Trade Video Games - Your On-Line Video Game Trading Post - ps2, xbox, gamecube, gameboy, windows pc, ps1

Very few games can be truly regarded as reasons to own a console. They are so few and far between, often racking up some highly unrealistic expectations for the games that do manage to grab the public’s attention and usually, never end up reaching the standard needed for a game to be regarded as a killer app. So far, the Xbox has had only a handful of titles that act as clear grounds to justify the shelling out for the machine. These are the games that gamers live for, the ones that manage to escape you out of reality and into the gaming world. Surely, the premise of games is just that, so something that accomplishes this task should be cherished, and then a shrine built to mark its position in gaming fame.

Splinter Cell, without a doubt can be classified as one of these games. For all the hype surrounding its graphical complexity, for all the hype built up around the suspense, tense gameplay Ubi Soft promised, the question that begs an answer is whether it lives up to its own self-generated tower of anticipation. It may look good, but if it doesn’t feel good, there isn’t a point. In fact, there was so much weight on this game for it to feel good, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to say that the future success of the Splinter Cell franchise, or the Tom Clancy series of games as whole were riding on how well this game was received.

Splinter Cell marks the creation of a whole new series of games in the Tom Clancy universe. Sam Fisher, an agent who has previously belonged to almost every major intelligence based service in the Western world is a Splinter Cell, a stealth anti-terrorist unit part of a secret organization known as the Third Echelon. Part of the NSA, this sub-section receives almost unlimited funding, making for some crafty gadgets and powerful tools at your disposal. As Sam Fisher you are given the Fifth Freedom. In the interests of your country you are allowed to use any means necessary to protect its interests. Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear – if it sounds American, you have to protect it. What this means is, you can kill without regard for the consequences, but get caught and the government pretends you never existed. Hence the reason why you can’t go running into buildings suited up with a swat team, thermal vision and an M16 liberally blowing America’s enemies to kingdom come – it’s stealth all the way.

In this near future landscape where terrorism is rife and thus are the forces to protect against it, there’s a war going on – a political war. This narrative acts as the perfect background to your missions, with the real events dictated by news briefings influencing your next course of action. After the initial training course where you’ll learn the ropes you’re sent straight into this evolving story and become the witness to its many twists and turns. Some are for the better, some for the worse. You begin uncovering the disappearance of two missing CIA agents in the republic of Georgia. Starting off small, you’re eventually summoned to carry out missions designed to prevent a large-scale war, a war that will make the minor casualties of terrorists on the way look like small change. It doesn’t need to be said then that the game, together with some stylish high production values sets the mood immediately from the loading screens, of which the loading times are very quick. You’re not a player of games; you are Sam Fisher, protector of your country.

Firstly, let’s get all of the predictable graphical babble done away with. The game is aesthetically spectacular, magnificent and astounding all rolled into one nuclear power plant of an adjective. It isn’t the interactive lightshow some feared it’d be, but something of the complete opposite nature. The technology used in the game is so blatantly ahead of its time most developers, particularly those working on games in the stealth genre, will have to spend the next year or so playing catch up. Yes, the game is based on next generation Unreal technology, and yes, that is one of the best engines in the world. However, if it weren’t for Ubi Soft throwing in all they had into the graphics mixer the game could have ended up looking like a tech demo that ate too many polygons for breakfast.

Thankfully, it hasn’t. Destructible lighting, bump mapping, reflection mapping, soft bodied surfaces, fluent model movement, detailed textures and a host of other effects that strain my knowledge of the Xbox hardware. The scale and detail of the varied environments are nothing short of incredible. It all looks that good, and that is without even mentioning the shadowing, which isn’t all too dissimilar to actual shadowing you see in real life – the realism is that intense. Particularly, the light-sourced sun and clouds moving in real time over the morning sky on one of the early levels or the entire horizon surrounding the oil rig are true testaments to the ease of which the game recreates global environments. Without dwindling too much on the graphics, it’s safe to say that the game is the most technically proficient Xbox game to date in terms of visuals and one of the very few titles on the market that can only be done properly on the Xbox.

