Fans of the show should definitely pick up 24: The Game. It's solid, fun and faithful to the license.
For those who don't know about the show, 24 is a serial drama series. It's an action-based show, in which government agent Jack Bauer (played to perfection by Kiefer Sutherland) fights terrorist plots. He has to save lives, including his own, his family's, and even the president of the United States. He has help along the way from counterterrorist agency CTU, and several other agents fight in the field with him. Occasionally, though, Bauer has to go outside of CTU authority, sometimes getting himself in deep trouble with both sides of the law.
The gimmick of 24 is that each season is 24 one-hour episodes, and the episodes take place in "real-time", with each hour being one hour, and each season being one day of time in the 24 universe. Each episode begins by reminding the viewer what time it is (The following takes place between 3 PM and 4 PM). Before and after each commercial break, a clock on the screen again reminds the viewer what time it is, and occasionally before big events in the show, that clock will pop up again to once again remind the viewer.
The combination of the action, compelling characters, great concept and gripping suspense makes 24 one of the best shows out there. Most of the episodes end in cliffhangers, and even several seasons of the show ended in cliffhangers, leaving loose ends dangling. Some have last-minute shocking surprises to bring the season to a dramatic close. With such a popular action-packed show, it was only a matter of time before someone thought to turn it into a video game.
In 2006, when the show was at its height of popularity (and many fans argue, its height of quality as well), 2K Games released the PS2-exclusive 24: The Game. The Game mimicks the real-time style of the show, as well as the production values and action. Although, being a video game, 24: The Game is a lot heavier on action and has a lot less dialog than the show. It's also a great deal shorter. About 8 hours long.
I'm going to start with one of the most important aspects of 24: The Game. The storyline, which was actually written by one of the writers from the show. I'm not going to spoil any of the specifics of the storyline, but I will say it's very good. Almost good enough to be considered a lost season of the show. The story in 24: The Game takes place in between seasons 2 and 3 of the show, and so The Game is much more enjoyable if you've seen those seasons. A lot of the characters from both seasons are included here (as well as several interesting new characters), and many of the characters who appeared for the first time in Season 3 are given additional backstory here. Unfortunately, this game doesn't really flesh out the characters as much as the show does. But the story is still fantastic, one of my favorite stories for an action game on the PS2.
The presentation is also very good. The graphics are solid for a 2006 PS2 game, but more importantly, the presentation of the show is recreated perfectly here. If you're a fan of the show, you'll definitely appreciate the cutscenes. But even if you aren't, you'll probably like the unique style, which I haven't seen too much in video games. The sound is also great. The music is a highlight, done by the same composer from the show (the fantastic Sean Callery). Most of the sound effects are lifted directly from the show. The voice acting is done by all of the real actors from the show and it's great as well. The presentation overall is one of this game's greatest strengths.
Now, onto the most important aspect of any game. The gameplay. 24 may not be the best action game out there, but it is solid. One thing that's great about it is the variety. Although no one singular aspect of the gameplay is stellar on its own, the variety makes up for it. The main gameplay is third-person shooting, and luckily it's the best aspect of the game. It's not the best third-person shooter I've ever played, but it's certainly solid. It has a few slight camera and auto-aim issues, but it generally plays pretty well, and killing enemies is pretty satisfying.
The third-person shooting missions have some good variety in themselves. For example, you have five different playable characters, which you alternate between at different stages of the game. The three main characters are Jack Bauer, Tony Almeida and Chase Edmunds, but you'll also play a few missions as Michelle Dessler and Kim Bauer. They each play roughly identically. The funny thing is, the game insists that the Kim Bauer mission is supposed to be stealthy. Because of a "lack of combat experience", Kim's not supposed to be able to shoot a gun. But if you pick up a gun as Kim, she can shoot just as well as the other characters, and there's no penalty whatsoever for breaking the stealth rule.
There are also boss fights. Some against helicopters, others against well-armored people. They can take inhuman amounts of bullets before dying. They're pretty challenging, but they aren't the best or most creative boss fights out there.
There are also sniper missions. Although there are only a few of them, they're really good. Then there are the driving missions. Most reviewers hated the driving missions, but I don't think they were that bad. The mechanics are very basic, and the physics are exaggerated, but that said, they're pretty fun. The AI during these missions is brutal though. You have two enemy cars chasing after you at a time. These enemy cars are just, nuts. Imagine if you take a guy who's mentally unstable, with serious rage issues, put him on drugs and then shoot his dog right in front of him. Then get into your car and start driving, and have him chase after you. That's what the AI is like. Now, imagine two of those guys at the same time. That's what you get here.
Luckily, the driving missions aren't too hard, and I find the extreme suicidal nature of the enemy cars to be quite amusing. Then, there are the interrogation missions. The gameplay is pretty basic, just press the right button at the right time to trigger the right emotional reaction from your detainee. But the dialog in these interrogation scenes is really what makes them great.
Right before the end of the game, you're introduced to another gameplay type, the rail mission. There's only one. You're in a helicopter, shooting a mounted machine gun at a large yacht, killing the enemies on board. It's really fun, and I wish there were more missions like that in here. The rest of the gameplay is the minigames. Unfortunately, they're very simplistic and not very challenging. But I still kinda liked them for what they were. They add a bit more variety to the game. All in all, 24: The Game has a lot of variety, and each individual part is fun enough to be satisfying while it lasts.
In the end, 24: The Game is a good game in my opinion. Most licensed games are quick and dirty cash-ins, but you can tell some real effort was made by the developers here. The presentation is very true to the show, the story feels like a lost season of the show, and the gameplay is not without its problems but it's more than solid enough to be a satisfying experience. In the end, fans of the show should definitely pick up 24: The Game. As for action game fans that aren't fans of the show, I'd cautiously recommend it. Even though it's a solid game, its main appeal is definitely to fans of the show.