Another 24: Game Review

I’ve found another quite good review of the 24: Game, which has been available in the U.S. for a fortnight or so, and in the U.K. since friday. Eventually I’ll put up a dedictaed section, but until then…

“… The game takes the same premise [as the show]; 24 hours worth of twist filled storyline, more than just akin to the show, and gives you the chance to be hero Jack Bauer.

…, each hour is broken up into a couple/few short missions that vary from standard hiding and shooting action to strange hacking mini-games. … The lion’s share of the game is the shooting side of things which is overall a pretty decent stab at an action game, and while the rest fits in beautifully with the story, there is a certain amount of unrest over just how useful they are to the game …

… The plot stays true to the tone of the TV show, … it seems like the entire scenario is ramped up a little higher … However you feel about the game play, the cinematics keep you playing, to expand on the universe of the show …

… The audio of the game is presented wonderfully with some excellent voice acting… Music fits in both style and pace, …, and the numerous phone calls throughout each mission just serve to enhance the cinematic and story based nature of the game …

… The truth is, I enjoyed most of the game section of 24. A map in the lower right corner of the screen makes tracking enemies and showing off Bauer’s skills very intuitive and the controls reflect that well …”

source : boomtown.net

Cometh the hour

“A few weeks ago, Julian Sands, most fondly remembered as the romantic lead in A Room with a View, was invited to a party to celebrate the 100th episode of the real-time thriller series 24. It was held in the ‘beautiful’ set used to house 24’s antiterrorist agency in Los Angeles … but what the Yorkshire-born actor recalls most vividly is the guest list. There were a lot of ghosts.‘It was Valhalla, home for the slain,’ muses the 48-year-old, running his hand through his spiky blond hair. ‘There was the actress who played the mole Nina Myers, George Mason and Dennis Haysbert, and I was thinking — am I about to join their club?’ Sands, who is about to emerge out of the shadows, in the fifth series of 24, as the next ‘big bad’, knows his chances of survival are somewhere between ‘hmmm’ and ‘bye-bye’. Even Kiefer Sutherland says that, one day, maybe when ratings are slipping, his Jack Bauer might meet a sticky end. And he is a producer on the show.

‘The writers are extremely ruthless, although they are nervous about saying where my character is from,’ says Sands. ‘I see Vladimir Bierko as a westernised Chechen, an oil billionaire who longs for Soviet days. He is as pure and still as Ted Hughes’s hawk — ‘There is no sophistry in my body, My manners are tearing off heads’.’ Yes, it’s another elegant Brit in Hollywood, playing baddies for bucks. Alan and Jeremy must have been too pricey …

… At the time, he was unemployed, and living a childhood dream of climbing the Matterhorn … ‘I don’t know what they saw in me,’ he says. ‘I’d never actually seen 24 before I got the phone call in Zermatt. But I was hooked from Day One, Hour One. How could you not want to be part of that?’ …

… ‘The writers have not given me a great deal to work with, but they know I can work with a little. I am conspiring to unleash poison gas in LA, from inside an 8 by 12 concrete bunker, tapping computers and talking on mobile phones. This is modern power.’

Sands avoided a theatrical Slav accent because Dennis Hopper pounded one to death in the first series. Instead, Sands chills by doing as little as possible. You can see the hawk. No matter how long he survives — and he promises pyrotechnics — his is a quietly unnerving performance …

… However, he promises there are no more follies in the pipeline. The riddle of Sands’s success may be about to be resolved.

source : timesonline.co.uk

1UP Loves 24

“Does Jack Bauer ever go to the bathroom? How come Kim Bauer is so afraid of cougars? Is there a way for President Palmer to replace our current president?All these questions and others were racing through my mind in the nervewrecking hours before I was to interview the cast and crew that put together 24 every year. That’s right, Kiefer Sutherland, Elisha Cuthbert, Carlos Bernard, Reiko Aylesworth, Christian Kane (who’s only in the game) sat down with me and talked about alcohol, cougars and something called 24: The Game.

