Funtactix teams with Paramount on ‘Mission Impossible 4’

Game lets social-network surfers play as a Mission Impossible team member, and includes creating a virtual secret-agent character.

By TZAHI HOFFMAN/GLOBES
A SCREENSHOT of ‘Mission Impossible 4’ 311 (photo credit: Courtesy Funtactix)
A SCREENSHOT of ‘Mission Impossible 4’ 311
(photo credit: Courtesy Funtactix)
The Israeli computer game industry is receiving reinforcement from Funtactix, which is backed by Jerusalem Venture Partners’ media division. The company was chosen by Paramount Pictures to create an official Facebook game to accompany the fourth movie in the Mission Impossible series, “The Ghost Protocol.”
The game lets social-network surfers play as a Mission Impossible team member, and includes creating a virtual secret-agent character, building a task force and retrieving confidential information through the use of 200 different tasks in 50 exotic locations around the world.
“Mission Impossible 4” was produced by Tom Cruise and directed by JJ Abrams, who also directed the “Lost” TV series. The Facebook game was created in conjunction with Abrams and Paramount personnel.
The creation of the computer game is part of a strategic cooperation agreement that Paramount and Funtactix signed a year ago, which stipulates that the Israeli company create computer games to accompany the studio’s movies.
“Mission Impossible 4” is the second movie for which Funtactix is creating a virtual game; the first was “Rango,” which starred Johnny Depp.
Funtactix CTO Yaron Leifenberg said, “The fact that an Israeli company is enabling millions of people around the world to play the Mission Impossible game is proof of the Israeli gaming industry’s immense potential. I believe that the industry is full of surprises.”