This April, another made its way into stores: Alias.

Calling it a "bigger-budget" game wouldn't quite cut it.  It's obvious that Konami spends a lot of time and money creating voice-overs that are worth listening to.  Acclaim did the same for Alias by hiring the show's entire cast.  I know that some movie-based video games have shared the same actors, but this is rare, if not a first for television.

Since the story is so important to the show, the fans, and a game of this stature, it only makes sense that Acclaim and ABC would want it to be an intriguing and entertaining aspect.  For the most part they succeed.  This is largely due to the characters' performances, which are almost always good.  They say their lines as if the story had actual importance, creating a much more believable atmosphere for the player.

The game's CG movies are cool and slightly eerie.  They're cool because they're so realistic, but that's also the reason why they're somewhat eerie.  If you glance at the screen you'd swear it was Jennifer Garner, not a computer-generated image.  The thing that gives it away is how slow and brief the facial animations are.  To see these actors come to life in a video game is incredible, especially when you consider how long it's taking for graphics to evolve.  It's merely a taste of the future, and could be an indication of the direction Hollywood will take when CG actors and great voice-overs can replace a real-life human being.

Sydney Bristow's polygon form is even more astonishing.  Her face, her eyes, her nose, mouth and lips – they're all very accurate.  Her body seems pretty accurate, too.  For her face the artists took photos and mapped real textures onto the in-game image.  Although Sydney seems a bit robotic during the first CG sequence, while in the game her eyes wander and her head turns realistically in response to her surroundings.  It's very impressive.  To learn more about it and the video game transformation of Sydney Bristow, check out our interview with Producer Patrik McCormack.

As far as the gameplay goes, you're in for some surprises.  While the spy game genre is much more evolutionary than other third-person-style shooters, the controls are usually sluggish, clunky, or both.  (The exceptions: Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid.)  Winback?  Clunky.  Mission: Impossible?  Clunky.  There are many other examples, but none of them are worth the review space they would take up.

It would seem that Alias is the game to break the curse of bad controls.  I was extremely pleased when I controlled Sydney for the first time and discovered how wonderful it was just to move around. 

Both the character and camera controls work together in a smooth and seamless fashion.  You can swing the camera around anywhere at virtually any time.  Try panning while standing near a wall and the camera will zoom in on Sydney, giving you a perfect view of her amazingly lifelike face.  No clipping, no see-through.  Just a great view of Sydney and her surroundings.

Alias's mission objectives are reminiscent of Mission: Impossible.  The way you learn of them is very Metal Gear but with exact directions.  Sydney's team will send her messages from time to time, explaining what needs to be done.  If you should forget or are confused, the target arrow on the top of the screen is all you need.  It constantly points to wherever Sydney needs to go.

Combat is basic in function but complex in on-screen actions.  Sydney isn't big on guns (she can use them but prefers other forms of defense – more on that later), so she must be proficient in several different fighting styles in order to survive.  Impressively, she uses a different style depending on the weapon available.  While the game does provide real weapons (such as knives) for the player to use, most of the time you'll be forced to use something less deadly.  In one scenario you'll get to have a broom fight.  Yes, a broom fight.  It sounds crazy but is actually very cool – parts of the broom are broken off as Sydney beats her opponent.  Eventually the broom becomes completely useless, at which she'll toss whatever's left of it and look for something else.

With a broom and other long weapons Sydney uses a Bo fighting style (similar to Kilik from Soul Calibur).  While using a knife her fighting style reminded me of Xiangua, another character from Soul Calibur.  Another style is used to take down foes with a frying pan (which, as Kill Bill demonstrated, can be quite effective).  There's a forth one for combat without a weapon, which mainly consists of professional-looking kicks and punches.  It all looks very cool.  So cool that it's almost a shame that you can perform them just by pressing one of two attack buttons.

Alias's gun combat is a little disappointing.  Standard weapons are thrown to the ground as soon as they become to weak to use in battle.  Theoretically, a gun could still make a pretty good weapon even when you run out of ammo.  It's metal and it's heavy.  Put the two together and you've got a broken nose waiting to happen.  Sydney disagrees though.  As soon as the ammo's gone she tosses the weapon, leaving her hands free to punch and kick her assailant.

When the gun is full, it's not a pleasure to aim.  You can lock-on to enemies and perishable objects by holding down the right trigger.  Character movement is slow while locked onto an opponent – a bit of a contradiction from the rest of the game.

Certainly it's disappointing that the shooting aspect isn't spectacular, but the hand-to-hand combat is enjoyable enough to keep Alias alive.  Alias fans will love it; the story, the acting, the music, everything.

Gameplay: 7.7
Tomb Raider was once considered a mainstream game despite the fact that its controls were a total mess.  Now I hear casual gamers (who played Tomb Raider) say that they avoid titles like MGS because the controls are too complex.  Let me tell you, if Tomb Raider and all its frustrations did not turn you off, you've got nothing to worry about with Alias.  Even if Tomb Raider did turn you off, Alias should be anything but intimidating.  Mission objectives are as clear as the developers could possibly make them, complete with "go hear" and "go there" directions that almost make it too easy.

Graphics: 9
The characters alone are worthy of awards.  Sydney Bristow's polygonal model is absolutely stunning.

Sound: 9
Film, TV, video games – is there anything Michael Giacchino (composer) can't do?  You've no doubt heard his music on Alias.  You've also heard his music in the Medal of Honor games.  This fall he'll be making his major motion picture debut with Pixar's The Incredibles.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Alias is an easy way to get the hang of the spy/mission genre.

Concept: 7
The game's execution is better than the concept behind it.  At its core, Alias is a variation of Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell.

Overall: 7.9
Alias is the "it" game for all the loyal fans out there.  It's got many of the elements that made Metal Gear Solid a success, like voice-overs that are performed by real actors.  That alone is going to have the hardcore crowd buzzing.  Once they dive in they'll discover a much more fulfilling experience than the typical TV-based game.