Title: 24: The Game

Date: 03.06.2006

Genre: Action, Adventure

Platform: PlayStation 2

Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment

Publisher: 2K Games

Let’s get this out of the way first. I, like many who play this game, am a 24 fan. I’m a big fan. I watched the first episode and never looked back. When I missed an episode of season three, I patiently waited for my DVD rather than miss a crucial hour. So stepping into 24: The Game gave me an experience that had its ups and downs. At first glance, 24 suffers from “Shadows of the Empire” syndrome, attempting to be too many different games in one package, and failing to be any of them superbly. At second glance, this assumption is absolutely spot-on.

Gameplay is divided into several different types. The bulk of the game is made up of the standard third-person action sequences. The game supplies an adequate amount of weaponry for these sections, although most of the machine guns wind up feeling eerily similar (minus the M5K Deutsch, a not-so-subtly renamed HK-MP5, which functions nicely with its three shot burst mode). The largest problem with these sequences comes from the camera. Initially, it feels as if the camera is working against the player. It doesn’t help that your first introduction to the game is presented from the cinematic shot of being behind and below Jack, making you instantly fret that this is the default view. Eventually the camera becomes manageable, though you’ll find yourself drifting your thumb over the right analog stick to twist it very often. This becomes natural and simple, but it shouldn’t be a problem in the first place. The targeting system is all too often difficult to become accustomed to when it is on “assist.” While the lock-on-and-focus mechanic is nice, it’s been done better in other games, such as “From Russia with Love.” Since the AI is often too dumb to change how they come up from cover, you’ll often be able to just point the dot at where their head will be and wait patiently for an easy head shot. These sequences are by no means terrible; they just aren’t very astounding either.

At some points, the third-person engine will be utilized for stealth missions. These are, simply put, awful. In two of these stealth operations, you’ll be forced to use a stun gun, meaning you’ll have to be right next to your opponent before it’s practical to use. Dragging bodies out of the way is poorly implemented, at best. The camera fails to shift to a practical viewpoint for this action, and you wind up bumping into walls more than getting the body safely out of the way of a guard.

Frequently within the show, Jack and company find themselves driving off to new and exciting locations within Los Angeles. Driving sequences are frequently within this game as well. However, they are possibly the weakest point of the entire game. Jack’s SUV handles like a tank in water, and the enemy AI is often able to do little more than ram into your car. The map of Los Angeles is fairly impressive. It isn’t as detailed as from “True Crime” but it functions well for the game. You’ll quickly find that the missions are all pretty much the same. “Get to the highway!” “Go to Korea town!” “Go to CTU!” And repeat. If it weren’t for the handling and repetition, these might be an exciting way to break up the pace. As it is, they’re just annoying.

Puzzles appear often within the game. They range from simple timing-matching games to path finding and number/letter swap puzzles. None of them are particularly difficult, and none of them are particularly noteworthy. I’ve watched the show enough to know that data decryption isn’t as simple as pressing the right colored button when the computer highlights a colorful block. If it were really that easy, I could be the best counter terror agent in the U.S. Two puzzles stand out as more “24-like” than the others, but they sadly only appear once. The first is a “satellite” bit where you have to identify heat signatures that are likely to be bad guys, and the second is a “rerouting” game where you have to try and route your signal through as many locations as possible so as to provide yourself with more time before they track you.

Interrogation is surprisingly fun. Press the right button to yell or calm your suspect, or maintain the current level of pressure. The idea is to keep their heartbeat at a certain level. The real problem with this is their stilted nature. Suddenly the target heartbeat level may become dramatically higher or lower, and you’ll suddenly be putting the pressure on (or taking it off) when you were just doing the very opposite. There is no segue into these sections, and it all comes off as a bit jarring when Jack goes from “I want to help you” to “TELL ME WHERE THE SNIPERS ARE!” A few parts in the game also feature sniping sections. These are the most complete feeling parts of the game. Pick your target, aim, and shoot. It’s actually hard to screw that up, but it all comes out very well nonetheless. The wonderful sound helps accentuate those gunshots to make it a more visceral experience.

