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If you own an XBOX360, you need to own this game!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 27 / 28
Date: October 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Okay let me go on record as saying I LOVE this game so far (about 50% thru) from the stellar graphics to the non linear deep story. Is it the best in the series, THAT is a matter of opinion. I will say however that it IS MY favorite Splinter Cell (SC) to date. And I have played and loved them all, even found joy in the PSP version. But one thing particular makes this one my fave and that is the Story. I will not spoil anything but it is truly engrossing. Now let me follow my normal review format.

Graphics - 5 out of 5 Ubisoft really decided to show true 360 power. OMG! The graphics in this game rank up there with the greats...(FN3,COD3, Oblivion, etc.) may be the best I am still trying to compare. So many details in Sam's wetsuit, backgrounds, and enemies!!! Let me put it like this, you sneak up on your prey, grab him and hold him to interrogate watch his eyes flutter while he spills the beans and then watch his eyes roll to the back of his head when you choke him out. Nuff Said!!!

Sound - 4.5 out of 5 Michael Ironside does the voice acting for Sam, do I really need to go on? The sounds and background music is exactly what you come to expect from the SC series. Turn off everything in the room and turn up the volume you will get sucked in.

Controls - 4 out of 5 Here is my one and only CON, the camera doesn't always like the way you want control Sam, you end up having to toy with the right analog stick a little too much in some situations to see what you want to see. But as far as everything else it flows smoothly and controls pretty much like the others in the series!

Gameplay - 5 out of 5 Okay this is where the game absolutely TAKES off!!! There is just something about sneaking out of the shadows, grabbing and choking your enemies then hiding the bodies, gets me amped!!! But we have already done that right with others in the series right? Well imagine hanging and lowering yourself on a winch Mission Impossible style to obtain access to a certain objective or catch an enemy off guard. Or how about popping out of icy waters grabbing an unsuspecting enemy and dragging him underwater with you to choke him out (without fully getting out of the water). Let me tell you ladies and gentlemen this is STEALTH done absolutely right!! Then on top of the stellar gameplay mechanics. You have options on how to use those gameplay mechanics. Meaning you are a double agent, if you kill your enemies recklessly, leave innocent people to die you get closer to becoming that evil which you are trying to fight against. On the other hand if you choose to save the innocent and take your enemies out sparing their lives, then you uphold that which you have stood for all your years as an NSA agent. Simply put: THIS GAME ROCKS!!

Story - 5 out of 5 I am only about halfway thru this masterpiece and I will not spoil any of what I have experienced thus far I will however tell you that this is so far one of the best story I have experienced in a game. Ending not rated yet...

I will now say that I am a big Splinter Cell fan anyway so this review may come off somewhat Bias. I tried to be as unbiased as possible, but I honestly can not imagine anyone NOT liking this game once they get the hang out the controls and fortunately there are 2 training missions (practice) to help accomplish this. Also let me say that I play my XBOX360 on a 32" Samsung HD TV so when I rate the graphics that is all I have to go by, so I cannot honestly tell anyone how good the graphics look on a regular TV. I cant imagine they would be that much worst though.

Bottom Line: This game is one of the few (so far) for which you purchased an Xbox360...and it is NOT to be missed Trust me!! Let the Holiday Games begin!!!

Michael Ironside should play Sam Fisher in the movie

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: March 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

PROS:
- Unreal Engine
- No forced grab cover as with many new games.
- SAVE ANYWHERE!
- Excellent main character voice acting, especially Michael Ironside. It really helps.
- Excellent music. This really helps too.
- Complicated story with interesting morality. I never understood irrational "ends-justify-the-means" ethics, which this game obviously employs, but it's certainly realistic to our ultra-nationalistic, ultra-militaristic government, so using it as a plot device in this game makes perfect sense. The enemy is mostly domestic so no one can claim anti-Arab, anti-Muslim or racism. Branching storylines and alternate endings as in a special edition DVD.
- Very very interesting psychological training levels (although this is far too brief and actually doesn't really train newbies on most weapons and gadgets).
- Sammy gotta girlfriend. Awwwww.
- Map - don't know where to go? Look at the map.
- I never once had to consult the internet due to bad design, didn't know where to go, what to do, glitches, etc. Double-plus good on that.

