Marking Sony Online Entertainment’s first entry in the social action game via Facebook, The Agency: Covert Ops launched yesterday. Not just another ‘Mafia Wars’ type shoot’em up, The Agency: Covert Ops promises to bring the world of an elite agent in the world of jet-setting super spies and shady operatives to your Facebook account.

If The Agency rings a bell, you’ll remember that we first covered development efforts and the free-to-play tie-in back in November of 2008. Utilizing an established, successful trend, SOE has gone the route of Facebook social game teaser for the much bigger product: The Agency for PS3 and PC platforms.

Developed by SOE’s Tucson studio, The Agency: Covert Ops pits players in pulse pounding missions, mini-games, and naturally avatar customizations, all the while unraveling the deep storyline surrounding The Agency franchise. SOE is also taking cues from current social games, offering the option to recruit friends to join you in group missions, ultimately aiding not only your progress in the game, but the spread of the title as well.

The Agency: Covert Ops highlights:

• Pulse-Pounding Missions: Travel the globe as a jet-setting agent taking down rivals and building your network of operatives. Encounter a new breed of super villains and their murderous henchmen in various missions giving you access to new gadgets, weapons and the most desirable intel.
• Killer Mini-games: Agents need to master safe-cracking, bomb defusing, code breaking, evidence gathering and even rooftop parkour. Covert Ops has action and puzzle mini-games that put your spy skills to the test and push you to the limits of your intellect.
• You Are What You Wear: Will you be a sexy super spy or a rugged mercenary? The choice is yours in Covert Ops. Pick from five class-based abilities, each with its own special advantage when battling enemy forces in combat. Customize your avatar with the latest in designer fashion, or deck yourself out in cutting edge industrial battle gear. Choose from hundreds of items and collect attire and aliases to access numerous locales and gain influence over the people within them.
• Pimp Your HQ: Build an Agency headquarters that your friends will envy! Make a statement by personalizing your HQ with a wide array of designer furniture, sleek electronics, and the latest security devices. Show off your trophies from deadly assignments in distant lands and visit your friend’s headquarters for ideas—you’ll get bonus items just for dropping in, too.
• The Black Market: Elite agents are only as good as their gadgets and weapons. Whatever the mission, the Black Market has what you need to get the job done. Browse collections of high-tech weapons, surveillance equipment, and home decor. Whether you’re paying with wealth won from missions or purchased with cold, hard Station Cash™, we have what you need to care of business like a pro. Some of the things in here aren’t exactly legal… but when you’re above the law, it doesn’t matter!
• Your Network of Agents: Work alone or engage in group missions with your Facebook friends. Agents can also recruit the world’s most dangerous and eccentric operatives, creating a top notch Agency of world renown. Covert Ops even makes it easy to share your feats of stealth and style by posting your accomplishments or snapshots of your avatar on your Facebook wall.

“The Agency: Covert Ops is unlike other Facebook games out there right now due to its stylized look and feel along with its deep story line,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “It’s a great way for Facebook users to play a casual game with exciting missions, great mini-games and even the ability to share achievements with your Facebook friends. It’s the ultimate in spy-genre Facebook gaming.”