martok2112
12-30-2006, 03:38 AM
VIDEOGAME: 24 The Game
DEVELOPER: 2K Games
PUBLISHER: 2K Games
SYSTEMS: PLAYSTATION 2
RATING: M (MATURE for BLOOD and VIOLENCE-- and Strong Language, not mentioned on descriptor)
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1
Graphics: 4.5 /5
Sound: 5 /5
Control: 4.5 /5
Story: 5/5
Endorphin Factor: 4.5 /5
Frustration Factor: 3/5
Scoring system:
Average: 4.5 /5
GAMES IT COULD BE COMPARED TO: GRAND THEFT AUTO, METAL GEAR SOLID
DETAILS: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 12:00 AM AND 1:00AM. REVIEWS ARE READ IN REAL TIME.
Sorry, couldn't resist opening like that. It's no secret to many of my friends that I am hooked on the television series "24". It's my second favorite TV series right now. (The first being Battlestar Galactica on the Sci-Fi channel...but that's not really relevant.) 24 is a gripping action drama with a tremendous premise. The entire season of 24 episodes encompasses a 24 hour period in the life of Federal Agent Jack Bauer, an operative for the Los Angeles branch of the Counter Terrorism Unit (aka CTU).
Is it possible that a videogame could ever capture the spirit of a show upon which it is based? That answer is YES, and this game does it in just about EVERY respect.
Graphically, for the PS2, this game is wonderous. The CG characters all look very much like their real life counterparts. They look quite good in the actual game engine, but in the cutscenes, the results are nigh stunning. Even Kim Bauer (voiced by the oh so hot Elisha Cuthbert) looks good in this game. The way the game is viewed is very much like in the television series. Even during game play, the screen will split...in this case, to warn you of where potential enemies might be lurking.
Audibly, the game is equally wonderous.....from the sound effects, to the stirring score by Sean Callery. The voice acting is par excellence, and done by the series original cast....so yes, you get Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, Carlos Bernard as Agent Tony Almeida, Dennis Haysbert as President David Palmer, Elisha Cuthbert as Kim Bauer, Reiko Aylesworth as Agent Michelle Dressler.....the list goes on. The voice acting is so well done that it actually sounds like these folks filmed an episode without the video on....it doesn't sound like a forced read like what happens in other show/movie to game translations. I mean, these people REALLY did an excellent job recording the script for this game.
Control is not too bad. As with many games, it may take a few minutes to get used to, but once it happens, the controls are very intuitive, and pretty soon, you'll be playing as professionally as Jack himself.
The game's story is written by series writer Duppy Demetrius, and is meant to take place between seasons 2 and 3 of the series. And indeed, it does this well. If anyone remembers at the end of Season Two, President David Palmer was attacked by a female assassin, and our last seconds of seeing the president was of him staring into oblivion. Well, in the game, it actually covers his convalescence as he tries to convince the US that he is ready to return to office. In the meantime, Vice President Jim Prescott has been running things in his stead, and he becomes the target of another assassination plot.
12:27:35...36....37.....38
12:29:44.....45....46....47....
But it's not just presidential assassinations that this game is about. Someone has a grudge with LA CTU, and naturally, Jack Bauer and his daughter Kim get caught in the middle of it.
In terms of gameplay, the game is not ALL about Jack Bauer. You actually get to control other characters, like Washington DC CTU Agent Chase Edmonds, who is working undercover to unravel the mysterious and dangerous plot. You also get to control Tony, and in another mission you get to control Michelle, who must escort Kim (who is starting her internship at CTU) to a Panic Room in the CTU when it is attacked by terrorists. In the very following mission, after Michelle is captured by the intruders, you actually get to control Kim...and for me, this was a barrell of laughs (in a good way, I assure you) because here you take this meek little girl, and you actually get to kick some ass with her...in the meekest of ways. It was so funny hitting the "yell command" button (for which most agents would say "CTU!", "Federal Agent", "Federal Agent, put your hands where I can see them!", or "Federal Agent, drop your weapon!")...and instead you hear Kim meekly say: "I'm with CTU.", or "Don't shoot!", or "Stop shooting!" And if you've successfully snuck up behind a terrorist and say one of these things with her, she actually gets them to surrender in terror, and she can restrain them. I mean I got a good laugh out of this EVERY single time she did it. (The only thing that irked me was, I got such a low score when controlling her. I was thinking: "WHAT THE FRACK?! What are you talking about?! Do you know how many terrorists I captured?!" The game only rated me for one "stunned" terrorist, when I nailed him with a Tazer gun.) Otherwise, I can already see that this game will have as much of an emotional impact with me as the TV series does.
