Don the green goggles and get ready for one of the best action espionage action games of this decade.
Chaos Theory is one of the best stealth games of the genre. What does it do to set itself apart from the likes of metal gear solid? Well any enthusiast looking for a realistic story of espionage coupled with the best stealth gameplay will easily find it in Chaos Theory. The game's story will keep you guessing right till the last level and it's the type of story that would make a great novel or movie. It may require a second play through to grasp the twists but anybody who is a fan of Tom Clancy novels will appreciate this game.
So what makes a good stealth game? The way it plays and the stealth mechanics it uses. Anybody who has played the previous two games will recognize the stealth meter. This is your most important tool as it shows you just how well hidden you are in the darkness. When the meter is at one you are invisible to the enemy but at four you better find shade fast. It's always best to stay in the shadows because Sam isn't invincible and will go down quick from enemy AK fire.
While shadows conceal you, it's your ability to sneak up behind an enemy and take him out quietly that's really important. By slightly pushing forward on the left stick, Sam starts to move slowly through the room and the more pressure you put on the left stick, the faster Sam sneaks. But the faster you sneak, the louder you are. Of course you don't always have to sneak over to enemies location, you also have the option of having him come to you. The best way is to whistle and as he comes to you, sneak around him and grab him from behind. Another option is the knife because it's quick or slap to the face. If you do grab an enemy you can either pull the left trigger to silently knock him out or the right trigger to kill him.
Then there's the context menu. Approach a door and the menu pops up in the top right hand corner with a few options. You can select to open the door, silently open the door, bash the door or optical camera for peeking on the other side. However if the door is locked you'll have to play a small mini game where you rotate the left analog stick and as it vibrates wiggle it in that position to release the pin and do this till it's unlocked.
Since you're an operative of the NSA and most of the time allowed to use fifth freedom, you usually come packed with the SC-20k rifle. Unlike the previous games, you can have attachments for the rifle. You can attach either a fore grip to allow you to use things like sticky shockers and al foil rounds, shotgun or 20 mm sniper depending on the decision you made at the beginning of the mission. Most of the time it's best to stick with the fore grip as stealth is really the way to go in most missions.
What's always been great the the Splinter Cell games is all the locales you travel to for missions. Your first mission is a light house in Peru then a cargo ship, a bank and a missile base which all act as your playground to sneak around in. The level design are just as fun and some what tricky to navigate. You have access to a map to help find objectives but this is somewhat hindered due to the map not showing you but rather just the room you're in. This can create some confusion but it's not like you'll be stuck long enough to care. Unlike the other games of the series, these missions feel a lot more open and not so linear. The draw back is there's no checkpoints but the inclusion of a quick save fixes that as long as you remember every 10 minutes to save.
The Xbox version is the prettiest of the console versions. It especially looks impressive on a high definition with anti aliasing issues low and colours true. Blacks are dark, character models look good and show quite a bit of detail. Lighting is especially impressive bouncing off objects and Sam. The CG used for the cutscenes is also much better than the previous games with more detail and effort put into making them look good.
Once again Michael Ironside reprises the role of Sam Fisher. Voice acting is top notch this time around, unlike Pandora Tomorrow which most of us cringe at. The dialogue has more comedy in it usually the com chatter between Fisher and Grim. Like the other games music plays a role within gameplay such as if Fisher was discovered then the music speeds up and eventually decreases the longer you stay hidden.
Even though Chaos Theory is the third game in the series, the story is independent enough that you don't really need to play the first two. The stealth itself is better this time around with tight controls and new ways staying silent, better and more interesting missions and replay value to be had. If you have any remote interest in stealth, give Chaos Theory a go as it's one of the best examples of stealth action and how it should be done.