Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Video Games

Average Rating:

Basically it depends what kind of game you like more. I would definetely recommend getting both Splinter Cell and MGS substance.

If you're considering purchasing SC then you've doubtlessly already read about how fantastic the graphics and sound are. Believe the hype. The music and sound effects are wonderfully immersive and create the sort of tense atmosphere this game needs. The lighting engine is nothing short of revolutionary. There are some clipping issues (dead bodies can poke through walls) but it is difficult to pick on the game for this considering how much power must be devoted to the best real time light and shadows ever in a game.

The gameplay in SC is excellent. The conrtrols and camera are intuitive and easy to use. Fisher can perform an extensive variety of physical actions to interact with his environment. Sometimes it is difficult to get him to do exactly what you want because there are so many options available and so many objects to interact with but practice and experience will solve most of these problems.

It is important to be clear that SC is not a shooter in the classic sense. Certianly, you will encounter some scenarios in which the only real course of action is a full blown fire fight with automatic wepaons, but they are rare. Ubi Soft did a fantastic job of conveying how chaotic and disjointed such combat must feel. Fisher's aim worsens drmatically if you try to move and shoot at the same time and both you and your opponents will miss a lot. In addition, everyone is realistically fragile - it only takes a few rounds to put someone down and head shots will always kill. But SC is really a stealth game. The point is to sneak through a dense thicket of security without being caught. The game's finest moments are found while you wait in the shadows, timing the complex patterns of a group of guards, waiting for the exact second to move to the next pool of shadows. Or when you sit in the darkness, mere feet from a pair of guards with machine guns as they stalk by, your heart stuck in your throat as you wait to see if they discover you. Depending on the way you choose to approach the game, you might kill every guard you come across or kill virtually no one. It is almost like there are two games in SC. You can play through as a cold machine, dropping every guard you come across, or you can take the self-imposed challenge and try to minimize the body count and the game will never really punish you for choosing one over the other.

Overall the level design and widely ranging methods of attack give SC a great deal of replay value. There are only nine levels, but each one takes several hours to complete and expansion levels will be available through Xbox Live or the Official Xbox Magazine game disks soon. The path through the levels may be a bit too linear. There is often really only way to travel from the start of a level to the end. The designers did this intentionally to keep the levels from being confusing, but it would have been a better simulation if it included such uncertainty. You can only save your game at certain check points in a given level and this is a good thing. It keeps the tension higher than it would have been if you could save your game anywhere.

The final point to touch on is the game AI. Overall, it is quite good, especially on a room to room basis. Enemies react realisitcally to your discovery and will investigate any sounds you may make. However, the game AI does have its faults. First it is possible to do things like shoot out a camera and then simply wait out a guard's investigation. If you stay hidden, eventually the guard will just figure it broke or something and forget about it rather than raising an alarm. It is also odd how you can stalk into a building, leaving in your wake nothing but broken lights and carefully hidden bodies, and no one on the radio network operated by the security notices the growing silence. It is also odd nobody ever notices a camera going offline when you shoot it, but the moment a camera sees you, all hell breaks loose. In the sequel Ubi Soft should try to address this, perhaps by upping the overall state of alarm every time a camera or radio equipped guard goes off the air.

In the end, SC is a game that anyone who finds the idea of slowly sneaking through shadowy compunds while dodging cameras, security guards, and dogs appealing should flat out purchase. You won't be disappointed. If you are unsure whether or not you would enjoy a video game where the tension and excitement come from the portions of the game that aren't action driven, then you should definitely rent first.

You play Sam Fisher, a Third Echelon operative, sent on several missions to accomplish undercover missions to save the world. You must complete some missions without any weapons, and others with some James Bond type gadgets.

I haven't finished the game yet, but I'm right at the end. It has an interesting storyline, without getting into too much detail or long cut scenes.

PROS:
* Great graphics. The dark atmosphere of shadows and shade make for an interesting game.

* Great Sound. The voice work and sound effects are done correctly and add to the excitment of the game.

* Good Controls. I never read the instructions, and I was able to quickly work out the controls. The very first mission is designed to train you as a "new agent" on the controls.

* Exciting Missions. The missions are constructed to force you to use your stealth skills to complete the mission. Some missions you are not allowed to kill anyone.

CONS:

* Downloadable Missions. They claim that you will be able to download additional missions in FEB. 2003 if you have XBox Live. I want to see those extra missions on a disk.

* Some of the graphics are weaker than others. The cut scene videos show people with only three fingers and a thumb. The two middle fingers are somehow glued together to form a single large finger. Sometimes, when you lay a knocked out guard down next to a wall, when you go to the other side of the wall you can see his head or arm sticking out of the wall. These are both minor items.

* Somethings the missions can be long, without a full explaination of how to complete each stage of the mission. I found my self having to try a few different things to determine what I was supposed to do to finish the mission.