There's a decent checkpoint system, which is good...for that means if you really frack up, you won't have to go all the way back to the beginning of the mission, if you've gotten really far into it. Missions are broken down into "hours" just like episodes from the series, and each mission is introduced with Kiefer Sutherland's usual introduction: "The following takes place between _____ and ____."
There are a few downsides to the game however:
The aiming system, while mostly reliable, is a bit twitchy, and sometimes you find yourself aiming in the wrong direction, which could potentially be fatal to your onscreen character.
The cover system, in which you can hide from enemy fire, and actually shoot around corners is also sporadically reliable...but it gets better as the game progresses.
The enemy's A.I. sometimes lacks the "I", but not all that often. (It is funny when you can sneak up behind two terrorists, and yell "CTU!" --or whatever-- and capture them both.)
Quirks:
Health stations along the way help out with the "invincible hero" nature of the game, so that good guys prevail. You can die though if you get careless...so do be careful.
There are minigames for the various scenarios you encounter, such as gadgetry, interrogation, sniping, etc. Plenty of stuff to do in this game.
You even get to play the bad guys in an escape scenario. I'm not quite sure why this is, but it was still fun.
BOTTOM LINE: I haven't finished playing this game yet, but I can tell you that if you like the TV series, and are also into videogames, you CANNOT go wrong with 24 The Game. It's like watching an episode, but getting to be a part of it.
12:59:56.....57.....58....59.... 1:00
DEVELOPER: 2K Games
PUBLISHER: 2K Games
SYSTEMS: PLAYSTATION 2
RATING: M (MATURE for BLOOD and VIOLENCE-- and Strong Language, not mentioned on descriptor)
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1
Graphics: 4.5 /5
Sound: 5 /5
Control: 4.5 /5
Story: 5/5
Endorphin Factor: 4.5 /5
Frustration Factor: 3/5
Scoring system:
Average: 4.5 /5
GAMES IT COULD BE COMPARED TO: GRAND THEFT AUTO, METAL GEAR SOLID
DETAILS: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 12:00 AM AND 1:00AM. REVIEWS ARE READ IN REAL TIME.
Sorry, couldn't resist opening like that. It's no secret to many of my friends that I am hooked on the television series "24". It's my second favorite TV series right now. (The first being Battlestar Galactica on the Sci-Fi channel...but that's not really relevant.) 24 is a gripping action drama with a tremendous premise. The entire season of 24 episodes encompasses a 24 hour period in the life of Federal Agent Jack Bauer, an operative for the Los Angeles branch of the Counter Terrorism Unit (aka CTU).
Is it possible that a videogame could ever capture the spirit of a show upon which it is based? That answer is YES, and this game does it in just about EVERY respect.
Graphically, for the PS2, this game is wonderous. The CG characters all look very much like their real life counterparts. They look quite good in the actual game engine, but in the cutscenes, the results are nigh stunning. Even Kim Bauer (voiced by the oh so hot Elisha Cuthbert) looks good in this game. The way the game is viewed is very much like in the television series. Even during game play, the screen will split...in this case, to warn you of where potential enemies might be lurking.
