Mission: Impossible - Operation Surma
Score: 75% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Atari Developer: Paradigm Entertainment Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: Action
Graphics & Sound: I never bothered playing the previous Mission: Impossible games, and I wasn't a big fan of the movie sequel, so I was a little skeptical about playing Mission: Impossible - Operation Surma. However, any doubts I had were immediately erased from the opening movie scene. Granted, you have no control of what you can do in these instances, but it immediately shows you Atari means business with the gorgeous cut scenes. Once you finally start your mission, you'll see the graphics are a perfect fit for all the stealth tasks. The atmosphere is very dark and grainy, which is what you come to expect from this series. The characters themselves aren't as great, but their motions are decent. It's more or less the fact that the henchmen are bland, and don't have a lot to them. All I can say is Ethan Hunt is no Tom Cruise... literally. For whatever reason, Mr. Cruise is not a part of Operation Surma. However, Ving Rhames was good enough to lend his face and voice for this go around. The other character voices are just as good. Meantime, the music (aka the theme song) fits right in with the mood of the game. Plus, the sound effects for the gadgets and weapons are good.
Gameplay: The storyline for MI is as follows: bad guys are trying to take over the world via a computer virus. It's up to you know who to try and stop them. Along with a team of agents, and a bag full of goodies, Agent Hunt must save the day. The gadgets involved are pretty cool as well, including some high-powered warfare and a really small camera. This isn't just a regular action game where you run around and shoot the bad guys. Many of the missions are inspired by the movie's actual stunts. For instance, remember when Ethan was dangling from a wire? Ya know, in both movies? Take a guess at what you'll have to do. In Operation Surma, there'll be instances when you'll need to be stealthy, while other times you'll have to use force. What's great is how you are able to beat one villain up, or interrogate for information if necessary. Near the end, you'll drop from a plane and skydive for a while. Regardless of the mission at hand, you'll play through 29 levels in locations all over and above the world, all of which have a unique and different feel. I was hoping for some sort of multiplayer mode. However, no such thing existed, which is really a shame, since that's what keeps gamers coming back for more. The Bond games wouldn't amount to much if it weren't for the extra games. With Mission: Impossible, you're limited to just the one task at hand, nothing else.
Difficulty: When you start Operation Surma, you're asked which difficulty level to play on: Easy or Impossible. During the Easy level, you're given a little tutorial each step of the way. I recommend starting here, since you'll still be bombarded with the proverbial henchmen and intricate missions. I did have a little problem with the AI at times. On occasion, the computer seemed to have a very fitting thought process. Other times, they were brilliant and hounded me like dogs. I was just looking for a little more consistency, not so much a broad jump in difficulty.
Game Mechanics: The controller configuration for Mission: Impossible - Operation Surma is fairly easy to figure out, especially after the mini tutorial. However, turning to face the right direction is a bit awkward. Another thing you should be aware about is the lack of check points to save your status. This forces you to try and retry many of the missions, without saving along the way. Otherwise, the loading time is kept to a minimal, and don't worry about your memory blocks. Much like the stealth feel of the game, Mission: Impossible snuck up on the video game market, particularly because it was on its own and not tied to another movie. Don't let that discourage you. It may not have been as anticipated as other action games, but Mission: Impossible - Operation Surma is definitely worth a play.
-Red Dawg, GameVortex Communications AKA Alex Redmann
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