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. The front cover may be inspired by a scene late in the film where Hilts disguised in German uniform, holds a gun while hiding behind a shed after trying to escape a German patrol on a motorbike.
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. The original film score by Elmer Bernstein is heard throughout the game and adds to the authenticity.
Reception
The Great Escape received "mixed" reviews on all platforms according to video gamereview aggregatorMetacritic. In Japan, where the PlayStation 2 version was ported and published by Marvelous Entertainment under the name Daidassō: The Great Escape on 14 October 2004, Famitsu gave it a score of 27 out of 40. Edge gave the Xbox version a score of four out of ten and said that it was "saved by a few good set-pieces and the licence, but it's hard not to feel hard done by. Those willing to endure yet anotherstealth game could find their morale ebbing away by the end of this."
