Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (Xbox)

I’m stuck here, I truly am. I did a preview of Splinter Cell based on the demo, because I thought it would be good. It was, it was better than good, it was awe-inspiringly impressive. Only one problem though, the demo does not do Ubi Soft Montreal’s design justice. You have to play this game to fully appreciate it, and I have been playing it like mad – learning subtle tricks here and there and the best way to approach each mission. It’s going to be a rare treat for game fans that like Metal Gear Solid 2 or Syphon Filter like gameplay – but its ideas that are taken to the next level. I’m going to go out on a limb here, and incur the wrath of most of you. Especially those, who’ll just despise the game because it’s on the Xbox.

Good news for you all then, SC is going to PS2, NGC, and PC – so you’ll all be able to enjoy this slice of the perfect pie. Yes, for the second time – and I don’t care what smart assed critics say. I’m awarding SC 100%. Got that? Good. Now before you start to complain, sit back, read and listen to what I have to say. Because this game is damn near perfection and I can’t find anything wrong with it. It scooped the ECTS best game of show award and now I’ve played it more deeply – I can understand why.

You take on the role of Sam Fisher, and compared to Solid Snake, Sam has a wider variety of moves (Some of them context based) and a whole bag of tricks he can fall back on. Do not at all base SC on the demo, get the game, fans and you’ll have to play hardball to get to the cooler toys. But it’s worth it, because for the first time since Thief the Dark Project, a true stealth game has emerged from the cocoon of creation. With a story from Tom Clancy and a talented team of programmers and developers from Ubi Soft Montreal’s studios, Splinter Cell has been wowing press since we heard about it moons ago. Those of you lucky enough to see the game, will no doubt agree with me, for from the time it appeared we started drooling and calling Ubi Soft with constant questions – where’s the demo code, where’s the review code. Where is Splinter Cell!

Some of us, including myself, were dubious about the hype that surrounded it. But I can say with a clear conscience that it’s every bit as good, if not better than MGS2 and I gave that 100% - yes, statistically minded folks here will say, “But you can’t give it 100%!” I can, and I have. 10 out of 10 if it makes you feel any better. And dear fans of GX, I’m going to take you into the murky world of covert ops, I might share a few of my greatest SC moments too as long as they don’t spoil the story.

Sam Fisher is what the trade calls a Splinter Cell, a highly trained covert ops commando, voiced by the talented Michael Ironside and animated totally by hand, Sam is one of the most believable game characters that has ever been designed in my opinion. He works for the shadowy organisation called Third Echelon and operates on his own, in dangerous situations. Usually invisible and stealthy, but Sam can also explode into precision violence if needs be. Often given fifth freedom authorisation (The right to do what’s needed to get the job done) he can gun down with impunity, anyone who stands in the way of his task. As long as he’s been cleared to do it of course.

The story to Splinter Cell is Tom Clancy inspired, approved and vetted, and being a fan of Clancy’s works I was interested to see how it would work in this kind of game. I’m more used to Rainbow Six, but this is nothing like it. This is action, stealth and plot as it should be. Splinter Cell is an orgasmic combination of gameplay elements that have been mixed perfectly and it flows like a river, unbroken and reflecting the dappled light of the developer’s vision.

This is an overview of Sam Fisher’s world, and it’s a gorgeously animated, lit and created experience that rivals any game on the market. Everything in SC has come together perfectly, and there are no niggles – I can’t even say the game’s too hard because I find it’s perfectly balanced and can say it made me truly learn how to play a video game. It was a near religious experience if you could say such a thing, a moment of gaming glory where you realise, this is the future of the stealth shooter – it’s here and it’s now.

I’m going to have to break this into various sections, and this will be unlike any review I’ve written because I want you to get to know Sam and the various toys he uses – because each is implemented with style and panache.

First of all: Graphics.

SC was created using the modified Unreal engine, and I can tell you now, you won’t tell it’s Unreal. It’s gone beyond everything we’ve ever seen in a video game of any kind, the use of light and shadow is simply spectacular, particulate smoke – the works. Dynamic lights litter the levels and the Xbox version pumps out more polygons than you can imagine, throwing them around with no slowdown, even when many things are happening on screen at once. Seeing the streams of light push through holes in the wooden boards as you sneak through the space between the walls is worth a moment to stop and admire the beauty of it all. Because it’s high resolution and gorgeously done, with many tiny subtle touches that you really have to take the time to inspect.

Sam himself is one of the most detailed characters I’ve seen in a game, he’s beautifully modelled, gorgeously textured and has the most lifelike face and expressions you’d hope to get. All his equipment is on the model, and this again is perfectly placed and modelled with a keen eye for detail. All these items look as though they exist or could exist. Not too hard if you watch the extra DVD material and take the time to listen to what the various devs have to say. SC was designed to feel as though it could happen, or be happening right now – nothing ever seems too sci fi and all the equipment as I said is modelled to perfection.

