Sound: 9
Gameplay: 10
Value: 10
Reviewer's Tilt: 10
Overall: 9.8
Sam Fisher has a lot of moves that can be used to your advantage�too many to list in this review, really. To give you an idea, the Xbox controller will allow you to use a zip line, hide bodies in darkness, interrogate people to get to your next objective, use a microphone to listen to conversations, pick locks (manually!), program turrets and hang from pipes on ceilings. There�s a lot more too. When you use these moves in Splinter Cell, you really feel like some sort of secret agent person, and it makes Splinter Cell THE game to own.
By now, you�ve seen screenshots of Splinter Cell that are very impressive. But real-time shadows, bump-mapping and detailed animations look even better when you see them in motion. Moths will cast shadows on the ground; trees will blow in the breeze, thermal vision will show enemies in the fog, shattered glass litters the ground, and much more. Honestly, Splinter Cell has the best graphics that I have ever seen. Just imagine how great Resident Evil looked for the Gamecube, but now we have real graphics instead of painted backgrounds. It�s simply astounding.
Now I�m sure that you have heard a lot of talk about Splinter Cell is the next Metal Gear, but you should not compare the two. For one, MGS2 is a year older than this game, so you�re definitely going to notice how the technology has advanced in that amount of time. Also, one could consider Splinter Cell to be more of a simulation, with its shear amount of ways to get a mission done. MGS2 is a fantasy game, with strange boss fights and more focus on a plot and arcade action. Splinter Cell will give you all of the tools needed to get a job done, and will let you experiment with all of your surroundings. There is not one area of the game where you are supposed to do something in a certain way; it�s completely up to the player. At first, you may spend part of a mission with your guns blazing, killing all of the guards. The next time you try it, maybe you will shoot out all of the lights and sneak around all of the confused guards. It�s always up to you, so even though the game is linear, it doesn�t mean that you have no options.
The stealth gameplay is extremely complex. First of all, your environments can be used to your advantage. For example, if you find a glass bottle lying around, you can pick it up and throw it at a guard as a distraction. Lights can be shot out so that the environment is completely dark, only visible to you thanks to your night-vision goggles. Much of the game will be spent lurking in the shadows, and the Stealth-meter on your HUD will show how well-hidden you are. You want to be as hidden as possible so that no enemies can find you, obviously. Also, as I mentioned earlier, the moves that Sam can execute help out the game�s complexity. Before you venture into a room, you can insert your fiber optic camera underneath the door and move it around to check for security cameras or soldiers. If a door is locked, you can manually pick the door with the right analog stick. It seems overwhelming at first, but once you get it, it�s easy.
Thankfully, the game does not control badly at all. You would think that a game with all of these moves would be hard to control on the Xbox pad. But it is not hard at all. Aiming can be done (over the shoulder) by pressing X, and shooting with the right trigger. A is your action button, and B will either make you crouch when standing still or roll when running. The black button will bring up your equipment screen, which groups all of your weapons, health kits and extra things like fiber optic camera. The white button will make you lean into a wall. You can even hold your breath for accuracy when sniping with the left trigger. It�s easy to activate your other vision modes, which include night vision (Left on d-pad) and thermal vision (Right on d-pad). Sam�s movements are very fluid, and the controls are never unresponsive. You will have to use the right analog stick as well to move the camera around. Think of it as a third-person game with first-person, dual-analog controls.
One of the best aspects of Splinter Cell is the data that Sam can get out of computers and off of dead bodies. The data consists of anything from passcodes, maps, pictures of people and whatever else that you need to get the mission accomplished. At any time, you can press Pause to bring up your data. It provides hints which make sure that you can get the job done without ever being stuck in the game. If you do all of your objectives in order, you won�t get stuck. And if you do, it�s not hard to backtrack just a bit and make sure you did everything that you are supposed to do.
Just make sure you hide those bodies. You don�t have to be in the same area as the guards to have them set off an alarm. And the mission is based around stealth, so you can only have so many alarms set off before you fail your mission. So always hide bodies in complete darkness. You can pick them up with the action button and simply move them to a dark area of a level, and usually there plenty of these. Oh, and enjoy this game with a cold, refreshing Vanilla Coke. --Chris Currey
Graphics: 10 Unprecedented. There is nothing bad at all about these visuals, and I am still in shock. How did Ubi Soft create this beautiful game on a console? The real-time shadows, detailed textures and lighting effects are amazing.
Sound: 9 A real treat on the ears. Listen to tense music during tight spots of the game, and listen to guards talking to each other in greatly staged events. The sound effects are top-notch. The weapon effects don�t sound all that amazing, though.
Gameplay: 10 This is truly �stealth action redefined�. No other stealth game on the market can touch Splinter Cell�s gameplay. Not even MGS2.
Value: 10 Okay, listen up. You can download content via Xbox Live. This will include levels, weapons and mods. You will never get sick of the game, so this is easily worth $50.
Overall: 9.8