24 is a brilliant recreation of the hit tv series. Sadly, that doesn't translate to a brilliant game.
Starting with the positives, some real effort has been put into making the game feel like an authentic 24 experience. Everything from the voice acting to the character models is right on, backed up by the recreation of the show's handheld camera tricks and other trademarks. The mood is certainly there. Had they decided to allow the game to appear on say, the PC or the XBox as well however, you cant help but think how it could have looked a lot better. The graphics aren't bad, to say the least, but there's a distinct feeling that they've been somewhat restricted by the abilities of the console. The frame rate dips frequently, and lighting effects are... well, there are no lighting effects.
Another trade mark to pop up is 24's infamous digital clock. The simple, ticking clock which made up so many ultra-tense moments throughout the show. Sadly, it's not really used here to any degree, which is sad as there are so many wonderful, creative uses for it. Imagine, running with a bomb in your hands, just like Jack Bauer, with the clock popping up now and then to tell you how many seconds you have to get rid of it before it's boom time? Instead, the developers opted to just have it come up more or less randomly, mostly between levels, serving no purpose what so ever. Where's the tension, guys?
Then we have the gameplay itself. There's just no cohesion to it at all. You're playing a series of mini-games, sewn together by cut-scenes. Each mini-game sits right on the line between good and bad; mediocre. None of them are especially bad, but they dont do anything to make you feel like you're playing a quality game. It's bog standard third person shooting, boring car chases, or some stupidly easy puzzle. One thing i wasn't aware of is the fact that CTU employees have to play a Tetris-like game every time they want to use the satellite system.
The storyline is decent, at least. It's not up to scratch with the TV show itself, but i dont think anybody would expect that. It at least has the nice twists and turns that you expect from the show, and does a good job of answering some questions you may have had regarding the one year gap between seasons 2 and 3.
Overall, 24:The Game just screams "Mediocre" from start to finish. Maybe it's the fact that the developers decided to go with a series of mini games, rather than focusing on one distinct style. Maybe it's the fact that they were on a deadline, or perhaps that they were restricted to just one console. Who knows? All i can really say is there is very little fun to be had with 24: The Game, it excels only in recreating the quirks of the show, which really isn't enough to warrant a purchase, even for the most die-hard 24 fan.