Now every teenager will be able to fulfill their accordion idol dreams!

I’ve been playing 24: the game since it came out last week. Wow. What a great license for a game. What a great game use of a license.

I was reluctant to purchase it, fearing it would simply be a shooter (not my favorite type of game) with some 24-style graphics cheaply slapped on. I am so happily mistaken. The 24 look-and-feel is very distinct, but their use of it goes beyond the obvious split-screen and beep-beeping counter in the middle. The composition of the frames in the cutscenes, the music, the story, all are 24, not 24: the marketing prop. I’m impressed.

The gameplay is surprisingly solid for a game that has so many different mechanics. So far I have enjoyed:
- third-person shooter missions, playing as Jack, Chase, Kim and Michelle;
- stealth missions;
- puzzle minigames aimed at defusing bombs, unlocking doors or retrieving data from a self-destroying hard drive;
- sniper missions;
- driving missions, in which they were smart enough to perfectly mimic the Grand Theft Auto controls, making the controls immediately intuitive;
- interrogation missions, a sort of rhythm game in which I have to decide to be tough or conciliatory, or try to break the subject.

Not only is the storytelling style extremely faithful to the show, but the story is engaging, taking place between seasons 2 and 3. We also get background on how Chase, Chloe and Kim came to work at CTU. The important characters are all there: Chappelle, Michelle, Tony, Jack, Palmer, Nina Myers, Aaron Pierce, etc.

All too rarely does a license-based game actually contribute and add to the content of the original license, but 24: the game does just that. For a 24 fan, it’s a real treat. I had to force myself to watch the show live rather than tape it and play the game.

(Incidentally only available, like Guitar Hero and God of War, on Playstation. I’m just sayin’.)

You know that gibberish-yet-strangely-intelligible language Sims characters use? Depeche Mode has re-recorded one of its songs in it. I don’t know how to feel about that, but I gotta hear it.

And while we’re on the topic, I still think there really isn’t any other way to play the Sims than to use your real life friends - and watch some of them do weird things like constantly following others into the bathroom.

The title of this post is how Sim-MJ asks Sim-Martine how she is. But Sim-Martine doesn’t like other people very much, so it’s not a very good sim.

Glmph. The sound my brain makes as it tries to vote in the Game Developer’s Choice awards for this year. I complained that 2005 was the year where lots of good franchises jumped the shark, but as it turns out I’m at a loss to pick the best games of the year. Unlike voting in a Canadian election, it’s hard to find the worthiest of all worthy options.

I mean, is the best game God of War or Guitar Hero? Gah, that’s like making me pick whether I like my mom or dad more!

Glmph!!!!

Browsing the lightspeed chronicles on my PSP.

More great games-related news today: Dance Dance Revolution to be incorporated into phys ed curriculum of 750 schools.

With the conquest of gym class, nothing stands between nerds and Total High School Domination.

Booth babes may be banned from E3 this year.

I’m not sure to what extent this “ban” will actually be enforced, seeing as there has always been a rule against partial nudity and sexually provocative content, and well, there has always been partial nudity and sexually provocative content.

But what if it were true? Personally, I don’t find booth babes offensive, and indeed I enjoyed some of their dance numbers last year. I think they add color, action and glamour to the experience. But I wouldn’t be at all sad to see them go, or at least be replaced by “very pretty women wearing clothing”. If an industry is aiming to mature and appeal to a more widespread and diverse segment of society, there comes a point when it has to grow up and make hard changes. Not to mention paying more than lip service to the idea of welcoming women to gaming and the game development industry.

But really, is E3 truly going to dare fine Ubisoft, Namco and EA? And how would a no-babes policy change the face of E3?

David Jaffe (producer of God of War) rants about shopping at EB Games:

Would it hurt if they cleaned the carpet once in a while to remove the stains and the smell of day old nerd sweat?

… and several other assorted colorful (and sadly accurate) complaints. Now, I’ve bitched about EB before, but I’d add to Jaffe’s rant and mine EB’s complete lack of a classification scheme. I don’t know, guys, sort the boxes by color if you have to, I don’t care. Just try something.

I’m becoming frustrated with the fact that between the megastores, EB and Gamebuzz, Montreal just doesn’t have a single consistently good venue where you can find your games in reliable supply, at reasonable prices, and be helped by knowledgeable staff. And if there’s a town where such a business model could even work, it’s here.

The following takes place between Season 2 and Season 3: 24 The Game will supposedly explain how President Palmer survived the attempt on his life as well as how Kim Bauer, Chase Edmunds and Chloe O’Brien came to work for CTU.

The developers have gone to great lengths to be true to the look and feel of the series, and the graphics sure look impressive , but I wonder about the gameplay itself. The essential interest of the 24 series is in the pace, in Jack’s tough and resourceful problem solving, and the powerful if improbable use of technology.

A great game could theoretically catch some of that, as well as tell an intricate story where the micro-details of personal lives affect the grand scheme of things and vice versa, but I wonder if this one actually will. I’m expecting more of a shooter with some elements of 24; this could be fun too, but I’ve never thought shooters on consoles worked as well as they did on PC.

So, I’m waiting with baited breath for this one… it is definitely one of the titles I look forward to the most for 2006. Out February 28th.

(image via Gamespot)

Prince of Persia: the bloopers.