For those unfamiliar with the TV show, the main character is Sydney Bristow, a young, female agent working for the CIA. Various people aid her in this, including her father Jack Bristow, her handler Michael Vaughn, tech Marshall Flinkman, and fellow agent Marcus Dixon. All are present in the game, along with her main adversary Arvin Sloane. The story deals with the search for one of Sloane's allies, Anna Espinosa, and the hunt for a Rambaldi artifact. In terms of the TV show, the story is based near the end of the second series, and luckily carries no spoilers regarding the overall Alias story.

As with a lot of the game the story and script have been provided by the same people who make the TV show. This authenticity and synergy between the show and the game is one of the main features in Alias, and greatly increases the enjoyment players will get. Unfortunately for gamers unfamiliar with the TV show there is little in the way of introduction to the characters and story. To accompany the scripting all the main characters from the show provide both their likenesses and voices, resulting in a game that looks and plays like the real thing. Most enjoyable is the rambling tech Marshall, who is present in the game complete with his usual quirky dialogue.

Players take control of Sydney as the main character, and doing so is fairly easy to pick up with a couple of buttons for attacks, one for blocks and another for situation-specific moves like climbing ladders or opening doors. As with the gadgets the game displays where these specific moves can be performed. In addition there is a stealth toggle button that allows Sydney to creep rather than run normally, and to hide against walls. Sydney has been modeled very well, down to the little nuances that make her recognizable, and all her moves look quite realistic.

As in the TV show Sydney carries all sort of gadgets around for use on the missions. There is a good range of these, some equipped only for one mission while others, like the lock-pick or spy camera, are equipped on each mission. Each of the gadgets is provided by the tech Marshall, and each has his own quirky explanation on using them. Access to these is fairly easy, done through the d-pad. However gadgets can only be used in certain situations. Only certain locks can be picked, for instance. Knowing when to use a gadget is fairly easy as a gadget icon flashes on the screen when it is possible to use one. The only thing the player needs to think about is which gadget to use.

To aid with keeping a low profile Sydney has a couple of visors to equip, one with thermal imaging and the other with enhanced vision. The thermal imaging allows Sydney to clearly see any guards within her line of site, as well as clearly showing where the shadows begin and end. The enhanced vision allows Sydney clear sight in the many dark areas of the game. In addition and enemies are clearly shown by arrow locaters, even if they are not in Sydney's line of vision, allowing players to hide in one spot and track the movements and patterns of the guards in the area.

Alias is played as a series of missions, each set in different environments and locales around the world. All of the areas are quite large, with a lot to explore. Unfortunately the level design is quite linear, with Sydney having to follow the instructions of the other characters through her earpiece. This, combined with a map that shows the location of all things relevant to the current mission, dumbs down the experience for the player and allows for little creativity. We realise that this is how the TV show is as well, but providing an option to turn off the instructions from the earpiece or to simplify the map would have been appreciated. What the player does have control over are the specific actions of Sydney, and how each level is played. This is generally a choice between stealth and action.

Despite being a little jaded with the stealth concept after so many games have incorporated that into their games we were left wanting more stealth and less action in Alias. Part of the reason for this is the enjoyment we got from sneaking past a group of guards and security cameras. Even more fun is to go through the level performing stealth kills on the guards, taking them out one by one without raising an alarm. However while Alias does have the potential to be a great stealth game it fails to be so, not penalising players for not staying hidden. Unlike games like the Splinter Cell series there is no consequence for breaking cover, apart from having to fight the guards in the current area.

The other part of the reason that we wanted more stealth is the disappointing action sequences that result once the stealth fails. When Sydney is discovered there is generally no alternative but to stand and fight, often against three or four others. Fighting itself is fairly easy, with two buttons to control soft or hard attacks. The actual move could be a number of things, ranging from kicks and punches to grabs or knockdowns. Each of these actions has been motion-captured and look very lifelike and believable, but the player does not control the actual type of action performed. Unfortunately the fighting does regress into simple button mashing. The timing of attacks or the type of attack used does not generally matter.

Often the guards that Sydney encounters are armed with semi-automatic weapons, which ludicrously do not harm Sydney that much. Whether she is wearing some heavy armour or not is never explained, but even in the skimpiest outfit it will take a dozen or more shots at close range to kill her. This can lead to some highly unrealistic fights where Sydney is surrounded by three or four guards all armed and firing at her. Good players will be able to beat the gunmen with just bare hands fighting. That's not to say that Sydney can't use weapons herself. Any weapon can be picked up and used, as well as other items such as brooms or cleavers that can be found throughout the game. What Alias does do well is to have these weapons degrade. Firearms have a very limited amount of ammo before needing to be discarded, while an item like a broom can only take so much damage before first losing its head and then breaking completely.

An extra difficulty setting, where Sydney couldn't raise and alarm or be seen at all would have been perfect for Alias, allowing those that reveled in the stealth to concentrate on that, as well as increasing the replayability of the game. In fact any extra difficulty settings would have been welcome as there is just the one relatively easy setting, and no bonuses upon completing the game. A license like Alias would surely allow for all sorts of bonuses to be included, or extra modes such as a coop mode with Dixon, another agent that Sydney often works with.