Audibly, the game is equally wonderous.....from the sound effects, to the stirring score by Sean Callery. The voice acting is par excellence, and done by the series original cast....so yes, you get Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, Carlos Bernard as Agent Tony Almeida, Dennis Haysbert as President David Palmer, Elisha Cuthbert as Kim Bauer, Reiko Aylesworth as Agent Michelle Dressler.....the list goes on. The voice acting is so well done that it actually sounds like these folks filmed an episode without the video on....it doesn't sound like a forced read like what happens in other show/movie to game translations. I mean, these people REALLY did an excellent job recording the script for this game.
Control is not too bad. As with many games, it may take a few minutes to get used to, but once it happens, the controls are very intuitive, and pretty soon, you'll be playing as professionally as Jack himself.
The game's story is written by series writer Duppy Demetrius, and is meant to take place between seasons 2 and 3 of the series. And indeed, it does this well. If anyone remembers at the end of Season Two, President David Palmer was attacked by a female assassin, and our last seconds of seeing the president was of him staring into oblivion. Well, in the game, it actually covers his convalescence as he tries to convince the US that he is ready to return to office. In the meantime, Vice President Jim Prescott has been running things in his stead, and he becomes the target of another assassination plot.
12:27:35...36....37.....38
12:29:44.....45....46....47....
But it's not just presidential assassinations that this game is about. Someone has a grudge with LA CTU, and naturally, Jack Bauer and his daughter Kim get caught in the middle of it.
In terms of gameplay, the game is not ALL about Jack Bauer. You actually get to control other characters, like Washington DC CTU Agent Chase Edmonds, who is working undercover to unravel the mysterious and dangerous plot. You also get to control Tony, and in another mission you get to control Michelle, who must escort Kim (who is starting her internship at CTU) to a Panic Room in the CTU when it is attacked by terrorists. In the very following mission, after Michelle is captured by the intruders, you actually get to control Kim...and for me, this was a barrell of laughs (in a good way, I assure you) because here you take this meek little girl, and you actually get to kick some ass with her...in the meekest of ways. It was so funny hitting the "yell command" button (for which most agents would say "CTU!", "Federal Agent", "Federal Agent, put your hands where I can see them!", or "Federal Agent, drop your weapon!")...and instead you hear Kim meekly say: "I'm with CTU.", or "Don't shoot!", or "Stop shooting!" And if you've successfully snuck up behind a terrorist and say one of these things with her, she actually gets them to surrender in terror, and she can restrain them. I mean I got a good laugh out of this EVERY single time she did it. (The only thing that irked me was, I got such a low score when controlling her. I was thinking: "WHAT THE FRACK?! What are you talking about?! Do you know how many terrorists I captured?!" The game only rated me for one "stunned" terrorist, when I nailed him with a Tazer gun.) Otherwise, I can already see that this game will have as much of an emotional impact with me as the TV series does.
There's a decent checkpoint system, which is good...for that means if you really frack up, you won't have to go all the way back to the beginning of the mission, if you've gotten really far into it. Missions are broken down into "hours" just like episodes from the series, and each mission is introduced with Kiefer Sutherland's usual introduction: "The following takes place between _____ and ____."
There are a few downsides to the game however:
The aiming system, while mostly reliable, is a bit twitchy, and sometimes you find yourself aiming in the wrong direction, which could potentially be fatal to your onscreen character.
The cover system, in which you can hide from enemy fire, and actually shoot around corners is also sporadically reliable...but it gets better as the game progresses.
The enemy's A.I. sometimes lacks the "I", but not all that often. (It is funny when you can sneak up behind two terrorists, and yell "CTU!" --or whatever-- and capture them both.)
Quirks:
Health stations along the way help out with the "invincible hero" nature of the game, so that good guys prevail. You can die though if you get careless...so do be careful.
There are minigames for the various scenarios you encounter, such as gadgetry, interrogation, sniping, etc. Plenty of stuff to do in this game.
You even get to play the bad guys in an escape scenario. I'm not quite sure why this is, but it was still fun.
BOTTOM LINE: I haven't finished playing this game yet, but I can tell you that if you like the TV series, and are also into videogames, you CANNOT go wrong with 24 The Game. It's like watching an episode, but getting to be a part of it.
12:59:56.....57.....58....59.... 1:00