CONS:
- Deplorable recycled enemy voice acting during combat. Your enemies will even switch from new voice actors to completely different (old) voice actors if you enter combat. They'll say things like "let's try something different, fall back!" and other various quotes from older Splinter Cell games (Chaos Theory). Tons of them are from the exact same voice actor, which again is from older games and there is not even an attempt to make him sound like a different guy each time. How much effort could it take to get some voice actors into a studio to some new lines. You could get a bum off the street to do this.
- infinite health nonsense like in Call of Duty 2, Gears of War, Rainbow Six Vegas, etc. no med kits, health packs, etc. I don't get this with the new games. It's a revolt against the old Doom health/armor tradition. Logically, it only makes sense if you have some sort of Halo character with a recharging shield or something similar. Sam ain't got that, WWII soldiers certainly didn't, neither do characters in other games - you might be able to give Gears of War a pass because they are wearing some sort of goofy suit in the future, but they really should either explain it (or explain it away) for this and other games. Infinite health changes the context of gameplay. There is no urgency to get to a health kit or be more careful if your health is down. Get shot a bunch of times? Just duck down for a couple of seconds, no prob.
- too many timed missions (entire levels are timed in this game in which you must complete complicated tasks and aren't even able to run - you're forced to walk). It's annoying.
- they took away the light and sound meters in favor of a lame traffic-light Homeland Security style color system. I miss the light and sound meters, they were cool. The color system is also redundant (they have it permanently on screen in 2 different places) -- why not have only 1 color alert (on his shoulder strap) and the light/sound meters for flavor. The light meter allowed you to see when you were APPROACHING vulnerability of exposure. Now they just have a yellow light which indicates only the exact moment of vulnerability, not when you are getting close. The sound meter similarly allowed you to see when you were able to surprise enemies more easily due to loud ambient noise.
- grenade throwing system downgrade. They used to show you an exact arc of where the grenade would land - this was realistic because throwing stuff into an exact location is fairly easy in real life. Even children can do it, so I gather an expert military veteran can do it. Not anymore because it's gone. Why?

Still an excellent game and I'm sure they'll give it a sequel. Chaos Theory was a little better IMO.

Michael Ironside should play Sam Fisher in the movie

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: March 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

PROS:
- Unreal Engine
- No forced grab cover as with many new games.
- SAVE ANYWHERE!
- Excellent main character voice acting, especially Michael Ironside. It really helps.
- Excellent music. This really helps too.
- Complicated story with interesting morality. I never understood irrational "ends-justify-the-means" ethics, which this game obviously employs, but it's certainly realistic to our ultra-nationalistic, ultra-militaristic government, so using it as a plot device in this game makes perfect sense. The enemy is mostly domestic so no one can claim anti-Arab, anti-Muslim or racism. Branching storylines and alternate endings as in a special edition DVD.
- Very very interesting psychological training levels (although this is far too brief and actually doesn't really train newbies on most weapons and gadgets).
- Sammy gotta girlfriend. Awwwww.
- Map - don't know where to go? Look at the map.
- I never once had to consult the internet due to bad design, didn't know where to go, what to do, glitches, etc. Double-plus good on that.

