Taking stealth into the modern era, SC is great all around game.
Defining a new line of stealth action games, Ubisoft’s release of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell for the pc on February 17, 2003, busted out onto the scene with a lot of enthusiasm from fans awaiting the release. You’re known as Special Agent Sam Fisher working for the Third Echelon, a special agency within the government that no one really knows about, of course. You alone are asked to free the world of cyber-terrorists throughout the nine dramatic missions within the game. But don’t believe that just because there are only nine levels, you won’t have a lot of playing time. Each of these levels last as long as you want, depending on your style of gameplay. If you want to ghost (not knock out or kill anyone) the levels as much as you want, it may take longer because of finding specific routes throughout the levels including a Police Station, Oil Refinery, or even the Chinese Embassy. But, if you decide to knock out or kill anyone, make sure you hide their body to anyone walking there night watches or you might be setting off too many alarms where you might have to start the level over.
But you won’t start off empty handed at the beginning of each level. At your disposal, depending on the type of mission, you could have Flares, Camera Jammers, Optic Cables, Lock Pick and Disposable Picks, Gas Grenades, Sticky Cameras, Diversion Cameras, Ring Airfoil Rounds, Wall Mines, Frag Grenades, and also two types of silent guns including the SC Pistol and the SC-20K which has a zoom. This seems like a lot of different weapons and the first time through, you may not even use all of them. The first time through, you may not know that you could shoot a sticky shocker into a puddle of water where a few enemies are walking by and be able to shock all three of them to death. With the amount of weapons at your disposal, you have multiple ways to navigate and also to complete each mission. This aspect of the game gives the game more replay than most games of its genre.
The graphics are done rather well with extended use of shadows and light. You’re given a “light meter” on the bottom of the screen, which lets you know how visible you are to the passing guard or mercenary. The use of the “light meter” has become somewhat of a standard in stealth action games including the Thief and Deus Ex series. The look of the game is polished off and the graphics of the different areas look really well done. The design and layout of the levels can be somewhat linear at times but the multiple ways you can complete your objectives during a mission with your multiple weapons makes up for some of the linearity in some of the levels.
Between each mission, you’re presented with a cinematic which helps further the story along and basically lets you know that no one in the U.S. Government, nor the world, knows what you’re doing. If you want to feel the sense of the one man hero who saves the world from World War III, then this game is right up your alley.
The sound in the game is done quite well, for what you hear. Because you’ll probably be paying attention to noise that you yourself make the most. Just like in other stealth games such as Thief: Deadly Shadows, every sound is heard in a dark room full of enemies. You must be quiet. You’ll be spending a lot of time with you infrared goggles on crouch-walking along most of the levels walking up behind your enemies to dispose of them before they set off the alarms. When not listening to your footsteps, you’ll hear the sounds of the environment around you including the rain, tapping of boots upon floors from enemy soldiers and burning embers of fires. You’ll also hear conversations from the mercenaries throughout the missions that help you with different situations.
The voice of Sam Fisher, the main character, is done by Michael Ironside played roles in movies such as Starship Troopers and Top Gun. His gritty voice brings a lot of character to Sam Fisher and it immerses you deeper into the role of the government spy.
Overall, the game will probably last you 10-15 hours your first time through and only provides some reply value, because of the linearity of the level layouts. There isn’t any multiplayer in Splinter Cell, so you won’t be able to go after any other Third Echelon troops across the world and this also brings the replay value down. But all in all, if you’re looking for a good spy game where stealth is all you want in life and you live in the shadows, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell is the game for you.
But you won’t start off empty handed at the beginning of each level. At your disposal, depending on the type of mission, you could have Flares, Camera Jammers, Optic Cables, Lock Pick and Disposable Picks, Gas Grenades, Sticky Cameras, Diversion Cameras, Ring Airfoil Rounds, Wall Mines, Frag Grenades, and also two types of silent guns including the SC Pistol and the SC-20K which has a zoom. This seems like a lot of different weapons and the first time through, you may not even use all of them. The first time through, you may not know that you could shoot a sticky shocker into a puddle of water where a few enemies are walking by and be able to shock all three of them to death. With the amount of weapons at your disposal, you have multiple ways to navigate and also to complete each mission. This aspect of the game gives the game more replay than most games of its genre.
The graphics are done rather well with extended use of shadows and light. You’re given a “light meter” on the bottom of the screen, which lets you know how visible you are to the passing guard or mercenary. The use of the “light meter” has become somewhat of a standard in stealth action games including the Thief and Deus Ex series. The look of the game is polished off and the graphics of the different areas look really well done. The design and layout of the levels can be somewhat linear at times but the multiple ways you can complete your objectives during a mission with your multiple weapons makes up for some of the linearity in some of the levels.
Between each mission, you’re presented with a cinematic which helps further the story along and basically lets you know that no one in the U.S. Government, nor the world, knows what you’re doing. If you want to feel the sense of the one man hero who saves the world from World War III, then this game is right up your alley.
The sound in the game is done quite well, for what you hear. Because you’ll probably be paying attention to noise that you yourself make the most. Just like in other stealth games such as Thief: Deadly Shadows, every sound is heard in a dark room full of enemies. You must be quiet. You’ll be spending a lot of time with you infrared goggles on crouch-walking along most of the levels walking up behind your enemies to dispose of them before they set off the alarms. When not listening to your footsteps, you’ll hear the sounds of the environment around you including the rain, tapping of boots upon floors from enemy soldiers and burning embers of fires. You’ll also hear conversations from the mercenaries throughout the missions that help you with different situations.
The voice of Sam Fisher, the main character, is done by Michael Ironside played roles in movies such as Starship Troopers and Top Gun. His gritty voice brings a lot of character to Sam Fisher and it immerses you deeper into the role of the government spy.
Overall, the game will probably last you 10-15 hours your first time through and only provides some reply value, because of the linearity of the level layouts. There isn’t any multiplayer in Splinter Cell, so you won’t be able to go after any other Third Echelon troops across the world and this also brings the replay value down. But all in all, if you’re looking for a good spy game where stealth is all you want in life and you live in the shadows, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell is the game for you.
