Nintendo 64 £39.99
Your mission, should you wish to accept it, is to assume the identity of top agent Ethan Hunt and guide him speedily through 20 adventure-filled levels. This message will self-destruct in five seconds! No, not really, but in the game time is of the essence.
Comparisons between the somewhat delayed Mission: Impossible and Nintendo's golden boy GoldenEye are inevitable - and matching the latter's completeness was always going to prove difficult. But Mission: Impossible doesn't try to be a secondrate GoldenEye, it stands alone. If it's a pure shoot-'em-up you're after, this isn't it: while in some missions you'll have to use your prowess with the gun, more often you need diligence and stealth.
Indeed, with the face-maker Hunt can assume the identity of various characters within the game in order to avoid detection and the game is full of such handy gadgets. These include night view and infra-red glasses; nausea powder; finger-print scanner; video freezer; smoke generator; spy-cam and laser-deflecting prisms. In the arsenal are a standard 7.65mm gun; Uzi 9mm; dart gun; blowpipe; mines; electro stunner; gas capsules; gas injectors and radio-controlled explosives. When Hunt takes off on a shooting spree you may well - if you have been spoiled by the crispness and accuracy shown in GoldenEye - feel disappointed with the results. But shooting is not the main focal point of the game so for me it's not that important. Controlling your character and getting around the game in general is relatively intuitive. Your mission objectives are clear and concise and finding people (sometimes you will have to liaise with other IMF agents), items and locations is helped no end by the inclusion of the on-screen field scanner. The gameplay is original and some - though sadly not all - of the missions are excellent. This is one of the most enjoyable games on the N64 and if you have a Nintendo console you should certainly have this.
Graphics: 88% Gameplay:
Top 10 sellers
This week's 10 top-selling Sony PlayStation games at Virgin Megastore are:
1) Tekken 3 - £44.99
2) Fluid - £29.99
3) Colin McRae Rally - > £44.99
4) Grand Turismo - £44.99
5) World Cup 98 - £29.99
6) Premier Manager - £44.99
7) Grand Theft Auto - £34.99
8) Point Blank - £39.99
9) Resident Evil 2 - £39.99
10) WWF Warzone - £39.99