The game levels/environments likewise are littered with details, and you would expect to find them in the real world. They have been painstakingly created, tuned and fine tuned until they look pretty much real. Full of small touches and Sam tends to be able to interact with a lot of the things in them, fences, tables…boxes and walls. If he can get up there, he can usually climb it, mantle it and hang off it. If it’s a computer, he can hack it, if it’s a switch he can turn it on and off. Useful for plunging a room into pitch black, be careful though, the AI will detect light level changes and come to turn the light back on – good way to lure guards into a quick trip to Mr floor.

Steam gutters out of the vents, and as I said, it’s particulate smoke – in one point you must clear a room full of smoke before you can pass, think about the ceiling and glass – shoot out the skylight and the smoke drifts out through it – realistically. Again touches like this, immerse you into the game world.
Lights play a very important part in the game as I said, some can be toggled on and off or if you really need to shroud the area in darkness – shoot them out with the pistol and POP! Sam is invisible in darkness, shown by the light meter on your simple HUD, far left and you’re unseen – far right and you’re showing up like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer in Santa’s Sleigh. That isn’t good trust me. Sam also casts a perfect shadow, which moves with the light, and reacts like a proper shadow should – I’ve even gone as far as to test this with a few steps around a well lit, and semi lit room. Perfect, it scores top marks for the fact that the shadow will alert the guards too.

So to conclude this part, because I want you to see it for yourself – Sam and his environments are wonderfully created. They feel real, and are a visual treat.

Sound: Ok, now in a game based around stealth you’d figure that sound would play an important role right? You’re correct, it does, it plays such a role that every sound in the game is spot on and each surface/movement you make actually makes a different noise. Be it stepping on a wooden board, or a metal gantry, broken glass – and guards respond to various sounds differently. Rest assured if you make too much noise they come and investigate – which could spell trouble for Sam. Gunfire is perfect; a shot that hits a metal door makes a highly scary s-ptang noise, and thuds into wooden walls and boards. If it can make a sound, it will, trust me on this – experiment with it, find out the various interactions.

Inanimate objects make sounds as well as the people. Sam has a wide variety of grunts and groans, breath and exertion noises. Pain and other sounds, so do his enemies and civilians – they’ll hum, whistle or chat as they go about their business. Some of these are scripted, and some of them just seem to happen when the AI feels like it. They’ll call in suspicious sounds, call their buddies and even run like hell for alarms if you alert them. Which wail like mad, and can spell the end for Sam’s mission if he’s not supposed to be detected at all.

Summary, well, if you want great sound and action sounds, this is the game for you – it’s great to stop and listen to spot effects, and ambient effects – I’ll note sound also works against the enemy, use it to locate a guard you can’t quite see yet.

Music: A very nice composition of slow sneaky themes, which are context based, which give you a feel for the environment. They also react to the danger, becoming more frenzied if you trigger a guard or spook a civilian. Again, the music flows like a river and compliments the action perfectly – a synthesis and marriage to the gameplay.

Voice Acting: Michael Ironside voices Sam Fisher in the only way he can, Michael is well known in TV and film, having had parts in V, Total Recall, Top Gun and most importantly Starship Troopers where he played the charismatic and tough Marine Commander Jean Rasczak. He delivers his lines with a dark gritty feel and fits Sam perfectly, his dark sense of humour shows through at times and I find him a more engaging personality than Solid Snake. The rest of the cast, the supporting actors and the spot voices are equally well done. Perhaps some of you might find some of the accents a little cheesy – but it certainly doesn’t take anything away from the score of the game.
Animation: Perhaps the most astounding thing about the game is that all the animations were painstakingly created by hand. Sam, the whole kit and caboodle, you name it. US:Montreal animated it by hand. Not only did they not use Motion Capture (MoCap) they refined, tested and honed every animation in the game – and I mean every one of them. And it shows, because Sam has some of the most impressive animations seen in a game – he moves as you’d expect a special op to move, he crouches, climbs and rappels as if he were a soldier crossed with a SWAT specialist. The amount of detail on this is stunning, and has to be seen in action, to truly appreciate the unique motions that this character can perform. He takes things off his belt, he holds his gun as he runs, and he moves his goggles up and down on his head as you turn them on and off. If his hands are not free, he’ll quickly flick his head so the goggles can be activated or de-activated.

Details like this really add to the game and lift it into the heights of gaming glory. Again you have to see them to truly appreciate them in action.

Every character, and animated object in SC is likewise, given the same attention to detail – it’s impressive indeed.

