A confident but mediocre debut
Starting with the triple punch of Metal Gear Solid, Thief, and Tenchu in 1998, stealth slowly became a subgenre made possible by advanced lighting but it wasn't until Splinter Cell that it felt like it had a future. Splinter Cell continues to resonate with action and third-person shooter fans due to its elegant presentation, fluid action, and grounded military atmosphere. Returning to the original for the first time after many years, I was surprised to discover how many key elements of the series are present. Everything from night vision to shimmying with Sam's legs wrapped around a pipe started here; it just all lacks the polish future entries would have.
When you're not in conflict -- which is most of a Splinter Cell game if you are playing it correctly -- this 2002 debut plays well, but it falls on its face where it counts: those tense moments before and after you make contact with a hostile guard. For instance, knocking out a guard can be exceedingly difficult and awkward since they frequently manage to call an alarm in-between the first and second punch that knocks them out. The pistol is given a ridiculous lack of accuracy, forcing the player to patiently wait until the reticle is small only to frequently miss shots that were properly aimed. The biggest problem comes from broken AI and mission design that often results in alarms being triggered for no good reason. On the last mission I rage quit and never looked back after alarms were triggered when no one was present or when a body was hidden yet somehow found by no one. I even replayed killing everyone and somehow a ghost found a body and pulled a trigger. I watched other playthroughs and saw the same false triggers being pulled. In many ways, this game is broken.
I love a good challenge, especially in a stealth game. It can immerse you in the role of the hero who must carefully navigate hostile environments with unforeseen obstacles. But this debut makes the biggest crime against stealth games: it often adds challenge through broken elements that break immersion by waves of frustration. Things that aren't physically possible play against the player in ways that are unfair and not at all fun. Even when the game is working properly, you still must suffer through confused action elements that aren't supported well, here. Future entries would allow more fluid response to shoot-outs, but being forced to clear a room as you must escape isn't fun with the accuracy so bad and tools so limited.
If you want to revisit Splinter Cell's origins and have a good time, I recommend starting with Pandora Tomorrow. Despite being made by the B-team (Ubisoft Shangai), it smoothed all of the debut's edges while keeping the atmosphere and controls that made the debut so special on release.
