The Great Escape (1986) PC

This is the year 1942, but the war for you is over. Captured by German soldiers, you find yourself in a heavily guarded prisoner-of-war camp. Escape seems to be practically impossible. But to make sure?

The Great Escape is an excellent action game with a touch of adventure elements, developed by Denton Design. You play the role of a prisoner whose only task is to escape from the camp under cover of the night. Several roads lead to the desired freedom, but each of them is equally dangerous. Only thanks to cleverness and a bit of luck can you succeed in outwitting German soldiers. It's worth trying, but you still have nothing to lose anyway.

The game takes place in real time. Every day, at certain times, you must comply with the camp rules and regulations: two appeals, a meal, exercises and compulsory going to bed. If you don't cooperate, German soldiers can put you on segregation, which will effectively delay your escape and in the worst case will destroy the whole plan. Of course, putting on the sound of a siren in certain places is not the only element of the regulations. Wandering around the soldiers' quarters or staying in forbidden places. The Nazis may also arouse suspicions of the Nazis, that is why one should be on guard all the time. In order for the escape to succeed, you must find and collect the necessary equipment in a safe place. Some of the equipment you will find in German quarters, others will fall in parcels from the Red Cross again. Prisoners cannot carry any objects with them, so beware that if you are caught in violation of this point of the rules, you will suffer severe consequences.

We direct our hero using the keyboard. In order to save you the trouble of suddenly reaching e.g. an appeal, the authors have introduced the possibility to automatically follow the destination. In order to do this, it is enough to stop for a moment after hearing the bell and the character will direct himself to the indicated place. On the left side of the screen there is also a flag that symbolizes your morale. The less of it, the lower the flag setting - if it is completely abandoned, your chances of escaping become hopeless. The flag has one more function - it warns of the danger. If you find yourself in a forbidden place, or a soldier starts chasing you, it turns red.

The Great Escape is a phenomenal game that requires a huge amount of patience, cunning and the ability to avoid potential threats, developed by following the behaviour of German guards overnight. The biggest drawback of the program is its not very well-designed layout, but you can get used to it after some time. The control can also cause some problems. We see our hero in isometric projection and sometimes there is a confusion of directions. Half poor if we walk freely around the camp, but when a German guard chases you, for example, there is no time to think about what to press.

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Last updated on 10 December 2007