Product licensing is big business, especially for game development studios. Snagging a hot license like Dungeons & Dragons or Terminator guarantees an instant audience for a company's title. Tie-ins with current pop culture phenomenon often guarantee a measure of success, such as with the recent Spiderman games. The idea of licensing takes a giant leap back through time with the release of Piranha Games' Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza, based on the original Die Hard movie released nearly 14 years ago.

Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza puts you in the role of John McClane, the character played by Bruce Willis in the movie. As the title opens, McClane has just arrived in Los Angeles for a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza where his wife works. The Nakatomi Plaza is a huge, state-of-the-art skyscraper housing floor after floor of luxury offices. It also houses $640 million worth of negotiable bearer bonds in the office of its owner, Mr. Takagi. As John is cleaning up in a spare office bathroom, a terrorist group, led by the enigmatic Hans Gruber, strikes. John escapes before being taken hostage, and must now fight through the Nakatomi Plaza to reach his wife and stop the terrorists.

Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza sticks to the plotline of the original film fairly closely, often using the exact same lines of dialog. Reginald Del Johnson reprises his role as Officer Powell, and actors closely mimicking the tones of the movie voice the rest of the cast. In addition to the film's scenarios, Die Hard also features several original levels throughout the plaza building. The biggest change from the movie is instead of the original gang of eight or ten terrorists, they are now crawling in every nook and cranny of the building. Other changes include a visit from the LAPD SWAT team, and a trek through the city sewers beneath the Plaza.

The level design of Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza is taken directly from the movie when possible. Throughout your trek, you'll crawl through ventilation shafts aplenty, leap and bound over the hardwood desks of accountants and businessmen, and mow down cowardly terrorists hiding out in utility rooms and parking decks. The game provides variety whenever possible, varying from the oriental-flavored luxury offices near the top floor, to the still under-construction lower levels. Occasionally you backtrack through places you've already been, but for the most part, every time you step on an elevator or run up a stairwell you'll be greeted with something new.