Speaking of sound, that’s pretty much where this game excels. Gunshots are well recorded, and firefights can seem very intense as the bullets ricochet around your character. We may not be talking “Saving Private Ryan” sound editing, but its high quality nonetheless. The game’s music plays like a “best of 24” soundtrack, featuring tracks from seasons 1-3 at least (four is likely included as well). Some of the absolute best tracks are used to great effect. The music is mixed very well, picking up as time counts down, or subtly moving in and out with the action. The voice acting is superb. Any of the important actors reprise their roles in this game, and they all do it very well.

The fact that the game is so well written no doubt helps the acting. 24: The Game features a script written by one of the show’s actual writers, and the game is infinitely better for it. The dialogue comes off very much like the show’s dialogue. The plot is another matter. It’s patently absurd. The game opens up very well, assassination and all that. And it closes with a bit of a vengeance streak and a fantastic final few levels that are pretty much Jack and Chase on the offensive. It’s the middle that’s a problem. I won’t let any details slip for fear show fans would crucify me. But whereas previous seasons have realistic weaponry like nuclear bombs or viruses, this game’s “ultimate weapon” is… well it isn’t physically possible to the best of my knowledge. It doesn’t make anyone gasp or worry like 24 has been able to do on television. Instead it just makes the player sigh and possibly laugh. It’s quite disappointing. Furthermore, there is one major problem with the writing.

At some point in the development cycle, Sony Cambridge decided it would be difficult at best to create a game in real-time. Personally, I could’ve told them how to make it work, but I suppose my input was unwanted. Once this decision was made, it seems everything else just went down the tubes. Characters tell us they are going to leave for somewhere, and we cut to them arriving. I understand this is a game, but this is also 24. At least a token CTU “talking heads” cutscene would’ve made this all a bit more bearable. Thanks to the mechanics of this being a game, various elements of the show have been removed. Anything that doesn’t directly lead to a puzzle or an action sequence is right out. This means that there is little room for character development or plot pacing. Instead everything just gets us from one mission to the next. For a serious 24 plot, I would not have minded Metal Gear Solid levels of cut-scenes, and I don’t think many 24 fans would have either. We don’t get to see scenes featuring just the villains, and as a result, we get little insight into their motivations (unlike the show). We are given the final villain’s motives right at the tail end, in a blurb of a few seconds that can be easily missed.

We are hinted at a lot of past involvement between Jack and Madsen, one of the other villains, but little is said besides the revealing “you didn’t kill me when you had the chance, Jack.” It feels as if the game’s writers only did half of the job at times, which is very disappointing considering how well this game is presented.

Presentation is easily the game’s strongest point. Despite weaknesses of plot and gameplay, this sucker feels like 24 through and through. The views become split up at points in missions to give you alternate views of the action, or to let you see an approaching threat. This is all done very effectively and isn’t nearly as intrusive as it seems it would be. Graphically, the game feels slightly dated (the product of such a long development cycle- they started work around late 2003), but the cut-scenes, while pre-rendered, look similar enough to the gameplay that the entire experience feels seamless. This game’s presentation was put together with love and care towards its source material, and that much counts for something.

No amount of presentation can hide the most disappointing feature of the game however. It is exceptionally short. Despite over fifty missions, and 24 hours of story, the game can be completed within ten hours. Most of the fifty missions are two-minute-or-less puzzle affairs. While there are unlockables for 90% or higher ratings, most of these are simply character models that you can swing a camera around and watch run or walk. It’s nice to see the detail, but they are hardly motivation to do any better. There are also some still images that are slightly more interesting, and a series of unlockable videos, but most, if not all of these are available on the game’s website, and the resolution isn’t much better here. They are simply the show’s actors singing praises about the game, and it all hardly feels like it matters. Interviews with the actors can be fun, like in “The Two Towers,” where we at least got to see John Rhys-Davies struggle to play the game, but in this case the actors are only talking heads, and have little to say that’s vaguely interesting. However, if you are a perfectionist, those 100% ratings are out there to be taken. The game lets you know what requirements to meet, as in a certain number of headshots, a time limit, or an accuracy level.

Overall, 24 features a solid presentation with quality, if flawed writing and plotting. The game feels like an episode of 24, but it fails to innovate the genre in any way. Considering the innovation of the show this is more than a little disappointing.

Game Score

7.2

Reviewed By: Contributed