24: The Game Review





Developer: SCE Studios Cambridge Publisher: 2K Games
Release Date: February 28, 2006 Also On: None

For the past 4 years, 24 has thrilled its viewers with heart pounding action and drama that no other series can match. Terrorists trying to start a war with the US never gets old. Kind of ironic they only go after California and how the President seems to be there more than in DC. Moving on though, with this series being a widely popular one, you would have very high hopes for the game when it was released. In the wake of all the problems under the Take-Two flag however, this must have hurt the game during production. It definitely disappointed in most areas. The game does the show no justice whatsoever. Terrorists could use it as a secret weapon to driving everyone insane.

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The presentation is one of the few things done right in 24. There are outstanding cut scenes that mimic the show really well. The camera angles are phenomenal for each seen making it feel like the show in its entirety. They take different angles like you would expect from the TV show and it work really well throughout the cut scenes. Throw in a twisting storyline and you’d say 24 is a winner right? Well, you’d be wrong in your assumption. The graphics may be decent for the PS2, but the animations are atrocious. Clipping while in motion becomes an annoyance happens all the time. Not the ideal looking game you were expecting.

Sound is actually fairly well done. While the vehicle effects aren’t that great, everything else makes up for it. Firefights sound very realistic and each gun sounds very well. Go into a battle with a bunch of automatic weapons sounds fantastic. Positional sounds is a little off since you can’t really tell if someone is sneaking up behind you or not, but that isn’t a major issue. Voice talents were portrayed by the actual actors from the show. While this is a nice addition, you can really tell these were done in a studio. When you see Jack Bauer addressing a squad about a mission, you don’t want him to sound calm like the mission doesn’t matter.

There is a reason why 24 is an Emmy award winning television series and the gameplay does that no justice. The AI is dreadful and will barely even see you coming. They take your bullets like it was for their health. You can make noise and throw things around a room, but the AI will not do a thing unless they actually see you. Stealth missions are hampered down by the poor AI because throwing a chair across the room and getting no reaction from the guards to your presence is rather sad. The shooting is very poor to boot and doesn’t make for much fun. Just to add to the enjoyment, the diving suffers as well. It feels more like your driving a boat than a car. The handling is just that poor; no use trying to speed your way through cars because you will fail miserably. Watch 24, never play it.

24 is average length for a game of this genre, but it by no means actually follows the timeline of the actual show. It would be nice if the countdown timer actually made the game go on for 24 hours, even if the cut scenes were included in the game. Unfortunately it isn’t and it’s a shame. Something else that would have been nice would be some co-op. Something like you could controlling Jack and Tony would have been sufficient enough. Bonus content helps with the replay value with unlocked cut scenes. Any diehard 24 fans should find some fun here, but others should just stay away.

Graphics: 5
Sound: 7
Gameplay: 4
Creativity: 6
Replay Value/Game Length: 7
Final: 5.8
Written by Shawn Review Guide

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