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’.)