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The game is presented in 3D form where you must traverse through expansive polygonal environments, solve puzzles, complete mission objectives, and capping a few asses on the side. Well... you don't really have to kill anyone since you're armed with a tranquilliser gun, but you get the drift. Anyway, the look of the game is quite impressive. The 3D environments are huge and filled with detail, providing the same balance between size, action, and interactivity to be found in Mario 64. What I mean is that, for instance, you can venture through an outer fence of an enemy base, duck and weave through the shadows, run and jump through storage crates, run alongside a tank to avoid detection by search lights, kill a couple of security guards, and then enter the main compound. From there, the interior design is just as detailed as the exterior. There are security cameras to avoid, fingerprint scanners, computer networks to rummage through. Seriously, there is amazing attention to detail. While it's not exactly on the same level as, say, Resident Evil 2, you can rest assured that every part of the environment is interactive - or at least usable - hence of greater value and significance to the game. Now there's real gameplay for you.
 Graphically, the game is solid enough to do the job. The characters have a much higher polygon count than in GoldenEye, and the only time you see any of that annoying fog is when you've ventured outside a building. There is a bit of clipping and slowdown, particularly when there are heaps of action on the screen, but it nonetheless does the job just fine. The only serious gripe I have is with the latex masks. Let me explain. When you put on a mask, the character who you will be impersonating (a very cool part of the game, I might add) is super-imposed over your own character as a transparent shell. You will then go through several hand motions as if to depict that a mask is being put on, and once put on, the transparent shell will 'melt' over your character, and you will then become the person you are pretending to be. As an old fan of Mission: Impossible, I can express nothing but horror at this feature. Other than that, the death depictions aren't too crash hot either. You could shoot someone in the gut and they'll go flying head over heels. Perhaps I've just been spoiled by GoldenEye. What's left of the aesthetics now are the music and sound effects. The sound effects are ample, and nothing stunning. There's plenty of sampled speech, but most of it is low quality scratchy stuff. Thank God for the text supplements. The music, well, let's just say it's on par with GoldenEye's rendition of the Bond theme, and leave it at that.
Now to the gameplay. Overall, it's great. There are several problems with it, but considering the ambitious level of gameplay sought to be created, I can do nothing but applaud. First off, control is similar to that of Mario 64. You basically push in a direction on the analogue stick, and you'll run in that direction. Push it gently, and you'll walk. There is a jump button, which allows you to hop around ridiculously like Mario, and an action button, which, depending on what you have equipped, will allow you to perform countless functions like climbing, shooting, operating a computer, and so on. The actions are selected using the C buttons, where you can select an item from what I can only imagine to be your utility belt, such as a tranq-gun, a detonator, a fingerprint scanner, a mask, and so on.  If you actually select a gun or something capable of firing a projectile, you can use a zoomed in targeting system similar to GoldenEye to take out your target.
When it comes to completing mission objectives, you are generally required to do so in their proper order, and within the requisite time (otherwise you or one of your supporting agents will be caught). In that sense, you also don't want to kill someone that you're just meant to capture. While this is a cool element that stays true to the Mission: Impossible tradition, it makes it difficult to properly explore any one area without failing the mission.  It is more so the case when some puzzles are sequentially based, meaning that you cannot progress on unless you perform certain tasks in order, and that you fail if you fall out of order. Multiple failures are practically a requirement for any sense of mastery of this game, which will prove frustrating for some. The other problem is with the stealth element. The default Mario-style camera angles are totally inappropriate, as you don't have total control to see everything around you. Granted, you can use the digital thumb pad to swivel the camera around, but given that your hands are predominantly on the centre and right control handles, it's not likely you're ever going to be bothered enough to use those camera controls.
Other gameplay problems relate to the nature of stealth and the detail that your usual Mission: Impossible freak would demand. First off, there aren't any specific controls for you to sneak around, crawl, press yourself up against the wall, or slide out from a corner and swiftly break a guard's neck with minimal fuss. Most of the time, you just run around shooting indiscriminately - but therein lies another problem.  You see, the targeting system is slow and nowhere near as accurate as GoldenEye, and you usually have to take a few hits before you get a clean shot. Stealth-wise, this does not add up. Another problem is a lack of plot consistency. I love how you can impersonate a high-ranking official and walk through an enemy compound undetected. However, it makes zero sense that, while impersonating the official, the guards don't get suspicious when I start running and jumping around like a geriatric basket-case on viagra.
The absolute saving grace of Mission: Impossible is that the game plays out as if you're watching a movie. No, there aren't any dramatic camera angles or heart-wrenching music. But what it has are numerous elements that, while adding variety to the gameplay, end up making the action gel together both as a game and a story. There are the usual cinemas like mission briefings, conversations, and so on that admittedly add nothing to gameplay - but there will be some points in the game where, for instance, you'll be pinned down at a door just outside the barracks. You've got 6 guards taking pot shots at you, and you've got absolutely no way out. Your solution? Contact a sniper agent you've got sitting on an overlooking hill. The game then switches to sniper view where you can see yourself and the offending guards, who you can leisurely pick off one at a time. When the threat is neutralised, switch back to your own view, and continue on. Ingenious! Not only does it make the game feel like a movie, but it actually creates that feeling of teamwork! Then there are other spot variations to the gameplay, such as riding down a river in a gunboat, shooting everything that moves, which again does well in creating that sensation that a complete story is being played out through more than just one view point. In retrospect, this is Star Wars Shadows of the Empire done correctly.
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istorically perceived as America's team-based answer to the world's greatest spy (James Bond, for the bong-heads who don't know), Mission: Impossible provides a timeless form of entertainment where we can watch high technology and damned good team work unravel the greater crimes and conspiracies of fictional pop culture. Plus, nothing beats those latex masks. It has survived through 2 television series, one movie, and now it makes its way to the N64. Considering that this title and Robotech Crystal Dreams were amongst the first batch of games announced when the N64 was still being called the Project Reality; and that Ocean took its sweet time in developing the game, there are two levels on which Mission: Impossible is to be considered as greatly anticipated. First off, it is Mission: Impossible. That in itself is cause for excitement. Secondly, the stealth-related gameplay has generated speculation that this game could actually pull the rug from beneath Konami's highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation. Whether it succeeds in either area is, well, a little complicated.
Loosely based on the movie of the same name, Mission: Impossible puts you in the shoes of secret agent Ethan Hunt. There are plenty of missions for you to undertake in the game, some of which are based on the movie, while others are entirely new. As everyone should know by now, if you or any of your IM force should be caught or killed, the mission will be deemed a failure, and the Secretary of State will disavow any knowledge of your actions. Yay for you.
