P.O.W. Prisoners of War was released by studio SNK in 1988 as a beat-'em-up set in a prisoner-of-war camp, from which the player, as a war prisoner, fights their way out with bare hands and weapons seized from the guards. The game follows the classic scheme of advancing across the screen from left to right and eliminating waves of enemies, but it offers a wide range of strikes, holds, and weapons from knives to submachine guns, which can be snatched directly from defeated opponents.
It stands out for its fairly high difficulty and raw take on the themes of imprisonment and escape, which were common in arcade halls of the late eighties among titles inspired by action films about the war in Vietnam. The graphics and music do a good job of evoking a tense atmosphere of constant threat, and the player must constantly account for guards appearing from multiple sides at once, including attacks from behind fences and watchtowers scattered around the camp.
P.O.W. became one of many beat-'em-ups competing for players' attention alongside titles like Double Dragon at the time, but thanks to its military setting and broad arsenal of weapons it carved out its own place among genre fans. Progressing through the camp's increasingly difficult levels, the player eventually reaches its commander, whose defeat means liberation, though along the way they must face ever tougher and better-armed guards.
Why play it: P.O.W. Prisoners of War offers a raw military beat-'em-up with a rich arsenal of weapons that still ranks among the solid representatives of the genre from the late eighties.
Game 117 of 258 for Arcade
