This article is about the 1998 video game. For other meanings, see Mission: Impossible.

Mission: Impossible is a video game released in 1998 for Nintendo 64 and later Playstation One. It is an adaptation of the first Mission: Impossible movie with Tom Cruise. Some of the levels in the game are not based on the movie like some being set at a Russian submarine base and the character of armsdealer Basil Prokosh.[1]
The game got mixed reviews after being released on Nintendo 64 and before its release on Playstation One.[2]
Gameplay[]
Mission: Impossible is a single-player action-adventure game loosely based on the 1996 film of the same name, where the player controls Ethan Hunt from a third-person perspective through 20 levels.[1] In each level, the player must complete a number of objectives that include collecting items, interacting with computers, setting explosives on targets, and neutralizing specific enemies. The game generally requires the player to exercise caution and restraint in carrying out these objectives. Outright use of violence is generally discouraged and it is easy to fail a level by accidentally shooting the wrong non-player character.[2]
Many levels can be completed in a nonlinear order and require players to use numerous high-tech gadgets.[3] For example, the Facemaker gadget disguises Hunt as another character, allowing the player to infiltrate restricted areas.[1] Other notable gadgets like night vision glasses, smoke generators, and a fingerprint scanner are also featured.[4] To neutralize enemies, the player can use a variety of weapons, including a silenced pistol, an Uzi submachine gun, a dartgun, an electroshock weapon, and a mini-rocket launcher.[4] Combat takes place in real-time and the player is free to set on a manual aiming mode that uses an over the shoulder perspective. When the player is in aiming mode, Hunt becomes translucent and a crosshair is visible on the screen, allowing the player to shoot in any direction.[5]
Three of the game's 20 levels are played in a special way. In one level, Hunt is attached to a cable and the player must help him go down while avoiding obstacles; in another level, the player assumes the role of a team member who must cover Hunt with a sniper rifle from a higher position; and in the last one, the player must control a cannon and destroy buildings while Hunt is on a gunboat.[5] Hunt has a certain amount of health which decreases when attacked by enemies. If Hunt's health is fully depleted, the player must restart the corresponding level from the beginning.[5] The game can be played in two difficulty modes: Possible (easy) and Impossible (hard). In the game's hard difficulty, Hunt is more vulnerable to enemy damage, enemies are more resilient, and there are more objectives to complete in each level.[6] The game supports the Nintendo 64 Rumble Pak.[7]
Plot[]
Jim Phelps, leader of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF), receives a message about a terrorist plot at an abandoned World War II submarine base in the 70th parallel north, where they plan to send missiles to a rival country. Phelps deploys IMF agents Ethan Hunt, John Clutter and Andrew Dowey to stop the terrorists' plans by infiltrating the base and destroying the submarine holding the missiles. While this is happening, Alexander Golystine, a worker at the Embassy of Russia in Prague, kidnaps IMF agent Candice Parker and steals one half of the CIA non-official cover (NOC) list, which holds the real and false names of all IMF agents. Although it is useless without the other half, the embassy possesses a powerful super-computer that may be capable of breaking the code to open the document. When IMF agent Robert Barnes goes missing after an attempted rescue mission, Phelps sends in Hunt to find and assemble the NOC list, rescue Candice Parker, and discover the fate of Barnes. After making his way through an underground warehouse and the KGB headquarters, Hunt finds Barnes dead in an office and saves Parker. Together, they recover the NOC list and escape using the cover of a fake fire.
Because the CIA suspects someone helped Hunt in Prague, he is taken to interrogation at the CIA headquarters in Langley, where he is accused of being a mole for a killer known as Max. With the help of Parker, Hunt escapes his captors and reaches the rooftop of the building. From there, he gains access to the IMF mainframe and steals the second half of the NOC list before escaping by helicopter. Hunt meets with the secretive Max in London Waterloo station, but she steals the NOC list and leaves her henchmen to execute him before boarding a train. With Parker's support and two former CIA agents, Hunt infiltrates the train and successfully kills Max, taking back the NOC list. As he makes his way to the cargo area, he discovers that Phelps is the real mole. Hunt chases him onto the roof of the train and kills him, destroying his helicopter as he tries to escape. Afterwards, he returns to the CIA headquarters, where he is cleared of all suspicion. Now, as the IMF team leader, Hunt is informed that the terrorist group from the game's first mission has gone active again. With the help of Clutter and Dowey, Hunt stops their plans by destroying their base entirely. He then meets Parker on top of a submarine before escaping.