24: The Game

"Great Story, Underwhelming Gameplay"

Most of the people reading this review should know what "24" is. For those of you who don't know, it is a show that has aired for 6 Seasons on the Fox Network [and we have to wait an extra year for Season Seven... damn Writers Strike] and is very popular. And like everything that is popular now, someone decided to suck as much money out of everyones wallets as possible by creating a Video Game. But, unlike most of the crappy Moviegames that come out, this one received some real hype and was anticipated by fans of the Show. But in the end, it was not very well received, so lets finish up this opening and light this candle.

Story: 9

If you are a fan of "24" you know what to expect here. One of the things that the show is known for is constantly killing off characters, and having some of the most complex, twist filled, and fast paced story lines in any TV show that is currently on the air. The game tells everything similarly to the show, everything that goes on takes place over one day of Jack Bauers life. And for those of you don't know, Jack Bauer is an agent for the LA Counter Terrorist Unit offices, who is seemingly unkillable, and often has to break the rules to save the world when his bosses are twiddling their thumbs.

As for the game, it takes place between Day Two and Day Three, six months after the finale of Season Two where President Palmer was poisoned by Mandy [an assassin]. and two and a half years before Season Three which deals with a Biological Attack being used on the United States. The main plot holes that are filled are things like how President Palmer recovered from the assassination attempt, how the people who planned the assassination were taken down, and how some of the people who worked in CTU like Chloe, Chase, and Jack's daughter Kim started working there.

The main game itself covers 3 plots [like most of the Seasons do]. The first one involves a plot to assassinate Vice President James Prescott, number two is about an attack on CTU, and the final one is about the terrorists who tried to kill Palmer in Season 2 bombing several Fault Lines and trying to get Nuclear Weapons.

Now, there is nothing as surprising as some of the revelations in the show, like Nina being the real mole in Season One, or President Logan being behind everything that happened in Season Five, but the plot in this game is a damn good one that any fan of "24" would enjoy.

Gameplay: 6

Unfortunately, so much work went into crafting the story the the game suffered. Its not that the game is bad, it is just that some of the things were not done very well.

Most of the levels are 3rd Person Shooter sequences, and they would of been much better if it wasn't for the poor camera and how awkward it was to target enemies. The AI was also pathetic, and having very little artificial intelligence unless you were right in front their face. But other than that the levels are fun enough to play.

The Vehicles Sequences were even more painful. Driving felt like you were skidding on ice, and the enemy AI drove around like it was suicidal. It also took a long time to get up to speed compared to a real car.

The Minigames were the worst part. The majority of them were so ridiculously simple that a monkey could do them. The only one that was really fun was the Interrogation Minigame where you had to make dialog choices [Threaten, or Calm] in order to get someone to break and spill their guts to you.

If more time was spent resolving these problems, then this score would of gone up. But it is apparent that the Developers tried to do much more than they had to, and that just degraded the quality of what could of been a great game.

Challenge: 6

Well... given what I said in the last section what else could you expect.

The AI is idiotic, and most of the puzzles are mind numbingly easy. But there are some tough sequences like having to move Kim through CTU by being stealthy. It is usually the stealth levels that were the most annoying for me to do. But I did have a hard time with a few of the levels with a small time limit, and the ones where there are a lot of enemies.

The game also won't take you very long to finish. For most players it will probably take 7 or 8 hours.

Just remember these words. The game is easy most of the time, but there are some tough sequences.

Controls: 6

Most of the controls are good, but like I said above the Camera and aiming can be frustrating, getting behind cover does not work very well [you also can't move around like you can in Rainbow Six Vegas, or you will pop back out of cover] and using the same button to search a body and whack someone with your gun was a dumb idea.

But other than that everything works good enough.

Graphics: 7

What were getting here is good but not incredible.

All of the characters have been recreated very well into polygonal form, and everything very closely resembles the "24" universe. The levels you are in look good, and most of the textures are well done. Most of the cutscenes look like something you would see in the show, and you get to see some things that are seen in the show like multiple split screens and the ticking clock.

The main flaws I had were a slow frame rate when there was a lot going on [explosions], clipping errors, and poorly done animations.

Sound: 9

Luckily, the sound fared much better than most of what was in the game.

Most of the actors like Kiefer Sutherland, Elisha Cuthbert, Dennis Haysbert, and Carlos Bernard [to name a few] recorded some very well done dialog for their characters, and I found almost no faults with how it was done. The composer from the show Sean Callery also did an excellent job with the soundtrack which sounds better than some of the music in the show sometimes. The rest of the sound effects like weapons, and background noises were also well done.

Like with the show, all of the sounds and the music fit where they should, and they help enhance everything to make it better.

Atmosphere: 8

What I have been saying about the plot and the sound applies here. It really helps draw you into the game and make you feel like you are in the game. Unfortunately, the apparent gameplay flaws draw this down.

Replayability: 6

The main things to keep coming back to the game are unlockable character models and videos that can be gotten by getting over a 90% rating when the mission is finished. But other than that, there isn't much to keep playing for unless you enjoyed the story.

Pros:
Excellent story, good soundtrack, character voices were well done, decent missions, the Interrogation Minigame.

Cons:
Disappointing gameplay, horrible Driving levels, too many minigames, bad camera, Aiming problems, too many eggs in one basket.

Should you get it:
I would only recommend this game to a "24" fan. But if you are not one I would suggest this as a rental, and if you like it go ahead and get it.

Overall:

24: The Game is not bad, it is just not as good as it could of been. There was a lot of promise, but it was left unfulfilled. Even though the story and the sound were some of the best on the PS2, the gameplay was not up to the level that everyone was expecting and that lowered the scores. But the blame can be put on the Developers for trying to do to much with this game, and if some of the bad parts were just toned down, the game would of been much better. But most of the "24" fans on this website should enjoy parts of it.

7

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/12/08, Updated 03/23/09

Game Release: 24: The Game (US, 02/28/06)