Splinter Cell is a truly awesome game, bringing great gameplay, stunning graphics, and masterful audio design together.
It is a rather hard game, so expect a lot of trial-and-error stuff, and keep your Gamespot Game Guide handy (although the Gamespot guide leans to the aggressive side, and I found many situations easier without some of those tactics). It is very relieving, though, when you finally accomplish your goal. The whole terror thing is pretty cool, and I like the story, albeit confusing. Plus, the newscast cutscenes are interesting and really add some personality to the game, showing you what your spywork has done.
Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay is cool, and you have a lot of tools to meet your objectives. You'll feel like a super spy as you pull off some nifty moves. The split jump is awesome, I just never really got around to using it. Never has a game pulled me in like this and made me become one with the character. I wish I was a superspy guy.
Graphics: 10/10
Wowwwwie. There's not much more to say. The lighting is AMAZING. The people you come across look great, and the environments are amazing. Speaking of environments, you can shoot out almost any light(at least on Xbox and PC). It really creates multiple ways to asess the situation. It's hard to beleive it was released in 2002. Or was it 2003? I don't know, but it's still amazing. I heard that the lighting engine is based on next-gen technology.
Sound: 10/10
The sound is great too. The music, while easily forgettible, seems to fit. Everything just seems right. Except that everyone talks in English. Just don't worry about that.
Value: 8/10
Not extremely long, and not too much reason to go through the single player portion after beating it once. There are three missions to download off of Xbox Live. If you want value, get one of the new Splinter Cell games. They have a great multiplayer portion (or so I've heard). This one is only $5 though.
Tilt: 9/10
If you don't know, just buy it. It's only $5. If you get hooked (like I did), you can get the newer games in the series (like I plan to do.) It's kind of funny. I'm not usually a fan of stealth games, or the Tom Clancy games, but I love Splinter Cell. Don't miss out on this incredible game, like I almost did.