Alias
- April 09, 2004 12:02 PM PST
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Agent Sydney Bristow is ready for action on the Xbox--much to the relief of her fans.
Alias, ABC's conspiracy-filled drama in the world of spies, espionage, and double agents, is practically custom made for a video-game treatment--lots of gadgets, lots of close shaves, and lots of intrigue. Thankfully, they all translate quite well to Acclaim's interactive version, too.
Syd Vicious
To summarize Alias's complicated backstory would take much longer than this review--if you're reading this, it's probably because you already know the twisted plot (or maybe you just think Jennifer Garner, who plays lead character Sydney Bristow, is wicked hot). The game takes place late in the second season--SD6 is gone, Sloane and Sark are pals, everybody else is working for the CIA, and the hunt is on for Rimbaldi's "Machine." With the show's writers, seven actors, and series creator J.J. Abrams all on board, Alias is as authentic as a licensed game gets.
The gameplay feels a little Splinter Cell?ish, but it's certainly more forgiving than Sam Fisher's tasks; very generous save points make Sydney's mission enjoyable instead of mission impossible. Players will need to infiltrate locations with the help of various gadgets, vision modes (night, heat, etc) and, um, sexy outfits. Sooner or later it comes down to brawling, and the fight moves look gorgeous. With practice, Sydney backflips off walls and batters bad guys with amazing grace. Once you learn the controls, they respond sharply). The fully user-controlled camera can still leave you in a lurch, but locking onto one target in a group makes the frequent two- or three-enemy smackdowns winnable.
Garnering Acclaim
Although the scriptwriters are straight from the show, Marshall and Vaughan's dialogue feels a little forced; otherwise, the large cast participation and television soundtrack give the game exactly the authentic audio flavor fans would want. Characters closely resemble their real-life counterparts, and the environments look lovely, but Syd's "nonreflective" spy suit quizzically shines. Still, Alias is a great-looking and easy-playing game that should make casual-gamer fans of the show very happy.
