Splinter Cell

Splinter Cell carries a very unique story. Splinter Cell is loved by gamers worldwide yet hated dearly by fans of other “Stealth” games such as MGS, Splinter Cell games seem to find a perfect blend of action and stealth (and having a kick ass main character, Sam Fisher, doesn’t hurt). After handing over the reigns to another development team for the second game, the original team was hard at work on making a new Splinter Cell game, the third in the series, Chaos Theory. Can Chaos Theory provide all the great moments that previous games have done so well at?

Splinter Cell’s newest release has quite a scaled down arsenal. Chaos Theory seems to have a “short but sweet” attitude when it comes to arming Sam. There may not be a big choice, but what’s there is great. Your SC Pistol is back along with the reliable SC-20k with a launcher that can be loaded with airfoil rounds, sticky cameras, and sticky shockers. A new, interesting weapon is the combat knife which adds a whole new take onto the gameplay. Now, with the press of a button, operatives can instead slash a guy with the knife rather than trying to knock him out quietly or grab him.

By far the most interesting feature, which also has been extremely well implemented, is the cooperative play. Two operatives can now pair up either online or offline and tackle through various missions together. However, this isn’t just a normal cooperative mode, this coop mode has received special attention. The two agents can combine to produce a variety of moves ranging from one standing on the others’ shoulders, one setting up a rope the other can rappel down with, one setting up and then launching the other up into the air, etc. Special kudos go to the Ubi dev team that put so much effort here.

Then arrives the visuals of Chaos Theory. The visuals are simply amazing yet again. Characters, both Sam and enemies alike, are extremely detailed down to the finest points, including their hair, their muscle mass, their facial expressions, etc. Their animations are also extremely smooth, really making you feel like you are Sam Fisher working through every dangerous level. Environments are also well detailed with plenty of little trinkets to be seen and heard, including radios playing different songs or talk shows, picture of half-naked women, etc.

As with the graphics, the sound is another area where Splinter Cell games always seem to excel, and this Chaos Theory is no exception. While the music isn’t always exactly fitting for the situation and for the type of game it is, at least it doesn’t hurt the ears. But the real drawing point is the games special effects which are just awesome. You don’t have to see your enemy to know where he is, you can just hear him. Footsteps, dialogue between characters (there is plenty of it), gun shots, etc, all sound very, very good.

Chaos Theory is the best Splinter Cell game yet. Period. It is also the best Stealth Action game yet. Period. There is simply no competition for a game that just gets everything right. Intriguing gameplay with plenty of features, gorgeous visuals, and great sound all combine to form a perfect package that every gamer should own.