Your mission should you choose to accept it, is to perform some of the most daring missions using the coolest gadgets that would make James Bond envious, stop a computer virus terrorist threat and of course, rescue the damsel in distress. As the game starts you are interrupted from your vacation, as usual, and are informed that there is an organization known as SURMA that has developed a computer virus that can worm its way into any computer in the world and has its eyes set on the IMF computer database. Although it sounds oddly familiar to the first M:I movie, there are many side missions that deal with destroying terrorist bio toxin agents and rescuing hostages that the whole computer virus story line gets forgotten pretty quickly.

The Mission: Impossible team that we all know and love from the two feature films have finally made their way to the Xbox and they do it with style. Although Ethan Hunt is still the main character, his voice over acting is unfortunately not done by Tom Cruise. The rest of the cast has indeed returned including Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell, the coolest computer hacker around and John Polson as Billy Baird, the crazy Australian helicopter pilot. Along for the ride are two new operatives to the scene, the rookie Jasmine Curry and the master of disguise and your main contact on the inside, George Spelvin. Throughout the game, you will be in contact with each of these characters and will need to perform certain tasks for each. Although the tasks are usually nothing more strenuous than hacking a computer or opening a door, the interaction helps break up the game play and moves the story along. Sadly with such a great franchise behind it, the graphics in Mission: Impossible are one of the major downfalls for the game. Although M: I is nothing more than an average looking game all around and there are really no points or places in the game that make you say "wow" . Except for some of the outdoor missions where your detached shadow is walking across the wall 5 feet above your head. The night vision that you can use to see in dark areas as well as to spot laser trip wires is much better than some night vision effects in other games like SOCOM for instance and actually lets you see what you are doing without feeling closed in.

Following in the steps of previous spy games such as Splinter Cell, Mission: Impossible requires more stealth than all out action and usually punishes you for the latter. There are five missions through out the game that are broken up into specific objectives that mostly require you to hide in shadows and hack your way through door locks to reach a computer. Whenever you are spotted by guards, you can either fight them before they run to turn on the alarm or hide and wait it out. As well, if you are spotted by security cameras that are strategically placed, the alarms will sound and bring the enemies rushing towards your position. For some guards you will be required to carry their bodies or coerce them over to locked doors to use their hands for scanners that your hacking ability can't get you through. You can grab and shimmy across pipes and ledges that hang over head to get to different areas as well as perform somersaults and acrobatic swings from your micro-cord zip line that we all remember hanging from the first movie in the CIA computer room. Although it may sound like a short game with the small number of missions, it is average length overall at about eight to ten hours with some of the more complicated puzzles that are thrown in to slow you down. Unfortunately a lot of missions feel like they are mainly the same thing repeated over and over in different locations, with the few exceptions like a very cool sky diving missions that progress to using a jetpack to catch a jumbo jet in mid flight.

Among the few actual weapons that you can use, you have a regular pistol, a sniper pistol that can zoom across far distances, and the ever useful Tranquilizer gun. Although gun fights more often then not, are easy to control, there was more than one time during the game where holding down the fire button would not fire and you would be left standing there getting shot while you pounded on the fire button. Among the weapons you can use you also have a vast assortment of gadgets and tools at your disposal. You have a gun called the EWG (Electronic Warfare Gun) that can disable cameras and allow you to see through them, as well as shooting a tracking tag on guards and a lure that will attract enemies to it. This is one of your most used gadgets among others that include, digital binoculars that take pictures, an electronic lock pick and laser cutter that opens locked doors and the very cool remote controlled WASP camera that you can fly around levels to scope farther ahead.

For those of you who are fans of run and gun games like Freedom Fighters, then you may want to steer clear of this title for the want of such missions. New comers to the Mission: Impossible universe may be a little hesitant to pick up this game with its lack luster graphics and game play. However, if you are a fan of the Mission: Impossible movies and of stealth games such as Splinter Cell and in general, then you will want to check this out if for nothing more than seeing what the IMF team is up to nowadays.

This review will self destruct in 5 seconds.