Controls: These might take some time to fully get used to, but the layout and the use of buttons on the pad becomes second nature. You can quickly get to the move you want, or turn on the night-vision or thermal goggles in a heartbeat. Left stick moves, right stick aims, and you’ll find again that it becomes second nature. I never once got confused at all.

Interactions and movements: Sam is an interactive character, he has some context based actions and depending on what you’re doing the small menu will pop up allowing you to interact with an item, panel, piece of scenery. This can be as simple as picking up a can of coke to use to distract a guard, or as complex as operating a keypad on a door. Rest assured, Sam will interact with it in the best way possible.

One of the things I call a godsend on this game is the lack of having to press a button to make Sam begin to interact with a climbable surface. If it’s a pipe, he’ll stand up and get on it, a rail he’ll catch if you jump up to grab it. If he falls a short way, he’ll try and catch onto a ledge. A quick tap of a button and Sam brings up his legs, allowing you to get into places you thought were impossible to reach if he’s on a handrail or pipe – sometimes you can hang and shoot at the same time, depending on the available space around Sam, yes they even took that into account. Get into a too cramped location, and he puts his gun away.

I’ll share with you what I thought was a definitive moment again, in this game. On the subject of interactions – because I really want you to discover all the features for yourself and go, “Oh wow, that’s cool!” I’d just rappelled down a wall (Sam’s skill is based on real SWAT motions, so you can kick off, slide down or slowly walk) I had my boots against the glass. There was a guard with his back to me in a room, I shot him with my pistol and the glass went through on the second or third shot…rather than swinging like a moron, Sam went forwards into the room – ducking into a tuck roll and coming up pistol out, ready for action. Now that is classic gameplay.


SC is full of moments like this, because US:Montreal have taken the time and effort to seed the game with realism and hand animated motions. It’s like they asked the question – how is this done, and how can we make it look cool in game and how can we make it seem real too. Sam’s clever, if you make him step onto a rail and slowly he slips off, he’s turn 180 and catch onto the bottom lip or the rail itself, he thinks for you almost – again it’s because they took the time to actually think – what if?

If you don’t have your gun out, you can whap guards and civilians behind the head and knock them out; then pick them up and hide the body in the darkness. Or you might want to grab them and put your gun to their head – sometimes you’ll have to do this to get through retinal scanners or perhaps a locked door you don’t know the code to. Interrogation works, and you’re given the code. Simply force the sucker to get near the scanner and you can then interact with it, Sam will hold the guys head to the device and when the door’s unlocked you can drag them off into the shadows and pistol whip them into slumberland.

Shooting around corners is another favourite of mine; Sam puts his head around the corner if you push too far. If you keep the stick to the far left for right depending, then press the x button – he’ll pull out his pistol and aim around the corner, properly, trying to keep hidden. Headshot, no more guard, bye bye.

Fences, pipes, handrails, mantling balconies and putting your back to the wall to get into some hard to reach places, realism through the roof in Sam’s actions and movements – the manual to the game lists many of his tricks and how to do them, but honestly they’re all pretty much second nature. Rappels, zip lines, wire crossings and fence climbing – all of them adding to the experience of stealth and special operations. But that’s not all, Sam has toys – because what would a game like this be without toys – and these are some of the coolest that you’ll come across, forget Bond. Fisher is the name of the game now.

Toys: What game would be complete without an array of wicked gadgets to keep even the most ardent Bond fan happy? And what’s great about these is they all fell very real. Sam’s 9mm pistol is gorgeously simple and provides a great way to silence a sentry or knock out a light or two. It has a radio mike attachment that can be used to pick up conversations when they’re specified in the missions brief or updated mid-mission. The usual list of grenades, and flares, and chemical flares is supplemented with wall mines and gas grenades.

Sam has a Tri-Goggle system which provides him with low-light and thermal vision modes – which comes in handy when you’re in the pitch black, or your vision is obscured by smoke or freezing gas. It can allow him to see through flimsy objects like curtains and behind thin ones – all very smooth tech and wonderfully implemented by the game engine too.

He has a fibreoptic cable that can be pushed under doors, panned and comes with lowlight vision as standard. Great for checking out dangerous unexplored regions of the environments. Disposable lockpicks burn through a lock, and the standard lockpick that is interactive. You have to rotate the left thumb-stick until you feel it vibrate, then waggle it around a little. On screen the lock-pick shows the pins and tumblers moving – soon you’ll learn how to do it, and it becomes hectic if you’re on a timer or need to get through a locked door before a guard turns back up from a quick smoke break - rest assured though, the tutorial is excellent and teaches you all the skills you need to know.


