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Alias
Score: 4.8 / 10
Alias is one of those television shows that
would fit extremely well as a video game. It's fast paced, there's
plenty of action and sneaking around (the latest trend in today's
gaming), and a twisty enough plot that would put most RPGs to shame. And
while licensed games seldom work out, gems like the original Buffy the
Vampire Slayer on the Xbox prove that they're not always lost causes.
Unfortunately, despite the vast gorges of potential, the Alias video
game is completely marred by sub par execution.
Things actually look quite good when you first start up. The characters
models are excellent, even if their facial expressions are still rather
robotic. Everyone looks reasonably similar to their TV show
counterparts, and most of them have the same voice actors, making the
game feel quite authentic. The game's plot won't make
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movements border on over-the-top ridiculousness, particularly while
running. The advertisements brag about motion captured actions, and
while that's potentially believable, it seems like the animation
programmers didn't know how make it look realistic. On the other end,
the environments are fairly good looking, and while lacking a lot of the
fancy effects, are at least well detailed.
Theoretically, you're supposed to spend most of your mission sneaking in
the shadows. Unfortunately, the stealth mechanics are so poorly
implemented that this is rather difficult. You see, these guards suffer
from completely erratic sight. Sometimes they won't see you from twenty
feet away. Sometimes you may attempt to hide, but they'll usually turn
their heads and see you. There are shadows, but hiding in them doesn't
make you less visible. There are cans to try to distract enemies, but
they don't seem to hear them. And it's not like you have any real need
to stay hidden, as there are few points where it's necessary to the
game.
About the only time when the game does anything right is when it splits
up the screen a la another TV show, "24", which shows you two different
views of the same field. While one side keeps track of Sidney, the other
shows you a patrolling guard or the view from another camera. It's never
really used to full effect, but it's an interesting novelty that'd work
well in other stealth games.
The only true incentive to avoid being spotted is that you would get to
avoid the terrible fighting portions, as those are some of the absolute
sloppiest in recent memory. You have two attack buttons, that seem to
make Sidney punch and kick in an arbitrarily manner. She executes her
maneuvers too quickly, and as a result, every beating exudes
awkwardness. There seems to be a plethora of moves at your disposal, as
you'll occasionally smash bad guys against the wall or beat them when
they're on the ground, but it rarely feels like you have any control
over this. It's never very difficult either - practically any fight can
be done by getting close and hitting X over and over. I'm entirely
serious in saying that arcade brawlers like, say, Double Dragon, nearly
two decades old, have a more in-depth fighting systems. There's just
something wrong with that. You do get tons of weapons, ranging from
pipes to brooms to decorative swords, which SHOULD be cool, but due to
the inherent sloppiness, aren't. You can also find guns - with
extraordinarily limited ammo - but trying to aim them is an exercise in
pathetic hilarity.
What's even more stunning is that, in some levels, you don't have to
fight at all. In the earlier stages of the game, you can simply run past
bad guys. They won't catch up to you, or follow you through doors. And
since Sidney regains health over time (albeit slowly) you're pretty much
assured safety. Later levels actually send waves of bad guys after you
if you're discovered, so at least the developers realized the problems
and decided to add SOME balance SOMEWHERE.
Alias tries to provide some variety with a slew of high tech gadgets,
introduced by rambling techno geek Marshall (who takes far too much of
the spotlight here.) And yet the designers somehow took things like "EMP
Guns" and "Remote Modems" and made them terribly, terrible boring. For
instance, early in the game you get a device to disable infrared lasers.
You select it from your inventory, deactivate the beams, walk through,
select it AGAIN, retrieve the device, walk a few steps forward and do it
again. And again. Or, you could just run right through them, fight the
bad guys that come out (some of which will occasionally appear from thin
air) and just continue as normal. Brilliant design, Alias is full of.
Thankfully, Alias isn't overly difficult, especially with the multitude
of save spots lying around. That way, obsessive fans of the show can at
least play through for the storyline without tearing out too much hair.
And with the extremely simplified gameplay, it seems to be made squarely
for fans who don't play much video games. Everyone else can simply leave
this on the shelf, with the quiet satisfaction that they haven't paid
yet another game company for making yet another crappy game.
- Kurt Kalata
(May 15, 2004) |
