds.  As an added bonus, the first few levels introduce the characters and provide some background as to how they ended up in the Stalag Luft.  Each character also has their own traits and strengths to give them an edge in their particular missions.  For example, MacDonald speaks impeccable German, Sedgwick is a great repairman, and Capt. Hilts is handy with a lock pick.

Although most of the game is focused on stealth action gameplay, the game is surprisingly varied.  The first level actually has you shooting down enemy aircrafts from the tail of a bomber, whereas other stages include driving vehicles like trucks and a motorcycle.  These levels are pretty fun, the gameplay is lacking overall.  For starters, the stealth gameplay is simplified to the point that your character is really nothing more than a glorified errand boy.  Most of the game is “sneak over there, grab that, then come back and go over there,” not as deep and engaging as Splinter Cell.  Also, the AI is pretty weird and unpredictable, as sometimes an enemy will be alerted to your presence for no apparent reason.  This can be very frustrating because once you are found out, that’s it.  You can’t really go find a hiding place to shake off the enemies since they will almost always find you regardless of where you hide.  And since you can only save three times per level, you’ll probably find yourself repeating huge chunks of levels frequently.  Certain parts of levels also feature a time limit, which would be fine if the limits weren’t so imbalanced.  Some time limits will be barely long enough to complete an event, whereas some will give of a ton of time to complete pretty small tasks.

The controls are also a bit of a problem.  The keyboard/mouse configuration works quite well, but the combat and weapon systems are pretty cumbersome.  In order to fire a weapon at an enemy, you must come to a complete stop, line up your reticule, and shoot.  There is no auto-aim feature, which is a big problem since oftentimes you’ll end up shooting in a different direction than you character was initially looking.  Punching is very slow and often misses the mark.

The graphics are a hit and a miss.  Certain characters have a very nice detailed look to them.  Hilts, for example, looks a lot like Steve McQueen.  However, some of the characters have a really unnatural look to them and are quite blocky and unpolished.  The characters do move pretty nicely, however.  The environments sport some nice textures and details, but overall the graphics are pretty devoid of any special effects.

The sound is pretty good, save for some sore spots.  The classic theme music from the film makes an appearance, which should be easily recognizable even for those who haven’t seen the movie.  The voice acting is done very well.  Hilts’ lines are pulled out of the movie, and it’s something else to be able to hear Steve McQueen’s voice on a video game.  However, some of the voices sound a little compressed and tinny (not counting McQueen’s voice, which since the lines were pulled straight from the film is a given). 

The Great Escape retains the feeling of the film, and should be worth a look if you are a hardcore Steve McQueen fan or a fan of the movie looking for some nostalgia.  However, the gameplay doesn’t have enough going for it to warrant a purchase from someone hoping for a deep stealth action title. Although the game has its highlights, it falls short of being a worthy purchase.

Gameplay: 6.0
The gameplay is quite varied, with a fair mix of driving and stealth stages.  However, the stealth aspect ends up being little more than errand running, and the goofy AI can make for a pretty frustrating experience.  Plus, the combat controls are very cumbersome.

Graphics: 7.5 
While some of characters look a bit simplistic and weird, others look pretty nice, and Hilts bears a good resemblance to the late Steve McQueen.  The environments are also pretty well detailed.  However, the graphics lack any kind of cool special effects, and the PC is capable of much more.

Sound: 8.0
Aside from some compressed and tinny voices, the sound in The Great Escape is pretty good.  The voice acting (featuring Steve McQueen himself) is nicely done, and the original theme from the movie is a nice touch.

Difficulty: Medium   

Concept: 8.0
With all of these lousy games based on current summer blockbusters coming out, it was great to see someone trying to revive a classic in game form.  Unfortunately, the end result falls in the same hole as most other film-licensed games and ends up disappointing.

Multiplayer: N/A

Overall: 6.3
If you’re a hardcore McQueen fan (c’mon, I know you’re out there) and loved The Great Escape, then you should at least give The Great Escape a look to relive the classic film.  However, if you’re an action gamer looking for a new stealth action game to sink your teeth into, look else where -The Great Escape will most likely disappoint.