By: UbiSoft

One thing that has been conspicuous by its absence in recent times has been the serious lack of coverage that video games have been getting here on itoop. Fact of the matter is, we all spend a great deal of time playing them; it's only natural for us to voice our pleasure or displeasure of what we play or don't play. The game that I'm going to discuss this time around is old by industry standards, since it came out almost a year ago. The game is Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell by Ubi Soft Montreal. In its time on the market, it has revolutionised gaming and has done wonders for the reputation of its makers. Many reviewers use it as a benchmark to compare other games with. I realise that it has been some time since this game has been out, but this is more or less for the benefit of our friends (won't mention any names, lest there be some law enforcer knocking on their door), who have chosen the route of the grey market to satisfy their gaming needs.

The story is pretty simple. You get to play as Sam Fisher, a United States Special Forces officer specialising in covert operations. As Sam Fisher, you have to perform missions where you need to sneak around and complete your tasks. The 'bad guys' are a bunch of rogue people who have overthrown the Georgian President and are looking at starting a world war by bringing China into the fold as well. Your mission is pretty much to stop the 'bad guys' without brining attention to yourself. Because the villains in the game are Georgians, you get the bad guys having a Russian feel to them, because of the voice acting. It's just an excuse to have Russians as the 'bad guys' without actually naming them as such. (Yes I know Georgia was part of the Soviet Union). Sneaking around is where you see the beauty of the game. The graphics on the Xbox are nothing like I had seen previously; you can literally walk the shadows without anyone knowing. The graphics alone were enough to check out the game, but gameplay was amazing as well.

People complain about the gameplay being real hard, and it's quite true the game is hard. There are places where you can spend a lot of time trying to figure out what to do, and even after you figure it out, you spend even more time trying to execute your plan. The cool thing is that there are different ways to do things, which is great for the replay value to the game. I know for a fact that once I finished the game, I started playing it again right from the beginning at a harder level. All in all, an enjoyable gaming experience. I ,recently downloaded the Kola Cell level from Xbox Live. It is very enjoyable, just like most of the game, and again there were some places where it was hard and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I would get through it.

The success of the game has enticed the game makers to make a second part. The new Splinter Cell game is set to be released early next year. That, coupled with the release of Halo 2, means that I should start saving money right now. Give the game a chance, by learning how to play which means mastering the controls in the training level. For those who haven't played it yet, it's a worthwhile pickup. You can probably get a good deal on a second hand copy somewhere, and for those of you who get their games on the grey market, just one question, what on earth are you waiting for?

Samurai Hawk
King