Mission Impossible review - Nintendo Entertainment System

Based on the very obscure but dead entertaining 1970's spy show, Mission: Impossible puts you in a rather situation. Dr O, boss of your top secret government spy branch, has been kidnapped by the Sinister 7. Only you and your spy cronies can save the day and put a stop to the evil activities of the Seven once and for all.

Unfortunately for you, the name of the Sinister 7 is a mite misleading, as you soon find out. Walking out onto the streets, you are accosted by not seven baddies, but more like seven hundred. And they're all armed with knives, guns and petrol bombs. Clearly this isn't going to be as easy as wandering around an underground hideout wearing a wig like the heroes did in the TV show.

Mission: Impossible is an eight-way scrolling overhead-view combat game in which the player finds his way around the sprawling map, meets contacts, solves puzzles and kills bad guys. The object of the game, should you choose to purchase it, is to rescue Dr O and destroy the Sinister 7 base of operations, thereby removing a serious threat to world peace.

What the Mean Machines staff thought

Mission: Impossible reminded me of Metal Gear, but while Metal Gear was a bit naff, this is top notch, even though it doesn't look like it from the rather drab graphics. What you can't see is that there's tons going on. Once you start playing, you really get engrossed in the action as you try to solve the many puzzles scattered throughout the game. If you're after an original and challenging game with loads of variety and plenty of different things to see and do, check this out immediately.

It must be said that Mission: Impossible isn't exactly the most inspiring license in the world, so imagine my surprise when this NES game turned out to be really good fun. The graphics aren't much to speak of, the sprites are simple and the backgrounds are just repeated character blocks with drab colours. The sound is okay though, with a faithful rendition of the TV score and some decent effects. What really stands out about Mission: Impossible is the involvement it produces. The map is quite large, with a great deal happening all the time. There are lots of secret rooms to discover, contacts to find and puzzles to solve. Mission: Impossible is a thoroughly playable and addictive game which is well worth a look.