After attracting a cult following in the US and collecting an armful of awards, Alias steps nimbly onto the PS2 with a stealth-action game featuring original story and script from the show's writers. Centring on the exploits of plucky teen Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) - college student by day, CIA über-spy by night - Alias is a sort of female version of James Bond, only with better wigs. We should also mention at this point that Sydney is actually a double-agent, working from the inside of the 'SD-6' division to bring down rogue operatives responsible for the assassination of her fiancé. Complicated stuff, we're sure you'll agree, but it'll all start to make sense once you get stuck in. Honest.

Taking up the controls as Intel-gathering agent with a grudge Sydney, you'll be assigned various missions which place emphasis on stealth rather than scrapping, and involve gadgetry and disguises galore. Never fear though, it wouldn't be Alias if there weren't any opportunities for high-kicking, karate-chopping combat situations to show-off your 'expert martial arts' moves in. Engage in hand-to-hand combat with multiple opponents, execute perfect roundhouses in the face of dodgy CIA operatives, and make use of everyday objects as weapons.

Comparisons with Splinter Cell and MGS will inevitably be drawn, but Alias' stealth-action mix has a unique 'split-screen camera' feature which distinguishes it slightly from the ever-burgeoning genre's pack. When Sydney is exploring her surroundings and attempting to locate her target (usually a vital piece of intelligence, such as a disk), the screen splits in two, with one side following Sidney, and the other providing a handy peek behind any upcoming obstacles. She also spends much of her time engaging in espionage, disguising herself as waitresses and wotnot to access top-level intel, and convincing goons to spill top-secret info to her. So, whilst there is plenty of action to keep attention deficit disorder sufferers pressing on, the emphasis is on keeping things low-key and using your nous to get through levels.