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PILOT DOWN: BEHIND ENEMY LINES (PS2)Publisher: Oxygen Interactive.
Developer: Wide Games. Released: 2005. Genre: Stealth Adventure. Other versions: XBOX; PC. Posted 1st August 2012. By Tom Clare © 2012 |
At the outset, I
must admit I had Pilot Down: Behind Enemy
Lines pegged as another dubious budget title. Maybe it was its clumsy, wordy
name, or the lawyer-baiting similarities between Pilot Down’s logo and that of Medal
of Honor, but early signs hardly indicated a trailblazer. Still, reviewing
teaches you to assume nothing and lo, a few sessions later, things were looking a whole lot brighter.
If it carries with it the echoes of well-received WWII sneakathon Prisoner of War, it’s with good reason; they're both from the same developer, Wide Games. Playing as a downed WWII allied pilot, you’re tasked with evading the Nazis and surviving inhospitable conditions. It’s a bit like if you mixed Hitman with the Disaster Report games; it’s ostensibly a stealth adventure but should you so choose, you can attempt to blast your way out of trouble, whilst smartly-balanced gameplay means there’s an element of risk and reward to the tactics you employ.
Sneaking, scavenging for supplies, and using any and all of the scenery as cover makes for a solid, absorbing stealth experience which may not be world-beating, but holds its own against its contemporary competition. What marks it out however is the need to maintain not one, but two vitality bars. The first is familiar enough; health depletes upon being shot, and when you’re out of it, it’s game over. Simple enough. The second is more intriguing as it relates to hunger and environmental conditions. Prolonged exposure to the rain or cold chips away at the bar, and should the central protagonist find himself traipsing through icy water or blizzard conditions, the decline accelerates. It can be replenished through locating heat sources, or by eating food. The options it gives you are pretty neat; taking to a sewer passage for instance effectively allows you to by-pass Nazi patrols, but trudging through the chilly water saps your bar at an alarming rate. Elsewhere, the rainy conditions in the German marketplace location can be combated by seeking shelter under canopies.
If it carries with it the echoes of well-received WWII sneakathon Prisoner of War, it’s with good reason; they're both from the same developer, Wide Games. Playing as a downed WWII allied pilot, you’re tasked with evading the Nazis and surviving inhospitable conditions. It’s a bit like if you mixed Hitman with the Disaster Report games; it’s ostensibly a stealth adventure but should you so choose, you can attempt to blast your way out of trouble, whilst smartly-balanced gameplay means there’s an element of risk and reward to the tactics you employ.
Sneaking, scavenging for supplies, and using any and all of the scenery as cover makes for a solid, absorbing stealth experience which may not be world-beating, but holds its own against its contemporary competition. What marks it out however is the need to maintain not one, but two vitality bars. The first is familiar enough; health depletes upon being shot, and when you’re out of it, it’s game over. Simple enough. The second is more intriguing as it relates to hunger and environmental conditions. Prolonged exposure to the rain or cold chips away at the bar, and should the central protagonist find himself traipsing through icy water or blizzard conditions, the decline accelerates. It can be replenished through locating heat sources, or by eating food. The options it gives you are pretty neat; taking to a sewer passage for instance effectively allows you to by-pass Nazi patrols, but trudging through the chilly water saps your bar at an alarming rate. Elsewhere, the rainy conditions in the German marketplace location can be combated by seeking shelter under canopies.
Disguising yourself as a Nazi sadly won't stop you dying of pneumonia...
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Managing your inventory means knowing when to leave cheese behind
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One of the most impressive facets of Pilot Down is the balance it strikes between stealth and shooting elements to create a measured challenge. At first glance, PD’s third-person shooting elements seem clunky. But look a little closer; before upgrading character attributes, the main protagonist is prone to spraying bullets haphazardly, or seeing the rifle sights drift considerably whilst lining up a shot. Thus in effect, guns fulfil the exact role they should do in such a scenario. They’re useful in the right circumstances and invaluable as a last resort, but their unpredictable nature is less conducive to smooth mission progression than the more considered, methodical nature of the stealth kills, or even sneaking past patrols undetected.
This intelligent approach stretches to the inventory, as the player is forced in to being proactive in choosing not only what items to pick-up, but what to leave behind as the backpack has a limited weight capacity. How many clips of ammo do you really need? Is that flare that’s been hanging around for a couple of levels ever going to be used? Should I keep the line for fishing, or discard it in favour of an additional first aid kit? Those who remember such dilemmas in Resident Evil will no doubt get a kick out this crafty setup.
This intelligent approach stretches to the inventory, as the player is forced in to being proactive in choosing not only what items to pick-up, but what to leave behind as the backpack has a limited weight capacity. How many clips of ammo do you really need? Is that flare that’s been hanging around for a couple of levels ever going to be used? Should I keep the line for fishing, or discard it in favour of an additional first aid kit? Those who remember such dilemmas in Resident Evil will no doubt get a kick out this crafty setup.
There’s lots to
like, even if much of it has been borrowed from similar fare. Peeking through
doors before you open them; dragging bodies out of sight of patrols; Nazis with
noise/suspicion bars; civilians who alert guards as to your presence, and even
a couple of instances where you can disguise yourself as a civilian and a Nazi.
There’s also three hidden items in each level that grant points towards
much-needed character upgrades, and whilst each mission harbours a secondary
objective, it’s usually up to the player to uncover it through a bit of snooping. Indeed, were it
not for a bit of naïve programming, Pilot
Down could have been something really noteworthy.
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The cover-system
is a bit patchy and there’s an annoying tendency on occasions of being spotted
through seemingly-solid scenery, but the chief bugbear is an absence of
checkpoints in a game populated by lengthy levels. If you play meticulously, particularly in the early stages, it’s not uncommon for levels to
last the thick end of an hour. Misjudge sneaking up on a guard or get caught in
a pincer attack, and there’s every likelihood you’ll be shot to pieces in a
couple of seconds. Die towards the end (as I did on the mammoth fourth level)
and it’s all the way back to the beginning, which is galling to say the least. To be blunt, newcomers aren’t going to find any joy here.
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"One of the most
impressive facets is the
balance it strikes between stealth and shooting to create a measured
challenge. [The guns'] unpredictable nature is less conducive to smooth mission progression than the methodical stealth kills, or even sneaking past patrols undetected"
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There always seems to be a Nazi between you and a nice fire...
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Nazis love walls. This one stares at one for hours (if you don't kill him first)
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The equilibrium it works so hard to establish during the early levels sadly goes out the window somewhat near the end, with the marvellous environment bar gradually becoming more and more of a nuisance. Performing stealth kills in Nazi encampments requires time, so you can analyse patrols and pick your moment. So extreme is the bar’s decline in later levels though, that it essentially forces you to go in shooting, as much more than a minute away from a heat source, even after upgrading your resistance to the elements, will start to see precious health ebb away.
All told, it’s still a damned good stealth adventure. The odd shortcut on the presentation means it’s a little rough around the edges, but make no mistake, Pilot Down conjures up a host of nice features, and a bunch of great levels to back them up. Stealth adventure newcomers should approach with caution as it’s tough from the get-go, but those seeking a more devious adventure might just have met their foil.
All told, it’s still a damned good stealth adventure. The odd shortcut on the presentation means it’s a little rough around the edges, but make no mistake, Pilot Down conjures up a host of nice features, and a bunch of great levels to back them up. Stealth adventure newcomers should approach with caution as it’s tough from the get-go, but those seeking a more devious adventure might just have met their foil.