But that’s not all; camera jammers, and other gadgets are often either found or given to Sam as he progresses through the game. Some stuff is collected on site, left for Sam in a secret location or just a lucky find – ample supplies of medi-kits are found in the games easier levels of difficulty and I presume they’re not as frequent in the higher levels of difficulty.

One of the games best weapons is his Sk-20 Bullpup configuration rifle. While it also comes with a scope and interfaces with Sam’s goggles nicely, the under-slung grenade launcher can fire a diverse array of toys to excite those who love this kind of thing. Not to mention, they actually work in game too.

Favourites of mine are the diversion cameras, which are like the sticky cameras. Except you can’t reuse the diversion model. Simply fire it with the left trigger and it attaches to a surface giving you a full view of the area. It can be panned and made to emit a noise, which usually brings a guard to check, once the guard is in range you can let loose a cloud of CS gas to incapacitate your foes – then move over, hide the bodies and move on. Classic stuff.

The sticky shocker – it attaches to the target and zaps them with enough juice to knock them out cold. Also amusing to watch them jiggle and flop.

I’ll let you discover the other toys in the game for yourselves, but they’re all pretty cool and it’s worth hunting around the mission areas and exploring every locked door or open room for pick ups. Some are in plain sight; some have been left in dark shadows on the floor.

Gameplay: You’re a Splinter Cell, a lone operative, so most of the time you only have you to worry about. Sometimes you might have a protectee or protectees, but this is very rare and I’m going to say no more about that because it will spoil the story. And in this game, the story is very important. You’ll see action in and around some of the most diverse environments in a game yet, with the most interactive features. One moment you might be lurking in the shadows, then running slowly for another patch of shadows. Climbing a fence or leaping up to catch a wall, hey there’s a ladder, you’ll need to climb that. Can’t go any further, is that a ledge with a small gap. If you hang and drop you can mantle it. Stuck again? Look around, jump up and catch a zip line…it’s all there, and all done so well you’ll want to keep playing it again and again to show your friends just how cool it is.

Missions are wonderful, they feel absolutely superb to play and the list of objectives can change, as the story gets hotter. There’s a bomb maybe, you have two minutes to get to it…but there’s a mess of wall mines and a locked door in the way – it’ll frustrate and challenge, but once you learn the best way, you’ll breeze it. I can say this with authority, having sworn my way through some of the game’s earlier levels and gnawed my pad in half almost – but I’ve always come back for more, suddenly it clicks and you feel like Ethan Hunt on Acid or Bruce Willis in die hard, leaping onto a lift wire and sliding down it. Every action movie moment and cliché is here for you to play with, and be the hero you always wanted to be. One last trick worth mentioning before I cool down my fingers from this review is the Jean Claude Van Damme split jump, it’s the coolest trick in a game. If Sam has enough headroom and the space is shorter than he is taller, he can kick off one wall, onto the other and then kick again to do the splits – ow, that’s gotta require balls of steel. You can then whip out a gun or just wait until guard walks under you. If Sam drops, he’ll knock the sucker out if you land on him. Hold down B for a quiet landing as well, and you’re on your way to being Sam Fisher as he should be.

Remember – stay quiet, hidden and undetected…violence is the last resort, because sometimes you can’t kill anyone. The mission’s blown if you do. Lambert, your buddy will tell you all you need to know – it’s that good.

Interface: Solid front-end, with an easy to use HUD and in-game interface, quick tap of a button you can select what you want (game pauses thankfully) and switch weapons at the drop of a hat. There’s a menu where you can read notes, get info on the mission and check out how to use each gadget.

Misc: SC features check points, each profile can have 3 of these and they’re sensibly placed so that when you do save you don’t have to go far if you die. Load times are fine, not too long when the level first loads, and fast when it’s loaded. This is another plus point. FMV happens as part of the story often between levels and seems to use higher definition versions of the in-game models, and again superbly voiced and animated – bringing to life Clancy and US:Montreal’s vision of the game and enhancing the story to the fullest. You can even get the odd clue about your next mission if you look closely.

And that about wraps it up for now. I want Splinter Cell 2 NOW to be honest. Even though I haven’t finished 1 yet, I just want to see where they’ll take this next. And to be brutally frank about this one, even if I do finish it, it still feels longer gameplay wise than MGS or MGS2, it’s more fulfilling than them both and highly polished – you owe it to yourself and the creative minds behind this game to get it, love it and play it over and over again. See how well you can do, and watch all the bonus material on the disk.

I found it flawless – perhaps I’ll find it too short, but then again, it’s the kind of game you never want to end. With missions broken up into parts, even though the box says there’s 9 (Some have said 14) it feels like a hell of a lot more. They’re diverse and challenging and will test your every reflex to the fullest.

You have the right, to do what ever it takes to get the job done.

Wolf out.