Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Mission: Impossible – Operation Surma places you directly in the shoes of Ethan Hunt, tasking you with dismantling the nefarious Surma Corporation’s plans for world domination. From the opening sequence, the game emphasizes stealth and strategy over raw firepower—every move you make must be calculated. Whether you’re jamming security camera signals, using futuristic IMF gadgets, or relying on classic spy impulses, the core loop remains satisfying and varied throughout.

Each level introduces new tools and challenges, encouraging a mix of approaches. You might bypass a laser grid by hacking a control panel, then swap disguises to slip past guards in a high-security corridor. For players who enjoy improvisation, Operation Surma delivers plenty of customizability: improvise a distraction with an electronic scrambler or go in guns blazing with a silenced pistol if stealth fails. The game rewards experimentation, often giving alternate pathways or secrets for the resourceful agent.

Enemy AI in Operation Surma keeps you on your toes. Guards communicate with each other, call for reinforcements, and react dynamically to your actions. If you’re caught in an open firefight, backup forces arrive quickly, turning a small skirmish into an intense firefight. This dynamic ensures that each infiltration feels urgent, and it forces you to plan escape routes or fallback positions in case things go south.

Boss encounters and timed missions punctuate the standard infiltration missions, breaking up the stealth gameplay with fast-paced, high-stakes sequences. Whether you’re defusing a bomb under time pressure or tailing a Surma operative through busy city streets, these segments keep the pacing tight and prevent the experience from feeling repetitive. Overall, the gameplay strikes a good balance between strategy, action, and suspense.

Graphics

Operation Surma was released on multiple consoles, and it shows in the visual design. While it doesn’t push next-gen boundaries, the environments are richly detailed and varied. From the icy corridors of Surma research labs to the opulent ballrooms of foreign embassies, each location has its own color palette and architectural flair. The lighting engine does a solid job of creating moody shadows, essential for a game that revolves around sneaking in the dark.

Character models of Ethan Hunt and key NPCs capture their likenesses reasonably well, with smooth animations during hand-to-hand combat and parkour moves. You’ll notice occasional clipping or texture pop-in on older hardware, but these minor hiccups rarely break immersion. The gadgets themselves are rendered with eye-catching detail—your signal jammers emit flickering holographic readouts, and your night-vision goggles overlay the screen with a convincing green tint.

Cutscenes are fully voiced and feature motion-captured performances that add cinematic flair. While some facial animations can appear stiff, the overall presentation evokes the pulse-pounding tension of the Mission: Impossible films. Background details, such as flickering computer monitors, patrolling drones, and interactive consoles, help bring the world to life and reinforce the high-tech espionage atmosphere.

Environmental effects—rain-slicked streets, drifting snow, or flickering neon signs—add to the mood without overstaying their welcome. Occasional screen-space reflections and particle effects enhance immersion during firefights or explosion-heavy sequences. For a game that prioritizes stealth, the graphics strike a fine balance between style and functionality, ensuring you can see both dark corners and active laser grids clearly.

Story

The narrative of Operation Surma follows a classic Mission: Impossible arc: a shadowy corporation with sinister ambitions, a race against time, and Ethan Hunt bravely taking on impossible odds. Though the premise isn’t groundbreaking, it’s delivered with enough twists and betrayals to keep players invested. Early briefing sequences set the stakes: Surma’s world domination scheme hinges on a deadly bioweapon stored in hidden vaults around the globe.

As you progress, the plot unfolds across multiple international locales—Moscow, Venice, the Swiss Alps—each new mission revealing another piece of Surma’s puzzle. Supporting characters, including your IMF handler and local informants, offer occasional banter and plot exposition. While dialogue can veer into cliche, the thriller pacing and undercover stakes maintain tension, culminating in a dramatic showdown at Surma’s Arctic research facility.

Story missions tie nicely into the gameplay, motivating your infiltration objectives and gadget usage. Scripted moments—such as infiltrating a gala in disguise or sabotaging a secure convoy—feel organically woven into the narrative rather than contrived. The game also offers brief flashback sequences to shed light on Ethan’s personal stakes, adding emotional weight to the final confrontation.

The ending delivers a satisfying payoff, with enough cliffhangers to hint at future installments. While hardcore fans of espionage fiction might spot familiar tropes, the storyline remains engaging enough for newcomers. Operation Surma delivers a spy thriller that complements its stealth gameplay, ensuring you stay invested from the first briefing to the last escape.

Overall Experience

Mission: Impossible – Operation Surma successfully captures the essence of cinematic spy work in an interactive format. Its core strengths lie in its varied gadget-driven gameplay, dynamic level design, and pulse-pounding moments of tension. Whether you prefer creeping through vents or orchestrating elaborate distractions, the game provides the tools for both silent takedowns and all-out action.

The pacing hits the sweet spot between methodical stealth and cinematic set pieces, ensuring the experience never feels slow or overly frantic. Each chapter introduces fresh challenges and environments, preventing the core formula from growing stale. Even on repeat playthroughs, you’ll discover new routes, secret caches, and alternative strategies to outwit Surma’s guards.

While the graphics and voice acting occasionally show their age, they don’t significantly detract from the experience. The immersive environments and gadget animations reinforce the spy theme, and the story—though familiar—provides enough intrigue to fuel your drive to the finale. The game strikes a solid balance between presentation and performance, making it accessible on a range of platforms.

For fans of stealth-action and the Mission: Impossible franchise, Operation Surma offers a compelling adventure packed with gadgets, disguises, and high-stakes missions. Newcomers to the genre will appreciate the intuitive controls and clear mission objectives, while veterans will enjoy experimenting with advanced strategies. Overall, it’s an engaging espionage thriller that stands the test of time and remains a worthy entry in the IMF’s gaming dossier.

Retro Replay Score

5/10