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March 30, 2004 -
Good morning, Mr. Biscuit... This update was supposed to focus on Mission Impossible: Operation Surma, and I am going to try my damnedest to keep that trend, although everyone should know, I am in possession of Metal Gear: Twin Snakes exclusively for the Gamecube, and it is one of the most amazing games I've ever played. That being said, I further note that I am also playing through Xenosaga, and X-Files: Resist or Serve arrived today (and much to my delight, Alexander Krycek is a part of it). Operation Surma is essentially nothing more than a Metal Gear ripoff, but it's a damn good one. Tom Cruise, in all his glory, apparently refuses to lend his face and voice to a video game, but we don't really lose out on that subtraction, as we get an Ethan Hunt who looks smooth, is built tough, and features the awesome voice of Steve Blum, most noted for leading anime voices (Spike in "Cowboy Bebop," Roger Smith in "Big O," and more). So basically, if you're a huge Bebop fan like I am, you're playing Spike, if Spike were a spy. Ving Rhames lends himself to this game, as well, which is really quite awesome, as he was always Ethan's contact in the recent movies; similarly, in the game, Luther is almost always in constant contact with you, updating you on whatever he sees on his precious computer from some unmarked van outside of whereever the hell you are. John Polson also returns as Billy Baird, the Australian helicoptor pilot from Mission Impossible 2. The fun of Operation Surma is in its gadget diversity. You're equipped with a small arsenal that happens to be extremely versatile. If you aim one of your guns at a security camera and fire, a hacking device is attached, and Luther feeds in recorded data, so the camera never sees you wander by (charmed by the rumbling voice of Rhames "That camera sees no more.") The same weapon fires a shot which emits a small pitch squeal, drawing guards in its direction. The beauty, however, is the immediate disintegration of said dart. There are a ton of gadgets, including sonic emitters (so you can see like Daredevil as sound waves bounce off whomever might be standing on the other side of a door you can't see through), binoculars/digital camera, guns, grapling/rappel launcher, and more than are necessary to name. The game's primary angle, however, is to utilize the shadows for stealth, but it allows you to get down and dirty, should a guard notice you. You have the option of beating said guard to a pulp, and using takedown tactics to permanently disable them, after which, hiding them in the shadows is a good idea. In addition to shadows, many times you will rappel to a pipe or rafter and crawl to your destination to avoid metal detectors, or descend from high insertion points. I've also noted, so far, that checking your night vision or thermal goggles in a new area is a good idea, since invisible laser trip mines and other disasters are common. "How do doors work, Don?" Pretty much every game has its own system of getting into doors. Metal Gear uses keycards, some games use color keys. In this game, you take a guard hostage (alive, unconscious, or dead doesn't matter), drag him to the door and place his hand on the scanner, after which, he's no longer useful. I can't tell you how many times there's been a small crackpop of a neck after the door slides open. Sometimes Luther or helpful insiders will open locks for you, too. Some other features that make this game nice are the inclusion of stunts from the movies. I haven't reached this portion of the game, yet, but I've read that the little helicopter rope drop into the vent shaft of a building (IE, Mission Impossible 2) is featured. Oh! Almost forgot. Usually, and this is cool, when you approach a door that needs to be picked digitally or a lock that needs be fried with a laser cutter, the game automatically selects the tool for you, so you don't have to go cycling through your inventory to find it. This is pretty useful, for anyone who hates menu-scrolling. Also, each level features tons of sub-levels, so this isn't a rent-and-beat game, unless you really have a lot of time to spend on it. This game's gameplay subtleties really make it stand out. Graphically, it's not the most gorgeous of games (although few really come close to the level-rendering godliness of Metal Gear), but it's certainly not poorly done. I'd place the graphics on-par with, say, Siphon Filter, or the original Max Payne. Of course, these are the PS2 versions. You never know how much extra tuning (if any) X-Box would feature. Still, it's worth playing. I'd say 8/10. I'll be back with my Twin Snakes review, Xenosaga, and X-Files later on. - Don
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Ethan Biscuit