VIDEO GAME REVIEW Game-play flaws weigh down ambitious 'Alias'

Getting characters to do what you want can be infuriating.
By BILL HUTCHENS
TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE
Put the stars and writers of the TV show "Alias" to work on their own video game and you get top-notch voice acting and a great spy story with lots of cool high-tech gadgets.
Unfortunately, all of that greatness is held back by unimpressive game play.
Sydney Bristow (played by rising star Jennifer Garner) has a full dossier of super spy moves, but most of the hand-to-hand combat degenerates into frantic button mashing. Game artists and animators obviously took great pains to digitally recreate the actors' likenesses, but, while characters look fine in cut scenes, they become zombies in action scenes. There are other flaws, but we'll get to them.
Maybe Alias would seem like a better game if I hadn't already played the new Splinter Cell. Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher is one tough hombre (voiced by Michael Ironside), but his game is only as good as its programmers and animators. The talented folks who brought Sam to life made him look and move like a real person.
Jennifer Garner's video-game likeness is kind of scary. Maybe it's not easy to digitally paint such an attractive woman, I don't know. Even with a full health meter, she seems to be limping around in pain. She can walk, jog, run, fight or slip into a stealthy skulk, but all are clunky movements that double cross the sexy smoothness of the Sydney from the show.
Infuriating
Controls and cameras are infuriating at times. It can be frustrating just trying to get Sydney to back up against a wall, slide along it and peek around a corner. According to the game manual, Sydney can drop down on enemies from high ledges. But try executing the move during the game and you might end up breaking your controller in anger.
For good measure, let's get back to what's good about the game.
The best voice actor in the game also is possibly the best voice actor ever in any game. Kevin Weisman plays Sydney's highly caffeinated gadget guy, Marshall Flinkman. His twitchy ramblings are hilarious.
And the story is as intriguing as anything we've seen on the show. The mysterious Followers of Rambaldi are all agog about a device called "The Machine." On the trail of a missing agent, Sydney has to find out what The Machine is, thwart the Followers and face three of her most cunning enemies: Anna Espinosa, Mr. Sark and Arvin Sloane.
Sydney's bag of toys includes various costumes, and the gadgets would make even Sam Fisher envious. It's just too bad they're not much fun to play with.
X"Alias," for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, is rated T for teens.