Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent (Xbox 360)

Graphics/Models/Animation

The visuals for SCDA are a step up from the previous games; one would expect that from the 360. There are slight noticeable frame-rate issues (tiny ones) with some of the larger in-game areas when things heat up, but most of the time the game rips along at a decent frame-rate.

It has large areas that are brimming with detail and the landscapes for the outdoor missions are excellently done. There are some great textures and lighting effects (a trademark of the series) along with some nice shadows and all the eyecandy you could hope for.

The models in the game are highly detailed and Sam looks better than ever. The work done on the facial expressions is excellent and the level of animation is definitely a step above the previous game. Sam’s movements are lifelike and fluid and the way he interacts with the environment feels better this time around.

Level Design

Huge open levels with numerous places to hide and multiple routes of entry make up the majority of Double Agent. The level design is slick and effective with no real problems, all of the places that the designers have created feel real enough and the JBA HQ is definitely a dark scummy hideout.

AI

The AI hasn’t changed that much from the first game. We haven’t yet seen an enemy that could replace a broken light bulb, but they are sharper than their previous counterparts and definitely know how to use the environment to their advantage – they are not as easy to spook and are fonder this time around of bringing extra backup to investigate anything suspicious.

It occasionally does something stupid but on the harder difficulty levels the AI can be a challenge to slip past undetected.

Physics

Havok powers the game and all the bells and whistles we’ve come to expect are there, with extensive ragdoll explosive action for those people that want to go the gung-ho approach.

Sound

The sounds in the game, the audio effects for the weapons and various ambient sounds are all rendered to top quality. They sound great.

Music

I prefer the music in Double Agent over that used in the previous game, it fits and it provides a good backdrop to the stealth and action. It rises when things get intense and falls off when you’re sneaking around.

Voice

Michael Ironside returns as Sam Fisher and provides a grittier version of Sam this time around, he’s hurting and you can tell it. Michael’s performance as Sam is without question and the guy knows the ropes, so I can’t complain about anything in that respect. The rest of the voice actors do a damn fine job and it’s nice to see Dwight (Howlin’ Mad Murdoch) Schultz listed in the game as well.

Multiplayer

SCDA introduces a new take on the old MP from the previous title in the series, the whole Spy Vs. Mercenary is now Spy Vs. Upsilon and the gameplay mechanic has changed vastly compared to the last one.

The spy has lost the advantage of small arms fire and is now far more agile, not lethal in close quarters. You must rely upon teamwork and acrobatic skill to get out of trouble as a spy whilst downloading data from the large maps and generally causing havoc to your enemies the Upsilon mercs.

You have a detector akin to Aliens built into your suit and it beeps to warn you there’s a merc about, not quite where, it gets faster as they approach closer. You have only 1 gadget you can use at a time, and a pick of 4 gadgets max.

The spy can get behind a merc and try and break their neck but this is hard to pull off and it seems quite buggy. Not as though we expected it would be easy considering that the spy is supposed to be about sneaking and sabotage.

You have the night-vision mode and an arm mounted hacking unit that can also disable lights.

Some maps have a generator that you can hack, if you hack it the power drops to lights and security doors. The mercs can however restart the generator and all the lights will come back on, even the ones you disabled.

The MP game modes are similar; you download a file or several files, or even a broken file that comes from different terminals. Get the file(s) back to your start point to win. Double Agent mode pits every spy for themselves against the other agents to see who the best is.

You can play on Live or System link, there is no mp coop like the previous game (that is on the Xbox version of SCDA along with the Spy Vs Spy game mode) – there is a mp coop where a group of 3 spy agents can tackle AI based mercs over a variety of difficulty levels (the harder mercs are a brutal challenge) and maps.

Mp is pretty fun and it’s a definite change from the previous game, there’s a lot more in the way of tactics to the spy this time around. Stealth is a definite factor compared to spamming gadgets.

As the mercs the game changes significantly, you can rappel down from a railing to get to the floor quickly. You can spin around and smack a spy with the butt of your weapon, the weapon can be toggled between autofire and sniper modes. You have vision modes that detect spy hacking and automatically if a spy moves too quickly away from you, you get them showing up on your HUD as a white outline.

The merc has a brutal arsenal at his disposal, definitely a favourite amongst merc players is the remote drone, a nasty explosive camera that can follow a spy through the vents and ducting – not too far though, usually far enough to cause them serious issues however.

The mercs gun can also fire grenades and these are used with pin-point accuracy by people online, so spies should beware, ducts are not always a safe place to hide. Just like the spy the merc has a motion tracker and knows that a spy is around, just not exactly where.

The flashlight rounds out the mercs arsenal and illuminates dark areas to help flush out sneaky agents.

In conclusion, the MP element of Double Agent isn’t just tacked on – it feels a fully realised part of the game and provides some fast frenetic fun even for spies when the mercs start firing and you have to make a dash and fade, using one of the many escape moves available to the highly athletic agents.

Lag issues still abound however and the game features something that I find intensely annoying, annoying enough to shave points off for.

I hate in-game advertising with a passion, there, I’ve said it. Advertising space costs and proponents of in-game advertising basically are using the excuse that it doesn’t hurt the consumer…no…but nor does it cost the developers/publisher to advertise on your game – you’re paying them for the game and they get free advertising space out of it.

Is it worth it?

There will be arguments for years to come over which version owners should get, each version of the game offers something different – but for the best fun and graphics you should go for the Xbox 360 version. The Xbox version of the game feels more complete in terms of story and certain Double Agent gameplay mechanics but the 360 has the edge in all other departments.

I miss the split-screen coop that made the previous game such a hit so I had to get hold of the Xbox version for completeness’ sake. I hope Ubisoft take the next game back to those coop roots because they were an excellent innovation. I could live without the Mp Vs. if the game had a decent coop through both specialist missions and single player.