So far all you do is kill all the enemies in one level and then walk to the objective. It is so easy because the AI is pretty dumb and they've made it into a shooter so you can just run and gun. I thought the game was going to be so much more from all the previews because you saw all the moves you got to use. I was hoping for more of a Jason Bourne type game like the trailers suggested. However the melee fights are over in seconds because the enemy sucks and the only time you get to smash peoples heads into objects is when you meet the "boss" of the level. The rest of the game is just a mix of a dumbed down shooter and a dumbed down stealth game, kinda like with Fallout 3 mixing two combat types and both of them not playing well. They've also made sure you can't chat to people online in a game and they've taken out the good multi player modes of the previous Splinter Cell games. That's if you can run it because I had lots of crashes and so did all of my friends.
 
What a PoS.

So far all you do is kill all the enemies in one level and then walk to the objective. It is so easy because the AI is pretty dumb and they've made it into a shooter so you can just run and gun. I thought the game was going to be so much more from all the previews because you saw all the moves you got to use. I was hoping for more of a Jason Bourne type game like the trailers suggested. However the melee fights are over in seconds because the enemy sucks and the only time you get to smash peoples heads into objects is when you meet the "boss" of the level. The rest of the game is just a mix of a dumbed down shooter and a dumbed down stealth game, kinda like with Fallout 3 mixing two combat types and both of them not playing well. They've also made sure you can't chat to people online in a game and they've taken out the good multi player modes of the previous Splinter Cell games. That's if you can run it because I had lots of crashes and so did all of my friends.
 
What a PoS.

Here's a tip:
 Don't play the game on easy!
 
Ubisoft said that they specifically concentrated on making the game more accesible for new people to the stealth genre. If you want a more stealthy experience, play on Hard. It's a blast.

I liked the game, it's more like batman arkham asylum in terms of combat. Your suppose to take them out in a second for melee, in real life, the longer it takes to snap someone's neck, the worst it is. Try it on a higher difficulty level, I like the change, I was tired of the old stealth, your seen, then your dead approach.

the game is fantastic.... it took me away from modern warfare 2...and thats hard to do, campaign is great & co op is awesome what more could ya want

...I saw some guy beat in on YouTube in 20 parts...well over a week before the game came out.  That is the most I will ever "play" of the game, it fucking sucks compared to Chaos Theory.

I'm not a big fan of the game, but I knew I wouldn't be a huge fan going into it.  I rented the game since I didn't really like any other splinter cell and thought I'd give it a shot.  To me, if you were a fan of the previous - you will like this.  If not, you'll probably still not like it.

Ok... 

I've never been a too-much-stealth kinda guy. Anything beyond Arkham Asylum and Assassin's Creed - i totally fuck it up and get things wrong all the time. Therefore i am loving the fact that this Splinter Cell is easier than Chaos Theory and Double Agent cuz i got fucked at both of those..

Play on hard, anything else will last way too little, and since you can die somewhat fast, even though the AI is dumb, stealth will be more needed. Fun game, just too short and without many cool set pieces, and not even a boss fight in sight. Funny a PSP game like Peace Walker will have so much more variety and content. Still, it's very polished, and the first Cell I liked enough to finish (it's short though) it's just a shame they didn't go all out with the content and design. Or at least provide a level editor for fans to make their own Deniable Ops considering it's based on Unreal Engine 3, that would make up for the lack of content.

It is certainly a different style of game however, the old trial and error stealth mechanic doesn't really play anymore. Don't get me wrong. I take great pride in memorizing levels of old splinter cell games and being able to execute my missions beautifully. However, the average game player simply doesn't have the time or most importantly, patience, to do this anymore. The new Splinter Cell is more of a story based game which it does very well. If you want the old games back then play the old games but, don't knock a good game because it doesn't play exactly like its predecessors.

" Here's a tip:
 Don't play the game on easy!  Ubisoft said that they specifically concentrated on making the game more accesible for new people to the stealth genre. If you want a more stealthy experience, play on Hard. It's a blast. "

I dun like it. I was a big fan of previous splinter cells, but it seems like the devs tried too hard to make even the least skilled players feel "badass".  In the older splinter cells you felt badass when you got through a level without getting spotted.  But now with things like faster acrobatic movement and mark and execute, coupled with how insanely easy it is to just headshot the guys you're supposed to be sneaking past, the game seems to constantly scream at me, "DO YOU FEEL BADASS YET?! THIS IS BADASS, RIGHT?!"
 
The challenge of the old Splinter Cells was moving bodies out of sight, learning new ways around the environment to get better angles, knowing when to expend your gadgets, etc.  But the only challenge I derived out of this game was during the horrid forced firefight sections (yes, I played on Realistic).
 
To all those people saying the old splinter cells boiled down to "If you're spotted, you die." You're wrong. It hasn't been that way since Chaos Theory.  I've gotten in that situation many times and lived. You've just got to use your gadgets and your environment in a smart way.  Yes, you made the job a bit more difficult on yourself, but whats the point of a stealth game if running and gunning get the job done just as well?

My biggest problem with Splinter Cell's gameplay was its very "mistake-and-repeat" style - something that didn't happen in the Thief series. It's ironic that a cloaked guy with some steampunk gadgets had more way of covering up his fuck ups than a high-tech agent.

Though I think that this change in style and tone should have happened in Double Agent. That game's gameplay really felt out of place in the context of the story and what was going around.

@PapaLazarou:
I'm pretty bummed to have to agree. I could rant about it here, but I'll spare ya. I got to the part where they gave me the sonar goggles and then just said "Ah, why am I bothering with this."  Anyway, I played on Normal...Maybe I'll go back and give it a go on hard like some folks are suggesting.