The shooting stages, for example. They seem to follow the basics of other shooting stages like them. You have targeting controls that make it easy to take an enemy out, although there's a nice touch with the crosshairs where you can aim for specific parts on them. However, there's nothing really innovative or fun about them. Explosive canisters here, health charging station there. It's all been done before. Worse yet, some have been done better, as the game sometimes has problems with its aiming and camera manipulation. You'll find yourself taking unnecessary hits unfairly when all you're trying to do is swivel around to get a shot off.

The driving sequences fare a little better in terms of control and being able to ram someone into a side object, although, to be honest, they're way too short for their own good. You're only going so far off the back-streets or alleys of Los Angeles before you find the thing over, and you're moving on to the next scene. SCE Cambridge did a nice job recreating Los Angeles- it's just a shame you don't have more time to give it a bit of exploration and maybe just go and cause a little public mayhem. (Hey, a CTU agent needs to cut loose once in a while, you know?)

The other stages are fine. There's puzzle solving involved, where you have to work quickly with your thumbs getting a bomb disposed of before it sets off, as well as a fun little segment involving the location of snipers in a certain time limit. Some of these take a little getting used to, but the game forgives easily. If you die, you can go right back up to the stage where you ended up biting it.

What I really enjoyed, however, was the interrogations. From time to time, Jack will talk up a storm with a suspect (like someone he captured during a mission or a key player he hasn't shot- which, by the way, is a rarity), and have to maintain some kind of tone and hit buttons in the right spots in order for them to go off right. These are done rather well, although a bit corny considering that Jack can change his tempo quicker than a woman of multiple moods.

Overall, I found no real problems with the gameplay, and avid 24 fans should have no difficulty jumping right in and experiencing the bad day. But the game caters better to them than casual fans looking for a rip-roaring action game, and, to them, the game is best suited as a rental.

But fans will like what's found here. Along with a pretty deep single-player experience that's worth checking out for all 24 hours of storyline (all provided by a writer of the show, by the way- another plus by SCE Cambridge), there's enough extras, unlockable cut-scenes, and other goodies to make this a must-have with your DVD collection. I was hoping for some kind of two-player co-op opportunities, like Jack and Chase teaming up to bring down terrorists in timed scenarios, but I suppose that would've delayed the game to next year, for season six, when Jack finds trouble in a theme park. (By the way, that's not a real storyline, just a fabrication. Fox's lawyers already can't stand me for sending in a bunch of complaint letters on the cancellation of Arrested Development.)

Despite a lot of naysayers who've given the game a harsh criticism, I liked 24: The Game. It could've been a hell of a lot worse than it turned out, and it still has enough substantial value to warrant at least a good, hark look. Fans of the show will want to immediately invest, as the sprawling storyline and the bounty of goodies is more than worth the price tag. Besides, we probably won't see another 24 game surface again, especially considering Jack's mental state. Three more bad days, and, I tell ya, the guy is just going to snap. Then maybe he'll be the bad guy in an upcoming season. Oh, hey, that sounds good. I should pitch a script.