24 The Game
by 2K Games
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Video Game Reviews of 24 The Game
Customer Review: THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN BETWEEN...
Summary: 4 Stars
"24: The Game" is a good game, which features several playable characters and many different types of stages or missions.
Playable characters include Jack Bauer (of course), Tony Almeida, Chase Edmunds, Michelle Dessler, and Kim Bauer. President David Palmer, Division Director Ryan Chappelle, Kate Warner, and CTU Agent Chloe O'Brien also appear in the game's cut-scenes, but those characters are unplayable. All characters are voiced by the actors who play them on the show, and the game voice performances seem to me to be on par with what the actors provide on the television show, which is a good thing. Most missions are played with Jack Bauer, and each mission dictates which character will be used. One of the nice touches with the Kim Bauer stealth mission is that Kim, who has no weapons training, can use any weapon found, but her aim is horrible. Because of this, Kim's primary weapon will be a short-range stun gun.
Mission types include second person view assault and stealth missions, protection missions, driving missions, interrogation missions, various puzzle task missions (adding a feel of the show's technical aspect to the game), and first person sniping/shooting missions. For the most part, missions are relatively easy to pass, allowing players to progress quickly through the game, at a pace approximating the fast pace of the television show. The game's first mission begins at 6:00 A.M., and each hour encompasses two to three missions, with the top of each hour featuring Jack Bauer's familiar intonation from the show, "The following takes place between 6:00 A.M. and 7:00 A.M." (etc.). During each hour, the time of day will periodically appear on screen when Jack, or whichever character you're playing, reaches a pivotal point during a mission.
Game play during missions does not correspond to game story real time. So it might take you 15 minutes of play to get through the first story hour or 2 hours to get through the first story hour. This aspect of the game has drawn some criticism, but it makes sense that the game plays this way. The game story, like a season of the television show, is designed to take place over a 24 hour period. And the game story can't stick to that framework if players take too long or not long enough to do things, and if the game story clock is bound by this. One might counter, why not make the game more open-ended in play, like the Grand Theft Auto series, and give the player 24 real-time hours to finish successfully or fail to save the day? Well, the problem with this is that the concept of a season of the television show "24" is not that the good guys are on a 24 hour ticking clock to save the day, but merely that events of that season occur over a 24 hour period. Sure, there are races against the clock within each day on "24", but those races are dictated by moment-by-moment plot developments, not by the fact that the characters are trying to accomplish "the big mission" on a 24 hour deadline. In reality, the fact that the season's crisis is resolved in a day is just a tidy side-note within the reality of the show.
Earlier, I mentioned that missions generally are relatively easy to pass. While this is true, that's not the whole story concerning mission performance. To get from one mission to the next, a player need only barely accomplish the mission's tasks. However, to unlock mission bonuses, such as short video clips, etc., a player needs to get high performance grades (usually above 90% proficiency) on each of the various missions. And this is not easy. In fact, on certain missions, this is very difficult. Upon passing each mission, the player is shown his mission grade on a screen which also lists where all the percentage points were gained and lost. These grades and best performance breakdowns can be accessed later when a player might want to replay those missions for better performance grades. Points are gained in such categories as enemies killed, head shots, shooting accuracy, enemies restrained, civilians restrained, targets found (sniping mission), civilians warned, enemies stunned (Kim Bauer's mission), stealth takedowns, bombs found (satellite puzzle mission), and chopper damage (specialized player vs. helicopter missions). Points are lost in such categories as teammates killed, surrendered enemies shot, health used, alarms triggered, driven vehicle damage (driving missions), pedestrians panicked (driving missions), time used (various missions), connections used (puzzle missions), questions used (interrogation missions), extreme high or low stress (interrogation missions), breaking stage misses (interrogation missions), civilians killed, incorrect data matches (puzzle missions), number swaps made (puzzle missions), property damage, times discovered (stealth missions), incapacitated enemies shot, bad nodes found (puzzle missions), and chopper damage (first person shooting mission). Most missions have two to eight parameters which affect the overall mission performance grade. The missions actually become more fun to play when you're trying to get good performance grades as opposed to just trying to pass the missions.
