For
Distributed by
Sega
Developed by Hitmaker and the follow-up to House of the Dead 2, thisgame gets its stature by subtituting the “Impossible” in everything connectedwith Mission Impossible,for “Confidential”, which makes you part of the CMF: Confidential MissionForce.
The basic premise is that terrorism is rife throughout the world at the endof the 20th Century (so what’s new?) and you have to put paid to the dictatorsas either special agent Howard Gibson or Jean Clifford through all ofthree stages.
And there’s the problem. Only three stages. Even on my first go with the maximumnumber of lives allowed – 8 – and no gun to play with (I would buy one but ifSega are stopping support of the Dreamcast within the year and certainly seemto have given up with any kind of online support outside ofPhantasy Star Onlinethen what’s the point?), I managed to get part-way through the second stageand did just as well with my second go, thus hanging a question mark over thegame’s longevity.
By the way I’ve compared the game with Virtua Cop, you’ll know exactlywhat to expect and it plays out with arcade-perfect graphics and sound,but these days we need more. Just look at an arcade game like Police 24/7,which can be found in the Trafford Centre, Manchester, where I played it.Yes, it’s the same style of action, but sensors are placed all around the frontof the player and it actually responds to you moving about yourself to dodgethe bullets, much to the amusement of those watching.
So, in each stage you fire your gun, kill the cops and SAS guys who run orroll in front, trying to avoid the real people who occasionally move intoview for which you’ll lose a life if shot, but then the hostages are so stupidat times that they deserve everything they get for getting in the way.
In short, Confidential Mission is very enjoyable, but is a short-livedexperience.
SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC
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ORIGINALITY
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Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.