The Escapists

If Hollywood has taught us anything, it's that breaking out of the joint is hard. Hopefully in The Escapists it won't take you the 19 years it took Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption, but it certainly won't be easy, either.

So, yes, your task in The Escapists is to get out of jail. You won't be doing anything so uncivilised as fighting your way out. This is a game from Team17, the developer behind Worms, so you can expect to put a lot of strategy into play.

Utilising old-school, pixellated, top-down graphics, the game thrusts you into the daily grind of life behind bars. Players will need to get to know their surroundings and look for weakspots in the prison's systems. There's no right or wrong way to do it. You might pinch a spork and see if you can dig your way to freedom, or you might try something more elabourate such as supplanting the prison tailor and using a hidden space next to his work area to store bigger tools. You'll need to be careful, though. Visibly deviating from the prison routine will attract attention from the guards, taking the form of a heat meter on the screen. You don't want that.

The game features six different prisons to escape and numerous different ways to accomplish it. There are 10 different jobs to earn yourself some escape funds, including Laundry, Janitor, Mail Man, Metal Shop, Kitchen, Wood Work, Tailor, Deliveries, Gardener and Library work. There's also a crafting system, enabling escapists to make everything from Sheet Ropes to the Sock Mace to dangerous cups of molten chocolate!

This isn't a game for those looking for an easy ride, but it's sure to reward gamers showing grit, cunning and bravery.