The Great Escape

Der Film stammt aus dem Jahre 1963, das Spiel erscheint 2003 - 40 Jahre später. Klingt wie der Albtraum moderner Marketingstrategen, ist aber ein Konzept, das aufgeht: Hier wurde endlich einmal aufgrund der spieltauglichen Thematik eine Lizenz erworben. Zunächst erlebt der Spieler jedoch, was der Film verschwieg: In den Vorgeschichten von vier ausgewählten Knastbrüdern fliehen Sie aus kleineren Gefangenenlagern, rumpeln mit gekaperten Panzern durch deutsche Gebirgspässe, ballern sich durch so manche Straßensperre und legen ganze Vorposten in Schutt und Asche.

Ich liebe den Film und das Spiel mag ich auch. Während der direkte Konkurrent Prisoner of War kaum Abwechslung bietet, wird dem Spieler bei TGE einiges geboten. Vor allem die Tatsache, dass man selber zur Waffe greifen darf, erhöht den Spaßfaktor ungemein. Dass Sie pro Level nur dreimal speichern dürfen, ist hingegen eher Geschmackssache. Obwohl ich kein Hardcore-Quicksaver bin, hat mich diese Limitierung etwas genervt. Schade ist auch, dass der Titel optisch eher durchwachsen daherkommt. Genau wie meine Kollegen …

All in all, The Great Escape is a surprisingly fun game. I truly recommend it as a rent to everyone, but I do caution you if you are thinking about purchasing it. The only people that should consider buying this title are ones that are fans of the movie, Steve McQueen fans, and/or anyone who wants to escape from a Nazi POW camp.

Overall, The Great Escape will be most enjoyed by fans of the movie. Players who like a good stealth game should consider leaving this title on the shelves and looking elsewhere. There are definitely far better examples of games in this genre.

Overall, The Great Escape will be most enjoyed by fans of the movie. Players who like a good stealth game should consider leaving this title on the shelves and looking elsewhere. There are definitely far better examples of games in this genre.

Wie schön: eine Umsetzung meines Lieblings unter den Ausbrecher-Spektakeln. Wie schade: Durch die mäßige Grafik, die eher schnarchigen Diebestouren und die hakelige Steuerung ist das Spiel nur Mittelmaß und hinkt der brillanten Film-Vorlage aus dem Jahre 1963 Meilen hinterher. Immerhin hält sich The Great Escape größtenteils an die Handlung des Kinostreifens. Und die eingängige Musik könnte ich den ganzen Tag hören. Letztendlich ist Titel so aber nur etwas für Fans der Leinwand-Version. Alle anderen Leisetreter sollten lieber zu Splinter Cell greifen.

Strange one, this: a 40-year-old film-licence landing a good year beyond the commercial cushion of a Special Edition DVD and trudging in not too far behind an all-too similar skulk-em-up (Codemasters' Prisoner of War). The world is familiar (stoopid guards, probing searchlights, jolly old chin-up Brits and dashed impertinent Yanks), but Pivotal have seasoned the formula with a little light killing. Oh, and Steve McQueen is in it. So - World War II POW Camp Third-Person Escape Game... Take 2.

Op het einde van de rit is The Great Escape een behoorlijk spel, dat vooral een stuk beter had kunnen zijn. Misschien hadden de ontwikkelaars beter het stealth-stuk van The Great Escape beter uitgewerkt en minder tijd gestoken in de nevenspelletjes. Het spel heeft zeker waarde voor fans van de film, maar wie een goed stealth-actie of W.O. II-spel zoekt, zal beter vinden.

Fans of stealth action games will be greatly disappointed by The Great Escape, a game that does capture the intensity of the film but fails in everything else. From the very beginning, the controls will hinder gamers enough that it becomes frustratingly annoying. And while the fast-paced action sequences are welcome additions, there aren’t enough to hold a gamer’s interest. Rent this one if you’re a fan of the king of cool (and by that I mean Steve McQueen) or a loyal admirer of the movie.

The premise behind this game is solid, and there are some very entertaining moments to prove it. If not for its horrible execution, The Great Escape could’ve lived up to its fabulous movie license.

Even so, The Great Escape just felt incomplete and unpolished, or perhaps just rushed out the door. Considering we’ve been waiting this long there is no reason not to hang onto this game until it was flawless. Obviously, MGM and the McQueen family gave their approval, but whether you enjoy it will depend on your love of the genre and your tolerance for mediocrity.

Overall, The Great Escape is merely an OK game that could have been a lot better. Perhaps if the developers had focused more on the stealth part of the game and less on the other aspects, we'd have a game that's less varied but more fun to play. As it is, The Great Escape may be fun for die-hard fans of the film, but if you're just looking for a good action game, or even a good World War II action game, you could do better.

Overall, The Great Escape is merely an OK game that could have been a lot better. Perhaps if the developers had focused more on the stealth part of the game and less on the other aspects, we'd have a game that's less varied but more fun to play. As it is, The Great Escape may be fun for die-hard fans of the film, but if you're just looking for a good action game, or even a good World War II action game, you could do better.

