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The Plot: I continue to be one of those people who go by the philosophy that a video game has to grab you from the opening moments. "Alias", a game based upon the popular TV series on ABC, should have been a relatively easy slam dunk in terms of translating the spy/stealth action of the show to the video game arena. As with the series, you star as Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner), a CIA operative who has a series of increasingly more elaborate disguises to sneak under the detection of her enemies. Those who are familiar with the show will already be familiar with the characters and plot threads that are featured in the game. Those who have not watched the series may find themselves lost, as the game is tied into the show. The game is relatively straightforward, which is a little disappointing, given the birth of such remarkably detailed stealth franchises as "Splinter Cell" (the game especially pales in comparison to "Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow", which has just recently been released). Sydney is given a series of missions, where she'll have to achieve various objectives while sneaking past guards. While this would be entertaining, the combination of awkward controls and unimpressive/variable enemy AI (sometimes they should clearly spot you and don't, other times they clearly shouldn't be noticing you, and do.) The fighting works relatively well, but the controls aren't that intuitive and often, I found myself just button mashing during these sequences. Some gadgets and random items lying about are able to be used to either infilrate or attack, but their use was never terribly inspired. While the story is pretty involving (it was penned by the show's writers) and it's nice to see that the cast has participated, the actual gameplay just seemed rather generic to me. Often confronted by hints and tips from characters from the series and random characters, I didn't feel the kind of urgency and tension that I should have in these situations. Instead, I felt sort of lead around at times and worse yet, I felt like the game was a chore instead of being entertaining. Rating: 6/10 The DVD Graphics: "Alias" looks merely okay. Rooms are not always terribly well-decorated, with some seeming rather bland. Character animations are average, with some looking fine and others (Sydney's awfully strange looking running, the majority of the low-level thugs look alike) appearing in need of some fine-tuning. Definition/textures often look a tad soft, as well. Cut scenes are more successful, as they do show off some more impressive character animation that captures most of the actors from the show reasonably (some better than others; even Garner's Bristow in the game doesn't look quite like the actress). It's not that "Alias"'s look is severly flawed in any way - it's just that it seems - aside from capturing the look of the actors - that the game's look is really just going for the minimum. Rating: 5.9/10 Sound: "Alias" offers a surprisingly basic audio experience. While it's terrific that the cast has lent their voices to the game, that's really it when discussing the game's soundtrack. Very little in the way of ambience is heard and the game really doesn't make much use of 5.1 audio at all. Rating: 6/10 Rating Issues: "Alias" is rated "T" for non-graphic violence/action. Final Thoughts: I think that some effort in the cast participation and writing was made to try and appeal to fans and make a game that did justice to the TV series. While the cast participation does help, the show's style and atmosphere seem to have been lost in the translation. Involving story aside, this just remained a very ordinary, not particularly exciting or entertaining action/stealth game. Fans of the series may still want to try a rental, but otherwise, not recommended. |