The story in the game has all the flavor of a Mission Impossible movie, but the plot does not follow any of the Hollywood productions. You are Agent Ethan Hunt, an elite member of the top-secret government organization called the Impossible Mission Force (IMF). Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to save the world from a microchip called Ice Worm that can disable any security system in the world. You must find the chip, destroy it and then find out who is ultimately responsible and bring them to justice. This is typical action movie formula stuff, so don't expect any mystery, intrigue, or twists or turns as the game unfolds.

Also like the movies, the game features Luther Stickel, the resident hacker on Ethan's team. In the game Luther is modeled after and voice-acted by Irving "Ving" Rhames from the movies. Unfortunately, Tom Cruise is nowhere to be found, so any bonus points they get for using Rhames are minimized because of the expressionless, no-name character they get to play the lead.

The game diverges from the movie when it comes to cinematic quality as well. The pre-rendered full motion video sequences are laughable. The animation and character models are so hokey and poorly animated that the closest things you can compare them to are the FMVs in the original Tekken arcade game (circa 1994). In contrast, the in-game, real-time cinema is not that bad. Take a note guys: leave the CGI up to the professionals (Square, Namco, et al).

The sound effects and music in the game are well done. The voice acting of the various characters is believable, but Ethan sounds almost identical to Splinter Cell tough-guy Sam Fisher. It would have been nice to hear them venture into new territory in this aspect of the game, but the voice works, to a degree, so it is not that annoying. What are annoying are the menu sound effects. This seems like a nit, but it was such a detractor that I found myself wishing I had written down the mission objectives so I didn't have to hear the horrible menu sounds. Besides that, expect to hear the well-known theme song as several different versions, all nicely mixed and well suited to the action at hand.

So, Mission Impossible: Operation Surma is lacking in aspects of audio/visual quality. How does the game-play fare? As previously indicated, the game designers at Paradigm Entertainment failed to raise the bar for the stealth action genre. They did manage to create a game that combines elements of hand-to-hand combat, gun fighting, gadgets and stealth into a fun, if not groundbreaking, game experience.

The hand-to-hand combat is very much like its predecessors, a few punches and kicks that automatically chain into small combos. You can also sneak up on enemies and execute stealth moves from above, behind or around corners. Each stealth move has a different slow-motion animation with blur effects that look really cool. Enemies can be grabbed while conscious but don't expect any hostage taking like in MGS2. All you can do is knock them out after you have used their handprint. Despite this, the melee combat is on par with the other games in the genre.

This is in high contrast to the weapon combat that quite simply blows. When Ethan has his weapon out, he pivots frustratingly slowly. The target reticule used for aiming is about 4 feet wide and turns red even when visibly you are aiming into the empty space. You aren't though; you can kill any number of baddies simply by firing three bullets into said space. This seems intentional because you can also take someone out with a single shot to the head. So what's it gonna be? Body Zones or humongous Bounding Cylinders. I know, Let's do both! Thankfully, this is not a first person shooter so the few situations that require you to use weapons in a wide-open attack do not force you to put the game down out of frustration.

Probably the most redeeming feature of this game is the set of gadgets you use to complete these impossible missions. I don't mean the Electronic Lock Pick (ELP) or the Laser Cutter that are just over glorified garage door openers, I'm talking about gadgets like the Micro-cord and the WASP.

The Micro-cord is a device that fires a cable attached to a pulley. Ethan can use this to hoist himself up to high areas or he can hook it to his back allowing him to operate computers while avoiding floor-based sensors.

The WASP is another gem. It is a very tiny miniature unmanned aerial drone (UAV). It comes equipped with a camera for surveillance and a one-shot stun gun. In the game, Ethan remotely pilots WASPs into air ducts, high security areas and sometimes uses them to protect individuals from potential assassins.

Rounding up the gadgets are night vision contact lenses, binoculars and a gadget called the sonic imager that lets you see who is on the other side of a wall. Unfortunately, none of them are rendered anywhere near as impressively as their counterparts in Splinter Cell.

When it comes to stealth game play, Mission Impossible has it and it is fun, just don't expect the kind of immersion found in Splinter Cell or MGS2. The experience in MI is more like Tomb Raider than any of its forebears. Everything about the levels is static and pre-planned by the level designers. Typically there is one way and only one way to complete a given objective. Gamers that are used to the free interactivity of SC or MGS2 will likely find the game play restrictive. You can't shoot lights out or pick up random objects and throw them to distract enemies.

Despite all its shortcomings one level does manage to break the mold. Close your eyes. Imagine jumping out of an aircraft, leaning forward into a controlled dive headfirst toward another aircraft many feet below. As soon as you get close to the plane you spread your arms to slow your decent and to come up behind the bird. Once in position, you fire up your jet pack and tear off in pursuit. Your presence is discovered via radar and now they are firing heat-seeking rockets at you. You evade the rockets gingerly, come up right behind the plane, cut your jet pack engines and dive tackle the bastard trying to explode you. Open your eyes. You've just imagined the beginning of the final mission in the game. For all the game's faults, this level brings home the bacon.

So that's Mission Impossible: Operation Surma. Its no Splinter Cell 2, but it does survive on its own merit. The game has its problems and is far from a perfect execution. Still, it has enough original game play to keep fans of the stealth action genre sated until Konami and Ubi Soft have a chance to release their newest killer apps.