Alias follows the story of Sydney Birstow secret undercover agent and star of a tv show of the same name Alias. In a gripping adventure that throws the player into various roles as Sydney and her backup team gather info on crime organisations and a new prototype weapon being developed. Serious stuff whereby the hi tech team utilise their skills to infiltrate, hack, bug, fight and as the name suggests assume an alias to get our team in undercover blending with the surroundings and posing as someone else. Welcome to Alias.

Gameplay:

Alias is a 3rd person 3D action game which incorporates stealth, weapons based combat and hand to hand fighting into the mix. The player takes the lead role as they control Sydney across multiple levels having to use all of the above techniques to survive.

Combat is pretty simple with various attack combos being performed with just two buttons. Sydney also is able to counter an enemies attack and do some throwing moves. This makes Sydney a pretty tough adversary when it comes to marshal arts. Lying around the levels are also a number of objects that can be used as a weapon such as brooms, pipes sauce pans (yes saucepans) and many more. All being effective as Sydney despatches foes with multiple swinging hits. Some of the enemies will be carrying automatic rifles which can be deadly. Sydney is able to use these weapons herself from fallen foes if she chooses, offering a safer option when outnumbered. However most of the combat is very lacking and clumsy. I am sure most players will resort to button bashing as opposed to working out any combos as it seems there is little skill required.

Sydney can take care of herself when things go wrong relying on her combat skills however a lot of the game is based around stealth, meaning combat should be used as a last resort. Sydney is able to enter a sneak mode whereby she can creep up on unaware enemies and take them out silently. The main point of the show as its unique selling point so to speak other than the lead character is the fact that Sydney usually begins a mission in disguise hence the name alias. These moments mean that there is no fighting and weapons and its up to Sydney to find clues and accomplish goals whilst remaining in disguise. This part of the game is better realised and makes for a more compelling experience that you wouldn’t get by simply fighting everything that gets in your path.

Sydney does not work alone as she is in constant contact with a team of specialist via radio. These guys are there as support as they give you mission objectives on the fly and observe your movements. Often a box out view will appear giving Sydney a better look at what lies ahead. Sydney also has a variety of cutting edge gadgets to help her achieve her goals these include things like hacking tools, surveillance tools lock picks and scanners to name but a few. These gadgets play a vital role in the success of a mission remembering that no secret agent leaves home without this stuff. In my opinion the game does a great job of capturing the feel of the TV show with all of the parts combined.

Graphics:

Graphically Alias is a bit of a let down as it looks very dated. The character models are laughable at best with any real effort being placed on the lead characters and even then they aren’t that great looking. Some of the animation is also a little off key especially during combat and running around. There is not really much to say about the graphics except there has been no effort on the developer’s part to utilize the power of the Xbox. Again I think we have another case of multiple format blues in which case means that this lacklustre effort when it comes to the Xbox version is unacceptable. Terrible.

Sound:

Sound is what you would expect for this type of game with secret agent and stealth music playing throughout. There are some reasonable performances from the voice actors/actress with the original cast playing as themselves. Other sound effects are your usual smacks and grunts which gamers are all too familiar with these days. Overall the sound is nothing to raise your pulse but enough to capture the feel of the TV show and the on screen action.

Longevity:

Alias has multiple levels to plough through each boasting multiple objectives which makes for a reasonable length game. However any other replay will be down to how much you like Sydney and the TV show. I for one am not a fan but have watched the show a few times. The game itself does not warrant any replay in my opinion and with no multiplayer options makes Alias a one hit wonder that will spend more time gathering dust than being played again.

Overall:

On paper the ideas that the TV show has are pretty decent for a video game and to some degree Alias captures the feel of the program quite well. However with its lacklustre combat and awful graphics will probably do the game no favours. In these times where competition is extremely high for consumers cash in the video game market when will developers learn to use the tools available to make the best game they can on Xbox? I would avoid this game completely if you are not a fan of the TV show. I wouldn’t even recommend a rental either as there are much better games out there, period.