Splinter Cell. In short, it is the sneak-em-up. The hide-away-em-up or even the hide-shoot-hide-crawl-roll-shoot-hide-em-up. What I'm trying to say is that Splinter Cell is Metal Gear Solid but stripped down to the basics. Rather than full on action, it's tense sneaking and hiding. Instead of a confusing plot line, we get a realistic and more believable one. And instead of a gruff super spy we get, oh, it's the same. OK, you take control of Third Echelon agent, Sam Fisher, sent to save the US from terrorists, hackers and other thuggish enemies. To do this you are supplied with only two real weapons, a pistol complete with silencer and a larger rifle with silencer, that also acts as a metal ring flinger, a camera firerer, a grenade pelter and a can opener, just kidding. This brings the point, does it leave a yearning for bigger weapons? The answer is no surprisingly, as the silenced pistol and rifle suit the stealthy approach perfectly. Imagine how silly you would look running into a crowded terrorist meeting with an AK-47 going off wildly and then saying 'Sssh! I'm not here.' There are also plenty of gadgets for you to try out, gas bombs, lock picks, rappel wires and even the multi-purpose night vision/infared/thermal goggles to wear. There are loads of well built levels to play through as well as two difficulties, both of which are pretty hard. The only noticable flaw in gameplay is the limited amount of alarms you are aloud to produce before getting pulled from the mission and how much anger and annoyance it induces. Graphically, this game provides good stuff, well rendered CGI clips and nice character and level design. The only problem is since you are having to wear night vision goggles most of the time because of the darkness, you find that the visuals seem to be in green a whole lot. Sound and music do not fail to please, including the enviromental sounds of cars in streets, the whilsting of the air or the drifting of rubbish, as well as great object sounds, the rattling of chains, the pop of silenced guns shots, the fall of limp mercenaries. It's all enough to make you cry, sigh. Splinter Cell is a prime example of the stealth game of old, although Metal Gear Solid with a mix of stealth and action in perfect balance still manages to beat it. This still does not distract anyone from the fact that this is still a great game.
Other Helpful Reviews for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
You begin the game as 2 spies are invading a Russian secret military base, after being spotted the spies are captured during their retreat. In desperation the CIA contacts an ex-covert agent named Sam Fisher, with his hi... Read Full Review
There was a time when I had absolutely no interest in stealth games, as I considered them to be frustratingly difficult, and required too much patience to be fun. Then I gave the Metal Gear Solid games a chance, and my ... Read Full Review