Some of the footage made its way into The 1UP Show a few episodes back, but Jason Bertrand and myself shot almost two hours of footage (we ran out of tapes!) during our two-day excursion to the set of Los Angeles’ fictional Counter Terrorist Unit. In addition to accidentally dropping Edgar’s phone while filming a skit at his desk, I interviewed many of the crew, including co-creator Joel Surnow and scriptwriter Duppy Demetrius.

For 24 fans, there’s plenty to chew on here. We even manage to scoop some new information about the upcoming 24 movie – Jack Bauer goes international, baby! – and find out what the original, ridiculous concept for 24 was. Good thing they ditched that concept …”

This is an article/feature on 24 that I found a little while ago and meant to link to, but forgot, but then Patrick Klepek, the article’s writers took the effort to email me a link to it, so now i’m getting off my lazy arse and linking to it. It includes some cool set photos and some video interviews with cast, crew and writers, come and join me in being immensely jealous of Patrick getting to visit the set.

source : 1up.com

Titan acquires 24 rights

TITAN BOOKS COUNTS DOWN TO PUBLICATION OF 24 COMPANIONThe longest day of Jack Bauer’s life is good news for Titan Books! An established publisher in the categories of film, TV and popular culture, Titan Books has acquired from Fox Licensing & Merchandising, World English Language publishing rights to the first official full colour companion to 24.

For the past four years, millions of viewers have avidly followed Jack Bauer’s adventures, hour by hour, minute by minute, as the series became famous for its labyrinthine plots, thrilling action and nail-biting suspense. Now, for the first time, 24’s legions of fans can go behind the scenes of this unique show, with 24: The Official Companion Seasons 1 and 2 (Titan Books; 23 June 2006; ISBN: 1-84576-313-0). The guide will offer in-depth episode breakdowns, unseen photographs, and exclusive new interviews with the cast and crew of 24. Plans for a further volume to cover Seasons 3 and 4 are also in the works, although no publication date has been scheduled.

24, an action-filled programme that traces one day in the life of Special Agent Jack Bauer of the Los Angeles branch of CTU (Counter-Terrorist Unit), was an immediate smash-hit. In its premiere season in the US, 24 ranked in the Top 5 rated television series among adults 25-54 and was the #1 rated series for Fox Broadcasting Company. Continuing its success, the series delivered its best ratings ever in Season 4, which drew 20% more viewers than the previous season. In the UK, 24 on Sky One ranks at the top of all programmes on satellite television. The series has also won multiple Emmy Awards, and Kiefer Sutherland’s portrayal of Jack Bauer won him a Golden Globe Award in 2001.

Titan Books also publishes a 24 graphic novel in the UK and Ireland (Titan Books; ISBN: 1-84576-220-7), an exciting collection that mixes photorealistic art with three all new stories ripped from tomorrow’s headlines.

More : titanbooks.com

First Game Reviews

“… I discovered a terrific 24 experience wrapped around a mediocre, run of the mill third person shooter game … All of the components that make the show unique and give it that 24 flavor are present- the split screens, the ever-present clock, the characters, the mood, the settings … The developers really did succeed in creating an authentic 24 experience that does make you feel like you’re a part of the show.The visuals are impressive, particularly within the cutscenes. Each character is rendered very well, and the face scans of the main characters are all very well done … Sutherland and Carlos Bernard’s mugs are the most faithfully rendered, … Others, like Kim Bauer or Michelle Dessler, are less authentic, but overall the renderings and range of emotion present on the faces is quite the feat to achieve on the PS2 …

… The story is pretty good- obviously, there are limitations on the plotline in any video game, but this is a workmanlike plot that allows the developers to include every 24 trope you can think of. Ladies get kidnapped, Jack threatens people, Jack disobeys orders and does other Bauer-ly things. That’s as far as I’ll go, story wise, but I don’t think fans of the show will be let down.

If you’re a fan of the show, the trappings of 24 will suck you in and keep you entertained. If you’ve come for gameplay alone, look elsewhere, and your money will be much better spent.”

This the first real review of the 24 Game that I have come across, which has just been released in the U.S., and is due for release in the U.K. on the 17th of March.

Source : ps2.ign.com