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Mission: Impossible (Nintendo 64)
Encyclopedia
Mission: Impossible is an action
and third-person shooter
video game for the Nintendo 64
and Sony
PlayStation based on the 1996 film Mission: Impossible
. It was developed by Ocean Software
and distributed by Infogrames Entertainment. It was later ported to PlayStation by X-Ample Architectures, with minor additions such as voice acting. It was the last game to be developed by Ocean Software before the company was bought out in 1998.
in most of the missions, and the majority of the game centers around completing tasks undetected or disguised. The player can choose from a wide variety of weapons and gadgets, including pistols and automatic weapons. On select missions they are given the explosive gum
and the Facemaker from the movie. They are also given explosives to set on targets. Other equipment Ethan is provided with includes smoke generators, infra-red contacts, gas injectors, fingerprint scanners, and computer disks.
Unlike most other shooters of the time, the gameplay often required the player to exercise caution and restraint in carrying out mission objectives. In many missions, outright use of violence is discouraged or even penalized, and it is easy to fail a mission by accidentally shooting the wrong person. Most of the missions require the player to stealthily infiltrate or sneak out of areas, such as CIA Headquarters in Langley
. They can infiltrate some facilities only using the Facemaker, which disguises themselves as one of the enemy. Sometimes the player is required to do this multiple times.
that is entirely original. There are five missions comprising 20 levels.
planning to send missiles to a rival country. Phelps sends IMF agents Ethan Hunt, John Clutter and Andrew Dowey to stop the terrorists' plans by infiltrating the submarine pen where the missiles are being stored, then destroying the submarine holding the missiles.
While this is happening, Alexander Golystine, a worker at the Embassy of Russia in Prague
, kidnaps the female IMF agent Candice Parker and steals one half of the Non-Official Cover (NOC) list, a list that gives the real and false names of all IMF agents. Though useless on its own, the Embassy possess a powerful supercomputer that may be capable of breaking the code to open the document, and after IMF agent Robert Barnes goes missing after an attempted rescue mission, Phelps sends in Hunt to find the list, rescue Candice Parker, and discover the fate of Robert Barnes.
Hunt successfully begins the mission by entering the Embassy unarmed, using inside contacts Sarah Davies and Dieter Harmon to procure equipment. He then knocks out the Ambassador's aide, assuming his identity using a Facemaker, and makes his way through an underground warehouse to find the KGB headquarters. Still in disguise, he is able to discover the fate of Barnes, who has been tortured to death, and rescues a sickened and injured Parker. In spite of her handicap, however, they are able to recover the NOC list and escape using the cover of a fake fire (set off by Hunt using smoke generators in the ventilation).
Despite his work in recovering the NOC list as well as agent Parker, Hunt is taken to interrogation at the CIA, where he is accused of being a mole for a person known as Max. He manages to escape his captors and, after secretly making his way through the building, is able to reach the rooftop. After doing so, he is able to infiltrate the security atop the building, prevent backup from arriving by helicopter, and freeze another helicopter to ensure he has a way out. He then reaches the top of the building, where he uses fiber optic cable to descend into the famous laser-filled terminal room from the movie. Here, he steals the NOC list, leaves a computer virus in the terminal to shut off the lasers, and escapes in the helicopter to his next mission as a rogue agent.
Hunt reaches Waterloo Station
in London, having secured the support of two ex-agents, (Luther Stickell
and Franz Krueger) and meets with the secretive Max. Max, however, steals the NOC list and leaves her henchmen to execute Hunt, though Stickell and Krueger successfully protect him with sniper fire as he awaits further details from Parker. When they finally discover where Max has escaped to, Hunt infiltrates her train (which is well-protected by more of her henchmen) and successfully kills her, taking back the NOC list. As he makes his way to the cargo area where Max has set up a bomb, he discovers that his former mentor, Jim Phelps, is the real mole. Hunt chases Phelps onto the roof of the train and manages to kill him, destroying his helicopter as he tries to escape. Afterwards, Hunt returns to the CIA, where he is cleared of all suspicion.
Shortly afterwards, Hunt, now IMF team leader, (having replaced the traitorous Phelps) recruits John Clutter and Andrew Dowey for one final mission. The terrorist group from the first mission has returned, and the old team must go back to stop their plans once and for all by destroying their base entirely. The three manage to infiltrate the base by destroying key security features, and eventually manage to stop the terrorist group by killing their leader, Basil Prokosh. They escape by stealing a gunboat from the base, and manage to take out more key buildings, ensuring that they can't be used again. They finally escape their pursuers and meet Parker on top of a submarine, where she waits to take them back to IMF headquarters.
gave the N64 Version a 6.6 "Fair", and the PlayStation version a 4.4 "Poor" out of a possible 10 saying it was not fun to play. The game later received a sequel,
Mission: Impossible - Operation Surma, in late 2003.
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
and third-person shooter
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
video game for the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
and Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
PlayStation based on the 1996 film Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible (film)
Mission: Impossible is a 1996 action thriller directed by Brian De Palma and starring Tom Cruise. Following on from the television series of the same name, the plot follows a new agent, Ethan Hunt and his mission to uncover the mole within the CIA who has framed him for the murders of his entire...
. It was developed by Ocean Software
Ocean Software
The British company Ocean Software was one of the biggest European video game developers/publishers of the 1980s and 90s...
and distributed by Infogrames Entertainment. It was later ported to PlayStation by X-Ample Architectures, with minor additions such as voice acting. It was the last game to be developed by Ocean Software before the company was bought out in 1998.
