Mission objectives vary from simple 'kill everything in sight' to the more stealthy theft of key items. Different missions will allow you to involve more of the team and to use each team member's special skills. These skills can be added to at the end of a mission, provided enough experience has been accumulated.

Shadow Watch looks extremely stylish. Although very influenced by the anime scene in appearance, the whole design is very well done. The interface is clean and as the actions available to your characters are mostly just 'move' and 'shoot', the whole thing is very easy to pick up.

Sadly, everything goes wrong with the mission side of things. Apart from the missions requiring that you don't set off an alarm, which actually require some thought, the others can all be completed by setting off the alarm, covering the entrance with your best snipers and shooting the bungling guards as they all inevitably close in on your position. Choose the right position and you'll be able to shoot everyone with little or no risk to your characters, which makes a mockery of the tactical elements of the game.

The campaign, although different every time, doesn't actually consist of many missions. The whole thing can be wrapped up in a matter of days, which is disappointing considering the initial promise. Options are available to play single random missions but the experience is sadly not long enough.

Overall, Shadow Watch showed much promise but is fatally flawed by some shaky AI and the short-lived nature of the campaign. More entertainment can be scraped from the single missions but not enough to justify buying the game.