For all its flaws, The Great Escape is nevertheless a good game. The thrill of completing a mission, or even just achieving another objective is an exhilarating feeling. Watch the film first, as it's a brilliant movie experience. And do give the game a chance too – perseverance will provide a worthwhile gaming experience with many rewarding moments.

Een consolegame vol goeie bedoelingen dat schandelijk te kort schiet. Ontsnappen, dat zeker... zo ver mogelijk van dit spel vandaan.

As a great movie aficionado, I had a lot of high hopes for this game, and unfortunately like most great action movie actors, this game is destined to obscurity and to be forgotten, which at least in the game's case, is a good thing.

The Great Escape set itself up for a great stealth game, but falls short. It’s not a bad game, but there are better titles in the genre. Control was my biggest issue throughout the game. If the interface was fine tuned a bit and made a little easier to use, The Great Escape could have been a blast to play. Also aside from framerate issues The Great Escape is a fun way to revisit the old movie, just don’t expect it to live up to other games of the genre like Metal Gear Solid or Medal Of Honor.

Mit The Great Escape bekommen weder Fans, noch alle anderen ein überzeugendes Spiel. Vielmehr ist es die lieblose Aneinanderreihung von mittelmäßigen Ideen auf Basis eines erfolgreichen Films. Spieler, die noch nie etwas von „Gesprengte Ketten“ gehört bzw. gesehen haben, werden der Story des Spiels nicht wirklich folgen können, was durch das Wechseln zwischen vier Protagonisten nur noch mehr verstärkt wird. Auch wenn das Spiel mittlerweile für einen geringen Betrag zu kriegen ist, rate ich doch dringlichst vom Kauf ab und empfehle stattdessen lieber einen Besuch in der nächsten Videothek, um sich die um Längen bessere Filmvorlage auszuleihen. Lieblose Versoftung eines Klassikers.

There are several ways you can approach this game. If you happen to be a huge fan of the flick and Steve McQueen's character, it's safe to say you might have fun for a while. The sad thing is that many experienced gamers are well aware of a strong presence of WWII inspired video games on the market today. If you couple that with all the weak elements mentioned in this review, The Great Escape doesn't promise a long and prosperous future among contemporary PC games.

On pouvait s'attendre à un meilleur résultat pour cette adaptation d'un classique du cinéma. Tous les éléments étaient là pour faire un bon jeu, mais de trop grosses lacunes dans à peu près tous les domaines le condamnent à prendre la poussière au fond du placard.

The Great Escape feels unfinished and thrown together. Some more time and thought could have made this game great, but as is, it's just not enough. A shame too since the movie license has so much potential as a videogame. Fans of the movie may find something to like here, but that's about it.

On the technical side, The Great Escape features smooth visuals and good sound design, though controlling your character can be a pain and it can be difficult to get the camera to aim where you need it to. The verdict: rent before buying.

The Great Escape feels unfinished and thrown together. Some more time and thought could have made this game great, but as is, it's just not enough. A shame too since the movie license has so much potential as a videogame. Fans of the movie may find something to like here, but that's about it.

Graphically, the game’s characters are recognizable and environments are suitably rendered, if unspectacular. In the sound department, the voice acting is generally better than most games that are out there. Kudos to the developer for using pieces from the original film score (Elmer Bernstein), as well. Unfortunately, it’s not nearly enough to save this title from obscurity as it, at best, is a mediocre entry in what is quickly becoming the genre de jour.

The Great Escape, as you've probably gathered by now, is a severely flawed game. Yet somewhere - hidden underneath a terrible combat system, weird AI and an untrustworthy camera - there lies the frail skeleton of a good stealth game. If only Pivotal had concentrated entirely on this trait, then The Great Escape's early promise might well have made it worthy of recommending.

Un jeu tellement catastrophique que Steve McQueen s'en retourne dans sa tombe. En fait, il se tourne et se retourne. Tellement vite qu'en le branchant sur une dynamo, on pourrait alimenter en électricité une ville de 50 000 habitants.

The Great Escape would probably not be a good game to play with your kids. Not because of violence, since even the action sequences are relatively blood free, but mostly because it consists of dull stealth levels punctuated by an occasional frustrating action level. Older kids might enjoy playing it, but probably not.

Which he was, at least according to his awesome movies. He’s the brains of Thomas Crowne, the face of Papillon, the driver of Bullitt. McQueen truly is The Cooler King in more ways than one, which only makes his half-assed showing in this half-assed game a full-fledged bummer. Skip this disaster and rent The Towering Inferno instead.

I don't know what kind of hand Gotham Games had in Serious Sam, but that game was loads of fun so I know they are capable of good material. The Great Escape just fell short in several key areas and fun happened to be one of them. It doesn't happen very often, but I have to recommend that you let The Great Escape do exactly that.. escape right off the shelf and into the bargain bin.