Splinter Cell is an stealth espionage game with a lack of action and storyline but with lots of very fun stealth combat.
After a few training exercises to make sure he is still at the top of his game he is sent off on his first mission. Now hot on the trail of the missing spies Sam must sneak, kill, and fight through many ordeals to uncover the sinister plot hidden in the shadows. The storyline of Splinter Cell and of Sam Fisher left something to be desired, with little to no character development and a linear plot it seems somewhat devoid of a story entirely.
Although the story's faults may turn away some the main feature of Splinter Cell is the entertaining espionage gameplay. Sneaking around and completing missions is pretty fun and keeps you into the game but there are down sides as well as up sides. The combat of the game consisting of sneaking around and killing people with your gun and hands is almost entirely based of stealth. With little to no hand-to-hand capabilities and odd gun mechanics other fighting is ineffective and not very fun. Although a variety of cool features most of them aren't done very well and prove disappointing.
I may sounds harsh but the game seems incomplete to an extent with a sub-par storyline and roughly put together stealth combat. Although the combat has its faults it is still a lot of fun and entertaining, overall the stealth espionage was well done even though it has faults. In comparison to the few other espionage games such as Metal Gear Solid it unfortunately cannot stack up.
Splinter Cell for its time looked very good graphically on the Playstation 2, with good models and neat environments it makes the games appeal increase. The sound and voices were well done and I was quite impressed with them although the music was another story altogether. The music in the game wasn't all that bad it was just very generic and due to that it was very mediocre and didn't really keep the feel of the game constant and entertaining.
Splinter Cell is a decent addition to the small and strict genre of stealth espionage games but it falls short of the greats that hold precedence over the genre. With an entertaining stealth system, good voice acting, and a lackluster storyline I was not impressed with Splinter Cell but I did have fun playing around with it. I would rate Splinter Cell a 7.9 out of 10 and suggest someone interested in a cheap espionage game to try it out although it wouldn't be my first suggestion.
This review will show up as a 8.0 due to Gamespot unfortunately not allowing a 7.9 to be selected.