absorbing game but little in replayability
This is a good shooter on its own, overall.

There are some aspects of the game that really stood out even in this age and time. The graphics are awesome even on the PS2 hardware (although some serious slowdowns were encountered) and some of the missions are actually quite interesting (refinery mission and the asylum mission). Enemies also get thrown off railings and oil tanks spectacularly if you shoot off some explosive material near them. You are also given some pretty stylish weapons, which are obviously modified to fit in the theme of the game to blow up almost everything you could see. The sound is also great - you could hear different weapon sounds and you'd know the direction where you are getting shot at, for instance and the explosions are nothing short of deafening on a good sound system. Rounding off its good credentials would be its impressive presentation - this game screams style all around.

The game length is pretty short, however, you could finish it in one sitting of 6 hours if you picked up the ropes quickly enough. Also, there is little replayability value as you would have memorized where all the RPG guys are and where you could acquire hidden weapons by the second time you are playing. The game's movies are also dull.

Having said that, this is a game that every FPS fan should try at least once - forget about it after 6 months then bring it out to play again after that. This game is also in Japanese but I managed to finish it even with my limited control of the language.

A competent, but completely conventional shooter
As much as the game's box and promo sell it as a "highest levels of power, answer to noone, psychological warfare" type game, don't expect anything but a basic FPS. The 'blackmail' and 'intel' aspects of the game are actually nothing but picking up folders and blueprints or destroying safes and laptops.

As a shooter it's not bad--good graphics, high difficulty level, and it's fun to send people flying over railings. Just don't expect anything you haven't seen before. The storyline and cutscenes are pretty boring and unengaging. Again, the gameplay is there but the whole package feels pretty dated compared to other FPS offerings out there.