Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

GRAPHICS
Splinter Cell is widely regarded as one of the few games to fully leverage the superior graphics rendering engine of the XBox because the visuals and level of detail are astounding. UBI Soft invested a great deal of time in the little things such as lighting and the movement drapery and it shows. The only minor flaw is an occasional "clipping" glitch, where the heads of bodies you are tucking into corners will appear to go through walls. Other than that, this game is beautiful.

SOUND
The soundtrack for this game is impressive. Music plays softly and in the background when you are stealthy, fast paced and loud when you are on the run. Additionally, the character voices are well cast, including Michael Ironside (of Total Recall and Starship Troopers fame) as Sam Fisher, the protagonist. Sound is a critical part of this game, as it is one of the ways in which you can be detected, and here again UBI Soft does not disappoint. Conversations vary in volume according to distance, floorboards creek, and Sam grunts and breathes like a real person when performing the physically taxing tasks.

GAMEPLAY
Gameplay is incredible. Sam is capable of performing numerous moves, all of which are very intuitive to execute. Your movement is carefully controlled by the amount of pressure you put on the thumbstick; a little bit and you tiptoe quietly through the darkness, a lot and you're running from trouble. Advanced moves include dropping down on bad guys, a split jump (where Sam dues the splits between two walls), and interrogation/human shield, where you can sneak up unsuspecting bad guys and grab them from behind. Sam is also equipped with numerous fun gadgets, including cameras that you can shoot ahead of you to scout out trouble. The plot is engaging and the path to follow is pretty straightforward, a relief for me from the endless and mindless running around in circles I did when playing Jedi Outcast trying to figure out what the heck to do next. The best part of the game, however, is clearly the mental component. Much like games like Thief, stealth is the key; rather than blasting your way through levels, you will find that you spend a great deal of time devising - and executing - clever ways to distract or get past your adversaries when you are clearly outnumbered, using everything from the items in your inventory to your environment. Saving is checkpoint based, so if you die mid-level you have to restart from your last checkpoint.

REPLAYABILITY
Replayability is not this game's strong point. Although there are two difficulty levels and there are multiple solutions to the same areas in the game, the plot - and how to get through obstacles - remains the same. New levels can be downloaded if you have XBox Live.

Overall, every gamer should experience Splinter Cell. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.


A most excellent stealth game   January 30, 2003
David Nakamura (San Diego, California United States)
11 out of 14 found this review helpful

I love stealth games and I love Splinter cell. It has excellent graphics (by far the best lighting I have ever seen and also I love the way cloth and soft materials react to touch), awesome ambient sounds (especially when you are using Dolby Surround), and solid voice acting (...cept for the chinese soldiers).
Is it better than Metal Gear Solid 2? Well...it depends. It depends on the kind of game you want to play. For a more realistic military experience go for Splinter Cell. If you want a game with a strong story then go for MGS.
Not specific enough for you? ok. Well, I'll compare and contrast MGS and SC.
MGS and SC has: Stealth elements, cool fighting moves, lots of interactivity (with environment, etc)
SC has: Revolves around stealth ALOT more than MGS does, alot more thinking involved, prettier environment graphics, a definite military feel.
MGS has: Usually more action than stealth, stronger character development, stronger story, more weapons.

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


Splinter Cell - The best game for the Xbox this year.   October 18, 2002
10 out of 18 found this review helpful

Hands down. It's no contest. Seriously, there isn't another game like it on the Xbox, on the PS2, on the PC (until Splinter releases on that a couple months afterward).

What sets this game apart is its revolutionary use of shadows. You hide in them and try to avoid enemies (but you can take them out if you absolutely need to). The main character, Sam Fisher, can do all these neat moves, like rappel down walls and use night and heat vision goggles. Just check out the screenshots and the moves, and you'll see. There is no contest. THIS IS THE GAME TO HAVE!


This is The greatest game ever created!   November 19, 2002
10 out of 12 found this review helpful

Ive played the demos, read the reviews, seen the screenshots, none of it matters. This game is just plain cool, but its not the coolness, its just the presence of voilently realistic goodness. I mean, anything youve seen in a Jet Li mvie you can do here, do the splits between two close walls and watch your unaware prey walk underneath you, drop, hold a gun to his head, and pull the trigger. Throw a mini cam past a nearby wall and turn it on, watch him, how he moves, you can actually do this. The gadgets, the sticky cams, wall mines,hacking into computers, diversion mines, heat vision, night vision, anything you can think of. The diversion cams make distracting sounds, so the bad guy walks over, suspicious. When he gets close enough, you can manually make the device gas him!
The graphics are awesome, you can actually see a moth's shadow from a nearby light on your face. Shoot people without them even seeing you. You dont want to get cuaght at all, shoot the lights out in the room then turn your night vision on and shoot your prey as he fumbles for the light switch. Definetely a 10 out 0f 10 game. Ive already pre-ordered it on this site, I suggest you do the same!


an avid xbox gamer   November 14, 2002
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

I just played this game and it was AMAZING! Hands down the best Xbox game, or video game i have played. I was thinking of getting Metal Gear Solid but wheni played this there was no doubt i was reserving this puppy.
The first thing i noticed wre the graphics. Everything looked beautiful but i have yet to test it on my 55 inch TV. The physics are also amazing. The curtains that you walk through are very cool. There is also a variety of things you can do like take a civilian hostage with a gun to his head and interrogate him, use him as a human shield, you can jump up and climb, shoot from while hanging from, and crawl on , pipes. The stealth aspect of this game is very hard. You have to dispose of the bodies of your vicims and if too many alarms go off, mission failed. The gadgets also are so cool. There are things like an optics camera that lets you see under doors, night vision, thermal vision, disposible lock pics, diversion cameras, and much much more. Thge cas and things you can pick up and throw make good guard distractions for when they go over and investigate it.

Pros:
Amazing game play
Great Graphics
Cool Physics
Anything else i havent mentioned

Cons:
More weapons please