Gameplay
The player controls Ethan HuntEthan Hunt
Ethan Hunt is the central protagonist in the Mission: Impossible film series.-Mission: Impossible:In Mission: Impossible, Hunt acts as the IMF point man for an established and experienced field team, led by veteran Jim Phelps, with whom he has a particularly close bond...
in most of the missions, and the majority of the game centers around completing tasks undetected or disguised. The player can choose from a wide variety of weapons and gadgets, including pistols and automatic weapons. On select missions they are given the explosive gum
Chewing gum
Chewing gum is a type of gum traditionally made of chicle, a natural latex product, or synthetic rubber known as polyisobutylene. For economical and quality reasons, many modern chewing gums use rubber instead of chicle...
and the Facemaker from the movie. They are also given explosives to set on targets. Other equipment Ethan is provided with includes smoke generators, infra-red contacts, gas injectors, fingerprint scanners, and computer disks.
Unlike most other shooters of the time, the gameplay often required the player to exercise caution and restraint in carrying out mission objectives. In many missions, outright use of violence is discouraged or even penalized, and it is easy to fail a mission by accidentally shooting the wrong person. Most of the missions require the player to stealthily infiltrate or sneak out of areas, such as CIA Headquarters in Langley
Langley, Virginia
Langley is an unincorporated community in the census-designated place of McLean in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States.The community was essentially absorbed into McLean many years ago, although there is still a Langley High School...
. They can infiltrate some facilities only using the Facemaker, which disguises themselves as one of the enemy. Sometimes the player is required to do this multiple times.
Missions
The levels roughly follow the storyline of the movie, though there is a subplot based in RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
that is entirely original. There are five missions comprising 20 levels.
Plot
The game starts with Jim Phelps in a park outside the CIA, getting a message about a terrorist plot in northwestern RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
planning to send missiles to a rival country. Phelps sends IMF agents Ethan Hunt, John Clutter and Andrew Dowey to stop the terrorists' plans by infiltrating the submarine pen where the missiles are being stored, then destroying the submarine holding the missiles.
While this is happening, Alexander Golystine, a worker at the Embassy of Russia in Prague
Embassy of Russia in Prague
The Embassy of Russia in Prague is the diplomatic mission of the Russian Federation to the Czech Republic. The chancery is located at nám. Pod kaštany 1 in the Bubeneč neighbourhood of Prague 6 district in Prague.- History of the chancery :...
, kidnaps the female IMF agent Candice Parker and steals one half of the Non-Official Cover (NOC) list, a list that gives the real and false names of all IMF agents. Though useless on its own, the Embassy possess a powerful supercomputer that may be capable of breaking the code to open the document, and after IMF agent Robert Barnes goes missing after an attempted rescue mission, Phelps sends in Hunt to find the list, rescue Candice Parker, and discover the fate of Robert Barnes.
Hunt successfully begins the mission by entering the Embassy unarmed, using inside contacts Sarah Davies and Dieter Harmon to procure equipment. He then knocks out the Ambassador's aide, assuming his identity using a Facemaker, and makes his way through an underground warehouse to find the KGB headquarters. Still in disguise, he is able to discover the fate of Barnes, who has been tortured to death, and rescues a sickened and injured Parker. In spite of her handicap, however, they are able to recover the NOC list and escape using the cover of a fake fire (set off by Hunt using smoke generators in the ventilation).
Despite his work in recovering the NOC list as well as agent Parker, Hunt is taken to interrogation at the CIA, where he is accused of being a mole for a person known as Max. He manages to escape his captors and, after secretly making his way through the building, is able to reach the rooftop. After doing so, he is able to infiltrate the security atop the building, prevent backup from arriving by helicopter, and freeze another helicopter to ensure he has a way out. He then reaches the top of the building, where he uses fiber optic cable to descend into the famous laser-filled terminal room from the movie. Here, he steals the NOC list, leaves a computer virus in the terminal to shut off the lasers, and escapes in the helicopter to his next mission as a rogue agent.
Hunt reaches Waterloo Station
Waterloo station
Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....
in London, having secured the support of two ex-agents, (Luther Stickell
Luther Stickell
Luther Stickell is a supporting fictional character from the Mission: Impossible film series. The character first appeared in Mission: Impossible in 1996 and is the only character besides Ethan Hunt to appear in all four films....
and Franz Krueger) and meets with the secretive Max. Max, however, steals the NOC list and leaves her henchmen to execute Hunt, though Stickell and Krueger successfully protect him with sniper fire as he awaits further details from Parker. When they finally discover where Max has escaped to, Hunt infiltrates her train (which is well-protected by more of her henchmen) and successfully kills her, taking back the NOC list. As he makes his way to the cargo area where Max has set up a bomb, he discovers that his former mentor, Jim Phelps, is the real mole. Hunt chases Phelps onto the roof of the train and manages to kill him, destroying his helicopter as he tries to escape. Afterwards, Hunt returns to the CIA, where he is cleared of all suspicion.
Shortly afterwards, Hunt, now IMF team leader, (having replaced the traitorous Phelps) recruits John Clutter and Andrew Dowey for one final mission. The terrorist group from the first mission has returned, and the old team must go back to stop their plans once and for all by destroying their base entirely. The three manage to infiltrate the base by destroying key security features, and eventually manage to stop the terrorist group by killing their leader, Basil Prokosh. They escape by stealing a gunboat from the base, and manage to take out more key buildings, ensuring that they can't be used again. They finally escape their pursuers and meet Parker on top of a submarine, where she waits to take them back to IMF headquarters.
Reception
Mission: Impossible received mixed to mediocre reviews from critics. GamespotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
gave the N64 Version a 6.6 "Fair", and the PlayStation version a 4.4 "Poor" out of a possible 10 saying it was not fun to play. The game later received a sequel,
Mission: Impossible - Operation Surma, in late 2003.
External links
- Mission: Impossible at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...