Mission: Impossible: Operation Surma

"A good addition to the Stealth/Action genre"

Mission Impossible: Operation Surma is a nice addition to the ever growing library of PS2 action-stealth games. While it may not be MGS2 or SC, it's a good game on it's own accord, and I would recommend it to fans of the genre.

While MI:OS might be a little on the easy side, it progresses nicely. I found the difficulty jump from even the first level (very very tutorial-esque) to the second level a good increase in challenge. You will start out trying to make an exchange for a disc with top secret information on it. From the intro cinema to the end of the stage, it plays out just like a scene from an MI movie. Pick locks - fight some guys - get disc from guy - escort him to safety - errrrr.. - guy gets killed - you take disc, and try to escape. Remind you of something?

Anyways....

Graphics: 8/10

Good. The textures look nice and Ethan animates well. The sfx look good as well. You will be using alot of your NVG in this game, and thankfully it doesn't look too bad. There is a wide variety of moves that Ethan can perform, and they all look good. Hanging from pipes, sneaking, punching, kicking, etc. I'll get into these more later. The backgrounds look good. The first level is a little bland, but as you progress you will see some nice ones. The HUD is pretty nice, and functional to boot. It doesn't hinder vision at all, and is semi-transparent anyways...

Sound: 8/10

Good. The voice actors are fantastic, and sound true to life. Casting Vingh Rames in-particular gave the game a very movie like presentation. The enemies all sound good, and say stuff as they search for you, or as they shoot you. All the standard effects sound appropriate as well..

Gameplay: 8/10

Good. Enjoyable. There is alot of stealth, and there are actions parts mixed in. You can hide in the shadows ala Splinter Cell and Manhunt and stealth KO opponents. You can also stealth KO enemies from corners as well. There is hand to hand combat, and it's not exactly deep, but it is functional and looks cool. Keep button mashing and you'll do some impressive moves, then finish your opponent with a stomp of strong dropping punch. There is a fair share of shooting, which operates much like other games, though there is no auto target or lock on. The game is forgiving though, you can be a little off and still land shots.

You can shimmy across walls, hang from pipes, climb up to high places with your micro-cord, see through walls with another gadget, hack into stuff and the normal stealth-gameplay prequisites. It's all done well in this game, but it may be a bit easy. If you need to hack, you press triangle and it starts hacking, need to pick a lock, press triangle and it does it. I like actually having to think, though this does remove a bit of tedium. I don't have many problems with the gameplay. The camera can be a bit annoying at times, and the game can be a little linear, without multiple paths to get through it, but fun none-the-less.

Final: 8/10

Worth it in my opinion. Rent it and give it a go, but if your an MI fan, and a Action/Stealth genre fan, go buy it :D

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/14/03