The Great Escape (2003 video game)

This article is about the 2003 Eidos game. For the 1986 Ocean game, see The Great Escape (video game).
The Great Escape

Developer(s) Pivotal Games
Publisher(s) NA Gotham Games
EU SCi Games
JP Marvelous Entertainment
Distributor(s) MGM Interactive
Platform(s) PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)
  • NA 23 July 2003
EU 29 August 2003 (PS2 & Xbox)
EU 12 September 2003 (PC)
JP 14 October 2003 (PS2 only)
Genre(s) Action-adventure, stealth
Mode(s) Single-player
Distribution DVD

The Great Escape is an action-adventure stealth video game based on the 1963 movie of the same name. It was developed by UK-based developer Pivotal Games. The game was released on PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. GameCube and Gizmondo versions of the game were planned but were eventually cancelled.

Gameplay

There are four playable characters in the game each with a special ability. They include MacDonald, who can speak German to pass himself off as a guard; Hendley, who can pick pockets to get papers, keys, etc.; Hilts, who can pick locks to get into buildings; and Sedgwick, who can fix mechanical devices. Captain "Virgil" Hilts is American with an attitude. Hendley is an American who joined the RAF Eagle Squadron before the US joined the war. The other characters are citizens of Great Britain or the British Empire: MacDonald is Scottish and Sedgwick is Australian. There are 18 levels in the game, most of which have fictional tasks and attacks, most of which did not happen in the movie. The plot-line follows that of the film of the same name, except there are also levels featuring some of the characters first captures and early escape attempts, as well as a changed ending where all four playable characters escape in the end, whereas in the film, only Sedgwick escapes, Hendley and Hilts are recaptured, and MacDonald is executed. Also, despite the cover showing Hilts with a gun hiding from a guard in the camp, this never occurs in the game or film.

Cast Information

Sound bites of Steve McQueen as Hilts were taken from the film and used in the game, famous lines such as "250", "Walking down the road" and "20 feet short" were used to recreate iconic scenes from the film. Two sounds bites of McQueen replying "Yeah" were also used to respond in the affirmative when talking to other characters.

Reception

The Great Escape received mixed reviews from critics. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PC version 59.00% and 54/100,[1][2] the PlayStation 2 version 58.71% and 57/100[3][4] and the Xbox version 58.18% and 55/100.[5][6]

References

  1. ↑ "The Great Escape for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "The Great Escape for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  3. ↑ "The Great Escape for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  4. ↑ "The Great Escape for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  5. ↑ "The Great Escape for Xbox". GameRankings. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  6. ↑ "The Great Escape for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 October 2013.

External links