Though Acclaim showed off a number of different games at this year's E3, the one game that the company spotlighted most of all was Alias, an upcoming game based on the hit television show of the same name. Featuring an original story and script by the show's authors, as well as the likeness of leading actress Jennifer Garner for the game's main character, Alias will be a stealth action game that sends Garner's character Sydney Bristow undercover on a mission to infiltrate and subvert the sinister SD-6 organization. We tried out the PS2 and Xbox versions of Alias that were being shown (GameCube and PC versions are also in development) and found that, while Alias definitely needs some more time before it comes together, it's already promising.

　　The gameplay involves looking for clues, sneaking around, engaging in close-quarters martial-arts battles, and using high-tech gadgets. We didn't have much patience for sneaking around in a miniskirt, so we immediately ran up to our enemies and picked a fight, at which point we quickly noticed that Alias sports some great-looking fighting moves. Sydney can kick the stuffing out of her opponents with relative ease, or disarm weapon-wielding foes, and in a nice touch, the game convincingly uses rag-doll physics for when a character is struck with a crushing blow, so you'll see characters get slammed against walls and tables and slump to the ground. The game isn't all action, though--we spent some time interacting with characters in a bar, prying for information while disguised as a waitress.

　　Besides, head-on fighting obviously isn't going to be the theme of the game, as we learned when we got gunned down ignobly at one point. Sydney is supposed to stay out of sight and sneak up and dispatch any enemies in her way, and she can also use a variety of disguises to keep her foes off her trail and to better be able to extract information from key characters. It seems like the game will have a good amount of variety to it, given all this.

　　We found that Alias generally plays like other stealth action games, so comparisons will be drawn between this game and titles such as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid. Whether Alias can compete with these games remains to be seen, as the versions we played were only about 55 percent complete and had some obvious clipping and camera issues, which should be resolved before the game is finished. The Alias TV show is known for its gripping storyline, so of course we also hope to see that manifested in the game. At any rate, the show is well suited for a stealth action game like this, and the game seems to be coming along pretty well. Stay tuned for more information on how Alias is shaping up.