Review: 24: The Game

A Day In The Life
SCE / Playstation 2 / Mature

In the rare instance when a developer is desperate enough for a quickie cash in game to turn to a TV show for fodder, the shows that get called up aren’t usually the captivating big-budget must see shows that would actually make good games. Instead we see TV games that take a popular animated show and stretch the premise so far it’s barely recognizable, just for that quick buck. In the meanwhile high potential dramas are left alone to their viewing audience until they jump the shark and fade away. It’s only once in a blue moon that a show comes along with the dramatic force to warrant a game tie-in, and that aqua moon is shining upon 24.

Rather than recycling events from a season of the show, the game’s story provides a ton of fan service by fleshing out the mysterious time between seasons two and three. That means that some big questions will be answered, including: how did President Palmer survive the assassination attempt? How did Kim Bauer join CTU LA? And how did Chase Edwards and Jack Bauer become partners? In addition to being introduced Chase and Kim (as well as others) get to take some screen time away from Mr. Bauer as additional playable characters. While the extra characters may be little more than new skins, the character models are pretty enough to warrant giving more characters face time (it also helps to stretch the voice-acting budget).

Outside the fan-fantasy story everything else about the game is average or less. The gameplay is basic third-person shooting where the impressive number of guns one can collect is offset by how difficult it is to fire them accurately. The targeting is a stick-based system that allows a player, after targeting an enemy, to zero in on head and other precision shots using a joystick, in theory. The reality is that doing things right takes way too much time in a frantic firefight, and more often than not you’ll end up switching targets or going to free aim mode.

As previously suspected, the biggest problem here is the camera, which has a frenetic, handheld quality to it that actually seems to fit the show’s presentation. Even so, the problem is less that Jack Bauer is being followed by a cameraman, it’s that the cameraman probably had had a three-beer lunch. The constant lurches and twitches caused by moving characters, nearby objects, or just trying to look around are likely to become a persistent bodily issue for all but the steeliest stomached gamer.

If the camera doesn’t ruin the view the graphics are one of the few saving graces present. The cutscenes are long and indulgent, and show off the attention to detail that has been put in the character modeling, which is the star of the show. On another presentation point, the sound advantages afforded to a TV game really make a good showing. All the main characters are voice by their real show actors and all the music from the show never fails to add to the drama of the cutscenes.

In the end, 24 is a decent TV game handicapped by the vomit-inducing camera, so maybe it’s a good thing the predictably-numbered set of 24 missions each provide just enough playtime for the gamer to realize what good things 24 brings to the table, but are not long enough to cause one to befoul the couch. 24 fans are recommended to enjoy, in small doses.

5.5/10
By Zack Rovinsky