This latest Tom Clancy game has amazing graphics and some incredibly detailed body movements. It takes the spy game genre to an entirely new level!
I'm a big spy-game fan in general, and we have all 3 major platforms, so I went into Splinter Cell curious about all the hype. It's gotten incredible ratings from several magazines. I have to say, after having played it, those ratings were well deserved.
First, the graphics. The amount of work that went into graphics on this game is just phenomonal. Your character goes through smoke and fire, through darkness and bright neon light, under shaded lattices, through light coming through venetian blinds, through hazy curtains, through punch-hole metalwork. It is just STUNNING. You really begin to believe that this is a movie and you're controlling the outcome.
The other senses aren't neglected. Sound is KEY and you are constantly aware of how much noise you're making while you're sneaking around. The speed at which you move, your crouching, your stance, all affect how well people notice you. Unlike other games which blast you with rock music, in this one you're so attuned that you hear the little movements of your own feet as you creep, or the movements of guards walking down the hallway.
The animation on the character is fantastic. Press up against a wall. Climb a fence and roll over the top. Slide down a wire. Go hand-over-hand across a pipe, and pull up your feet to get more traction. Slide down a ladder, jump up a wall and do a split to stay there, unseen. The way the character moves is just amazing. Some serious work was put into this effort, and it pays off.
The gameplay missions are logical and draw you along into the story. It's not exactly a ring-through-the-nose drag like other games. You are given objectives "Get object X which is in building Y" but you aren't handed a map to follow. Instead, you're put into real-world situations and have to figure out for yourself the best way to accomplish that goal. You could try a frontal assault, you could try the sneaky back way. It's up to you, and your success depends on your ability to think through a situation and then implement your path.
The game even encourages you not to be violent. It points out that your aim is stealth, and that you should try to stay unseen and sneak by whenever possible. In most missions you can get through without killing anyone, if you use your head.
Highly recommended for any first-person-shooter fan!
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While it lacks universal appeal, Splinter Cell (SC) is an outstanding game that provides an experience on the Xbox that no other game can. You take the role of Sam Fisher, an veteran special forces commando called out of retirement for a new, experimental intelligence initiative of the NSA. The storyline is classic Tom Clancy (as is Fisher, Clancy readers may wonder why they didn't just name the character Clark and be done with it). As far as simulating this type of experience goes, SC is remarkably well done but what will really determine if you like the game is whether or not the core concept appeals to you.
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.
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I agree with what the other reviews say. The graphics in this game, especially the lights and shadows, are breathtaking. The AI is really good, though still pretty fallible and exploitable once you learn their reactions. The missions are varied. One mission you're going around killing everyone in sight and dont have too much time for secrecy. The next, your not allowed to kill ANYBODY, and cant even be detected. This makes for extremely intense, varying gameplay.
The music works perfectly with the game's sounds. When lurking about in shadows you hear every noise around you and all those that you make. When you are detected or are in a fire fight, theres this awesome bass and drum stuff that goes right along with your mood and the action.
Overall, I see one problem with the game. The control style while shooting. AT all other times the controls are fine, but as soon as you draw your weapon the controls become sluggish and unresponsive. However, the overall effect of this is that you cannot run around shooting people because YOU WILL LOSE! Theres no James Bond or HALO type running in and shooting up 8 guys. In this situation you will lose every time unless youre a god. The game forces you to be creative and seek other solutions. Distraction cams are my favorite. They make noises until the guards come close, then you can release poisonous gas to knock them out. Very fun.
Overall, great gameplay, graphics, audio, controls, etc. The only complaint isnt really a complaint because it really helps the game in the end. A must have for any gamer who likes to think things through before hand. Youll know when youre plan hasnt worked almost immediately, because youll be lying on the ground dead.
Honest reviews on Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell - Xbox
In a word, this game is awesome. I have never played Metal Gear Solid (or its sequels), but my buddies with PS2 machines tell me it doesn't compare to Splinter Cell. Ubi Soft has really pushed the power of the Xbox with this game. The vertex shading and other lighting effects make this game look not only beautiful but realistic. The gameplay is also stellar and this is a must buy for those who like intense single-player experiences. There is but one drawbacksee below.
Gameplay: 9.7
Simply the best overall game for the Xbox since Halo. The stealth involved in completing your missions, the myriad moves you can execute, the challenging aspect of not having ammo and health around every corner... all of these things and more provide outstanding gameplay. The camera is sharp and easy to manipulate and the AI is good enough to present a very good challenge on most of the missions. There is but 1 real drawback: It is only 3rd person. I would have preferred to be able to switch between 1st and 3rd. Also, if I wanted to nitpick, then I would complain about the pistol you have to carry throughout the first few missions.
Overall: 9.7
Combine the graphics, gameplay, and intensity and you have a winner. The few nitpicky drawbacks to this game cannot lower its value. The replay value is also sky-high thanks to many in-depth and challenging missions. Would a 1st person toggle been great? Sure. Would multiplayer, at least co-op, have been great? Certainly. How about a storyline that does not revolve around the former Soviet Union? Absolutely. Still not enough to detract from one of the best video games to date.
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Canadian software developer and publisher Ubisoft has outdone themselves in this, their latest colaborative outing with author Tom Clancy. While not perfect, Splinter Cell sets the new standard for immersive game environments and lighting effects. The models and texture maps are astoundingly detailed, and the level designers really went out of their way to think of everything and include it in a most believable way. I would definately have to consider this game a must-have for xbox, if only because of the benchmark it represents, although there is much more to appreciate here than just visuals. The ambiant music and FX audio fits so well with the overall feel of the game that you may not even notice it's presence, just experience it as a natural extension of what is being presented on the screen.
The story line is interesting and believeable (you can read the synopsis elsewhere), and the cutscenes are quite well done, if a bit redundant. The dialogue is extremely well acted by Michael Ironside (our hero Sam Fischer) and company. The extra materials, including some "making of" videos, and an interview with our animated protagonist were a nice touch.
Controllability is mostly adequate as well. I'm usually a PC guy with FPS type games, but this game handles very well with the console controls. Some of the acrobatic maneuvers that are used in the game are a bit temperamental, always at the most inconvenient times, and I really think the Ubisoft game testers may have been a bit too concerned with the graphics to concentrate adequately on some of the playability issues that come up.
It's the playability issues alone that keep me from giving this game a 5 star rating. A few "quirky" issues here and there add up to several instances in the game where you are forced to replay sections ad-nauseum before you can commit all of the AI patterns and reaction sequences adequately to memory before being able to proceed to the next section, and sometimes success seems to come by blind luck. Also, there are a few aspects of gameplay that simply do not add up, or function spurradically to the point of being just too frustrating. Ubisoft made some real transparent programming and level-design decisions to make sure players are made aware that this is NOT A SHOOTER. Examples would include; a very limited supply of ammunition and pick-ups, the main character's inability to live through more that a few confrontations, and his atrocious markmanship. OK, Ubi, I understand that this isn't Halflife, but why not let me play the game how I choose? The storyline is essentially 100% linear as it is, why limit it even further? Also of note to some players there are reportedly no cheats codes whatsoever programmed into Splinter Cell. I will admit that some of the frustration I experienced in playing made me go surfing for ways to bypass certain parts.
I may be being a little too harsh on the cons here, but it's probably because all the other elements are so well done that these imperfections stand out all the more. With a little extra massaging and tweaking, we could have seen a perfect execution (no pun intended), but we are still left with what is certainly one of the best titles out there for Xbox to date. A very good choice for your next purchase.
