There are four playable characters, from the film, each with a special ability.
. MacDonald (Gordon Jackson's character), who can speak German to pass himself off as a guard.
. Hendley (James Garner's character), who can pick pockets to get papers, keys, etc, and must also act as guide/escort to Blythe (Donald Pleasence's character)
. Hilts (Steve McQueen's character), who can pick locks to get into buildings
. Sedgwick (James Coburn's character) , who can fix mechanical devices.

There are 18 levels in the game, most of which have fictional tasks and attacks, most of which did not happen in the movie.
Examples of this are early levels featuring the characters first captures and early escape attempts from other POW camps before they are sent to Stalag Luft III, and later levels which feature "expanded" movie plots, such as Hendley & Blythe's escape from the train and stealing the plane, or entirely fictional plot points such as Sedgwick's involvement in helping the French resistance in exchange for helping him escape to Spain.
The ending of the game is also changed to reflect a more positive player experience, where all four playable characters escape, whereas in the film, only Sedgwick escapes, whilst Hendley & Hilts are recaptured and MacDonald is executed. In the game, Sedgwick escapes as he does in the film, Hendley & Blythe manage to fly safely to Switzerland, MacDonald manages to escape on a boat to England, and Hilts succeeds in making the final jump into Switzerland.
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.