Missions vary from gathering sensitive intel to assassinating crime bosses to halting major drug deals. We toured an early mission that dispatched Cassie and her partner Gavin to the city of Prague in Eastern Europe. Meeting up with an operative, the duo managed to call in a sports car by helicopter with which to navigate the city. Operatives are non-playable characters that you'll be able to commission for odd jobs such as creating special equipment or gathering intelligence for a specific mission. In an innovative twist, you'll have the ability to dictate orders to your operatives not only within the game, but also via e-mail and text messages.

Hopping into the sports car, Cassie headed into District 23, a sort of red light area controlled by a group known as the Bones. Cassie was scheduled to meet with an anonymous contact within the Bones to relay vital information; however, shortly after the missions begins, the contact is assassinated. The briefcase gets taken into a seedy lounge ironically named Club Succubus.

Working through back alleyways and over fire escapes, Cassie teamed up with Gavin to shoot Bones thugs on their way to recovering the briefcase. Wave after wave of enemies were easily quickly eliminated thanks to fire from an assault rifle and a few grenades. Near the end of the level we saw, the two super spies triggered an "Agency Moment"--a special contextual action specific to that level. In this case, Cassie and Gavin spun around a playground wheel while knocking down enemies with their guns.

Sony Online Entertainment boasts that The Agency will include hundreds of varied, action-packed assignments. After having only seen one, I'm eager for more intel on this highly promising game. It'll be a long wait, no doubt, as the cross-platform release for The Agency isn't slated until late 2008 at the earliest.