24- The Game

One of the first video games I have beaten in a while was 24 for Playstation 2. Set between the second and third season, and featuring the major characters during that period of the television show, the game features a wide variety of missions. Divided into a series of missions set within a 24 hour period, the player must foil the terrorist plot to destroy Los Angeles. Overall, the game is a pleasant blend of action and puzzles, but tend to be disjointed in action. The difficulty of the various missions also varies widely, and not simply as the game progresses. Rare will be the occasion where the player is in danger of running out of ammunition, and health is restored to full at the beginning of the next mission- even when the two missions directly follow one another. The plot tends to be the weakest point. The writer attempt to include the major characters from the previous two seasons, while introducing Chase Edmonds, with none of the tight plot driving the various characters inevitably together. Nowhere was this more apparent than the mere bit-part President Palmer played. The overarching plot defies credulity more than a normal season of the show. Whatever weaknesses the game may have, overall it is an amusing diversion- and more if one is a devoted fan of the television show.