Secondly, there’s the gameplay. From the start of the game, which you’ll be surprised to discover are actually the quieter levels, to the end, the game is a heavily engaging experience. Running around with Sam Fisher in a combination of indoor and outdoor environments, your heart stomping whenever anyone passes by, is something that can’t be beaten in any other game, at the very least to not this level of complexity. You can jump, you can run, you can crouch and you can fully interact with most of the environment around you. That last one seems a bit more interesting compared to the rest now doesn’t it?

On top of the usual foray of standard moves outlined above, you have the ability to do some other slightly more complex things. The split jump is one of the more popular abilities, allowing you to jump onto two parallel walls, legs hinged on either side where you can wait for your unsuspecting foe and then pounce on them when they walk below you. You can grab an overheard beam and edge yourself across, you can latch onto some overheard wire and slide down, you can shimmy down the side of a building and hop through a window, or if you prefer, smash the window and raid the office instead. If you’ve seen it in a movie, it’s most likely in Splinter Cell.

Of course if you’re a little more impatient there’s always the option of shooting the intelligent AI from where you are. On that note, the game does for the most part allow you to shoot your way through the majority of the levels. However, as a stealth game this task can’t be performed easily, and you’ll quickly learn that a quick trigger finger can lead to a quick death. In fact, some missions end the level for you as firing your gun can either trigger too many alarms or cause an "incident" which the NSA would rather avoid. Find a compromise between the two, and the game becomes a lot easier.

Your environment is more or less your canvas. You can pick up an object and throw it to distract a guard; you can walk through darkness with either night or thermal vision, both becoming available early on in the game. You even can grab a man from behind (in the platonic sense) and interrogate them, or if you prefer knock them out and that’s not even mentioning the gadgets which I won’t spoil for those still to play the game. Splinter Cell doesn’t restrict you in any way shape or form. If you think you can do it, you usually can. In terms of the governing gameplay mechanics, control and lighting are very important. Moving Sam slowly will create less sound, but will also leave you moving slower sometimes under pressure or a time limit. The darkness is your safety, leaving you near invisible but provides very little safety if you’re being chased by multiple guards with flashlights. It’s how you use your environment and when that counts.

The soundtrack also manages to remain a strongpoint of the game. Although the music and overall score is rather limited, expected in a game where sound itself is crucial, what is there adds to the powerful atmosphere extremely well. The howling of the wind, the footsteps of a guard and that strange sound Sam makes when using a health pack all sum up to create a very moody, dark ambiance; one perfectly fitting to a stealth game. When you’re discovered, the soundtrack speeds up. As the music starts to panic, so do you. When all turns quiet again, so does the music, and so do you with it. Its influence should not be underestimated.

So, does Splinter Cell have any problems? Well, yes. A few rumblings do make the game less than perfect. For one, the harder sections of the game can become tiresome. Splinter Cell is a challenge and can therefore become very difficult. It’s a game that requires a lot of thinking and concentration, but never turns impossible. The save points between the sections of each level can therefore become very annoying. You can be stuck at a particular point with very little health, or sometimes with a lot of health and remain stuck there as you trial and improve your way through the level to get to the end. This happens on the more difficult levels, or whenever you happen to be feeling a little less stealthy; either way, it’s frustrating when it happens. Other than that and some minor clipping problems with the character models the game is more or less flawless. All of this compiles to create the second best game on the Xbox, and if first person shooters aren’t your thing, then I suppose it is the best. If you have an Xbox, you must have this game. If you don’t have an Xbox, buy the game anyway – it’s that good.

AUTHOR: Ammar Altai
ORIGNIAL: http://www.gamerseurope.com/article.php?id=318

This review was provided by our Featured Partner Gamers Europe.
Visit Gamers Europe for more reviews, previews, editorials and more for all your favoite platforms.

[ more ] [ hide ]

GAME RATINGS

YOUR RATING:

AVERAGE RATING: 5.00

MOST RECENT REVIEW

There are no reviews for this game

		Questions, Comments, Suggestions? Visit our Official Support Forums


b e g <> b o r r o w © 2 0 0 2 - 2 0 0 3 B e g B o r r o w . c o m	g e n e r a t i o n 2 C o m m e n t s a n d S u g g e s t i o n s: s u p p o r t @ b e g b o r r o w . c o m T e r m s o f U s e A f f i l i a t e I n f o r m a t i o n A b o u t U s