Finishing up, the game play controls are fairly easy to learn, and on-screen indicators as to what button presses might be appropriate when your character is near something are helpful. Many have criticized the driving controls, but I thought they were adequate. Many have also criticized the in-game camera controls and function, but I thought the camera was adequate. I found the game graphics, music and sounds to be very good. The game maintains the look and feel of the television show, with split-screens and time displays during cut-scenes, and occasionally during actual missions. The story was fairly interesting, although a bit disjointed. The variety of mission types is, in my opinion, the best aspect of the game. None of the mission types was done the best way I've ever seen them done, but I thought they were all done well, and they kept the game from being oversimplified in translation from the television show to the video game.
Customer Review: 24: The Game. This Rocks!!
Summary: 4 Stars
When You first pop in this game into your PS2 drive you are in for a wild ride. Taking Place between seasons's two and three. You'll find out plenty of things. Questions unanswered will be answered in this awesome game. The story takes place in LA in the life of CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit) agent Jack Bauer. You will experiance the longest day of his life. It starts out at 7:00 after getting anonymous tip about a chemical Ricin aboard a ship in LA Harbor. After that you find out that this is about a much larger deal. You find out about a terrorist Peter Madsen. He plants to set off ten bombs in LA. Each causing an earthquake.
Will Jack find Madsen? Will CTU be able to stop an attack in LA?
This game has top notch graphics. Note: 2K games isn't that great at games. The gameplay is so awesome that you almost forget about the crappy driving missions that get so freakin' aggrivating that I hit the controlller on my knee. The problems with them are, in every driving mission, you are being chased by vehicles that are way more powerful than your SUV. And when you want to get a new car, like the sports car, you will have to evade traffic. It's not like the cars stop for you. This game's driving missions are no Grand Theft Auto: CTU. I got out of my car once to be hit by a car. I survived, but then a freakin' cop car hit me. Their is just one more complaint. Sometimes having a partner like Chase Edmunds is aggrivating. I'm shooting an enemy and all of a sudden Chase walks in front of me. I wap my rifle at him, causing him to die. And in the final mission it get's very glitchy. Such has aiming takes a turn for the worse. Graphics at times got choppy. Note: When you put water in a game and show it many times, make sure it looks real. This is the most awesome game based on a TV show. Did you see how crappy Futurama,and Simpsons Skateboarding were.
Jack Bauer: Awesome graphics, gameplay, really based on the show
Sherry Palmer: Choppy at times, driving missions
Sound 9
Gameplay 10
Shooting 9
Tech missions 9
Interrogation 10
Driving 4
Character Design 8 Eerie models
Overall 59
Awesome: Sequel needed. Please 2K. I won't call your games so-so anymore? Please Please, Please. I like the books too
Customer Review: A great game for 24 fans!
Summary: 4 Stars
This game is very similar to the 24 TV show, so any 24 fan will love it simply because of that. As for anyone who isn't a fan, we'll get to that in a minute...
The characters in this game have the same audio and visual likenesses of their TV counterparts, so that adds some realism to the game. Aside from that, the graphics are not the best and might be slightly below par for PS2.
Each mission starts with a "The Following Takes Place Between..." so the missions follow a storyline just as the show does in real time. It's interesting to see it come together like that.
There are a lot of great things about this game, but I'm not sure if a person who is NOT a fan of 24 will enjoy it. As I mentioned, the graphics are a little shaky. In addition, the driving missions are a little hard to control. The weapons are vast in choice but lack realistic appearance. This game doesn't seem to have a difficulty selection, so much of the game can be completed in a hurry by running past enemies with emberassingly low IQ. Jack does have a CTU team with him, but they don't seem to do much damage while Jack has one-hit-kills mostly.
To sum it up, if you're a fan you'll love this game no matter what! If you're not a fan of 24 you might want to consider renting this game first or choosing a different one alltogether. Any hardcore FPS fan will probably not enjoy this unless their a fan of the show.
Recommended to fans only!
