Sam Fisher moves through the shadows in this clip.

Game of the Show

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 3 (PC)

Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Read our preview from E3 2004 >>

Many E3 showgoers this year agreed on several factors at this year's show: one, that the overall level of quality of the gaming experiences on display seemed to be quite high; two, that the majority of the games at E3 2004 were sequels or were otherwise based on existing properties; three, that many of this year's hottest E3 games were, in fact, last year's hottest E3 games; and four, that as a result of one, two, and three, very few games managed to truly stand out. But we could think of one very noteworthy exception: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 3, the recipient of GameSpot's 2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo Game of the Show Award.

Sam likes to drop in unexpectedly on friends.

We should note that one of the main reasons we were so impressed with Splinter Cell 3 is that, in addition to all of the remarkable technology and innovative gameplay we were treated to during Ubisoft's lengthy behind-closed-doors demonstration of the game (much of which you can see in the gameplay movies we've posted), the game is supposedly shipping this year, at least for the PC. And our award is predicated on the belief that this isn't too good to be true. Ubisoft, a publicly held and highly competitive publisher, cannot afford to make significant mistakes about projected release dates and has also demonstrated a good track record of hitting its dates over the past couple of years. And as we watch and rewatch the video of the game in action, we just have to keep reminding ourselves of all that. It's amazing to think that we'll be playing this game relatively soon.

Yes, Splinter Cell 3 is a sequel, but Ubisoft isn't using that as license to just rehash the previous, award-winning stealth action games in the series. The game will feature a ton of new moves and abilities for its memorable main character, Sam Fisher. And it'll take on a much more brutal tone than previous Splinter Cell games; let's just say Fisher won't be afraid to get his hands dirty this time around. Additionally, the game will feature what looks like a tremendously entertaining cooperative play mode, which will allow pairs of agents to help each other through some extremely dangerous areas. Rather than just shoot at the same targets, agents will be able to collaborate in never-before-seen ways, such as by using one another as human ladders to scale obstacles they could never circumvent alone.

Splinter Cell 3's visuals are also looking absolutely incredible--much better than those of the previous games in the series, which, given the level of quality of the series' presentation, is saying a whole lot. At any rate, Splinter Cell 3 just blew us away when we saw it at E3. We can only hope the game will live up to such an extraordinarily good first impression.

The other Game of the Show finalists:

Burnout 3 (Xbox, PS2)
God of War (PS2)
MechAssault 2 (Xbox)
Resident Evil 4 (GC)