This was the first stealth game I've played. It introduced me to it's genre and gameplay...
About the game
The game is not a shoot-em-up. It's all about staying in shadows and undetected. You're playing as Sam Fisher, a Third Echelon super spy. As Sam said in the third Splinter Cell, "the light is his enemy, and the only good thing about lights is that they don't shoot back". That's right, they don't shoot back, but they can make you a lot of trouble...
The Graphics
The graphics are not that good compared to the third SC, but it was released in 2002. Back then, the game had awesome graphics.
The Gameplay
The gameplay is very good - the best of all games in the series. There are some places you must use your mind to get past undetected, i.e. find a ledge and shimmy it to avoid being seen by guards.
Equipment
You have only two guns in the game (a pistol and a rifle), but that's more than enough. You can add shockers, ring airfoils or sticky cameras on the gun to knock out or watch guards. You also have flares used to distract turrets, grenades, lock-picks and disposable picks to unlock locked doors and more.
Sam also has goggles. They have night vision to help him navigate in the dark and thermal vision to help him search for mines and guards in steam. You get thermal vision only in level 5.
Passive Defenses
There are cameras, mines and turrets in the game. Some cameras are fragile, some are not. The only way to pass a non-fragile camera is shooting lights around or timing your movements.
There are two types of mines in the game: wall mines and ground mines. You can see ground mines in thermal vision. They can be shot or jumped over. Wall mines can be disabled or shot. To avoid an explosion, you must move slowly past them.
Turrets shoot at you if they see you. You can distract them by throwing a flare or simply disable them by going near the turret‘s computer. Also, you can select „Disable IFF“ and they will shoot everyone they see, even your enemies.
The Moves
You can do many athletic moves in the game. The split jump can be performed in narrow and high places. You can also climb pipes, use zip lines, climb over fences and more.
The A.I.
The A.I. is good, but not very. Enemies start searching for you if they see a light shot out, a killed or unconscious guard. But there’s one thing that can make you nervous. If an enemy sees you, he always knows where you are, even if you’re in the dark.
Conclusion
Splinter Cell is a very fun game. I would recommend it to all stealth fans.