Customer Review: In 24 Hours, This Game Can Be a Headache
Summary: 3 Stars
The hit television show finally gets a game. It's not a horrible game by any means, but it does have a lot of problems, mostly in the gameplay department. The good news, however is that if you really love the show, you'll find yourself immersed in the game's overall good plot.
Once again, Jack Bauer is about to have a harrowing 24 hours. They'll be full of stealth, terrorism, and all around butt-kicking. All within the time-span of 24 hours. It won't take you 24 hours to beat the game, of course (more like eight or nine hours), but they do a pretty good job emulating the show. The cutscenes have split screens and fast paced action. The storyline never slows down. Ever. For those who love the show, this aspect of the game is to die for! Not only that, but the story is instantly absorbing. If you're not familiar with the show though, you might be asking yourself a lot of questions. Many characters and references made are linked directly to the show. In other words, the game aims itself at the right crowd: Fans of the TV show.
I wish the gameplay could be as absorbing. While the cinematics do a great job in keeping to the show, the gameplay is nothing to get excited about. It feels like a run and gun, and to an extent it is. At first the gameplay is pretty easy. When you go into a firefight, the game automatically selects the best weapon of choice. In a stealth mission it will automatically select a silenced weapon, while in firefights you get the strongest. This works out well for the gamer. The enemy AI is also lackluster. Most enemies will just stand around waiting for you to take them out (at least until they spot you) and some of the accuracy of these enemies is off.
However, as I said, that doesn't mean the game is easy. For one, in a firefight, you actually do want to keep your distance. While they may not be that smart, they do gang up on you rather quickly, and because of the weird, subpar camera angles you can't pinpoint where the person shooting you is.
Melee combat isn't very rewarding either. And the only reason it isn't is because the same buttons to perform melee attacks also search downed bodies. It really sucks when you go up to punch a guy and you end up searching the dead guy next to him. You're left open for attacks.
It is cool that they integrated the split screen into the gameplay. Mostly it's just to show you what the bad guys are doing, but it's not so bad. It works.
The puzzles and mini-games are also nothing special. It's mostly hacking out codes or interrogating enemies. Some of them are fun (the interrogation game is especially fun), but for the most part, they're not challenging. That's sad, given the complex appeal they try to give it.
The driving levels are also frustrating. The enemies (and allies) spend a lot of time running into each other and running into you. You'll also find yourself knocking them off the road. They're just not very fun levels. They could've been so much better.
Graphic wise the game is just... okay. There are glitches. Mostly they're parts of the bad guys sticking through the wall. This only lets you know that there are bad guys ahead. The frame rate sometimes slows down as well. The cinematics, however, look devastatingly good. Like I said, it emulates the show perfectly. The audio is pretty good too. The music keeps up with the action, and the voice talents are a spot on match. Although sometimes the voice acting sounds off, it's presented in a fairly good way.
What it boils down to is what you want from the game. If you're looking for a fast-paced in-your-face storyline, 24: The Game has got it! If you're really looking for the gameplay, 24 doesn't handle itself all that well. Fans of the show might be able to forgive the setbacks in gameplay, but serious gamers may find it to be a problem. So the game isn't horrible, but it isn't spectacular either. The good news is that it certainly isn't a waste. Because of how it expertly recreates the show, it uses the license perfectly. I just wish the gameplay could've been more organized.
The Good
+Fans of the show will love it
+Fast paced action
+The story never slows down or gets old
+Great sound
+The voice acting is pretty good
+It does a really good job recreating the show, perfect execution.
The Bad
-Driving levels suck
-Enemy AI isn't all that great
-The camera angles are annoying
-The mini-games don't provide enough of a challenge
-The overall gameplay mechanics just need work. It sucks when you search a dead body when what you're really trying to do is beat up the guy next to the body. Along those lines, the gameplay just feels unbalanced.
Customer Review: GREAT! but hard in some places
Summary: 5 Stars
the game is awesome i mean how would you like to be Jack Bauer, Chase Edmunds, Kim Bauer and Tony Almedia? well nows your chance with 24 the game! HELP ME!! im stuck on chase's level where you have to kill Carr and Tarket and get back to the exit with only like 10 seconds to go! its like impossible!