CONS:
- Deplorable recycled enemy voice acting during combat. Your enemies will even switch from new voice actors to completely different (old) voice actors if you enter combat. They'll say things like "let's try something different, fall back!" and other various quotes from older Splinter Cell games (Chaos Theory). Tons of them are from the exact same voice actor, which again is from older games and there is not even an attempt to make him sound like a different guy each time. How much effort could it take to get some voice actors into a studio to some new lines. You could get a bum off the street to do this.
- infinite health nonsense like in Call of Duty 2, Gears of War, Rainbow Six Vegas, etc. no med kits, health packs, etc. I don't get this with the new games. It's a revolt against the old Doom health/armor tradition. Logically, it only makes sense if you have some sort of Halo character with a recharging shield or something similar. Sam ain't got that, WWII soldiers certainly didn't, neither do characters in other games - you might be able to give Gears of War a pass because they are wearing some sort of goofy suit in the future, but they really should either explain it (or explain it away) for this and other games. Infinite health changes the context of gameplay. There is no urgency to get to a health kit or be more careful if your health is down. Get shot a bunch of times? Just duck down for a couple of seconds, no prob.
- too many timed missions (entire levels are timed in this game in which you must complete complicated tasks and aren't even able to run - you're forced to walk). It's annoying.
- they took away the light and sound meters in favor of a lame traffic-light Homeland Security style color system. I miss the light and sound meters, they were cool. The color system is also redundant (they have it permanently on screen in 2 different places) -- why not have only 1 color alert (on his shoulder strap) and the light/sound meters for flavor. The light meter allowed you to see when you were APPROACHING vulnerability of exposure. Now they just have a yellow light which indicates only the exact moment of vulnerability, not when you are getting close. The sound meter similarly allowed you to see when you were able to surprise enemies more easily due to loud ambient noise.
- grenade throwing system downgrade. They used to show you an exact arc of where the grenade would land - this was realistic because throwing stuff into an exact location is fairly easy in real life. Even children can do it, so I gather an expert military veteran can do it. Not anymore because it's gone. Why?

Still an excellent game and I'm sure they'll give it a sequel. Chaos Theory was a little better IMO.

Falls Far Short of Previous Splinter Cell Titles

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 13 / 17
Date: November 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

As a long-time Splinter Cell fan who has owned and enjoyed all of the previous Splinter Cell titles, I eagerly anticipated this latest release. Unfortunately, I have been highly disappointed.

The graphics are improved over the last version, but not substantially. I appreciate that the game designers realized that the game's superb graphics were lost in previous versions, because you had to spend most of your time in night-vision mode and not able to appreciate them. In this iteration, you can creep around the dark and still see around you, without night vision.

The game play and storyline, however, are just not as good as the previous games. As well, the game is extremely buggy, as any visitor to the Ubisoft message boards will quickly deduce. While the online gameplay is fun, I am disappointed in Ubisoft's reliance on online patches. I have owned the game for a week after its release, and already it has downloaded two software patches. Yet problems persist. In my case, the game freezes at the beginning of the third level and there is no way to get past it. I can cross my fingers and hope that Ubisoft updates the problem soon, but I am disappointed that I spent $60 on a game that only lets me play two levels. I can't help but think that Ubisoft rushed the game out the door without checking its quality, relying on its ability to patch it later.

If you are new to the Splinter Cell series and own an Xbox 360, I'd recommend that you pick up the Xbox version of "Chaos Theory" instead. It's cheaper, the graphics and online play are great, and it will work on your Xbox 360. Avoid this disappointing title until several months from now. Hopefully, by then, the price for this buggy product will reflect its true value, and some of the bugs will have been fixed.

Somehow - not as good as the first 3

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: November 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Despite all the pans and critiques, you can't deny that Splinter cell DA is still a pretty good game. It maintains the same tradition of stealth over run-and-gun as its splinter cell predecessors. No doubt, this game is worth renting. But you should be able to beat it before it's due back at Blockbusters.

Now for the gripes:

First, the multiplayer is nothing short of retarded. In the previous incarnations, super cool spies battled it out against mean mercenaries. Now the spies and mercs look like bald goons. I don't generally care about silly looking character models; but they're extremely goofy looking in this game. The big difference, and one that it seems everyone is complaining of, is that spies have very little offensive options against mercs. In past games, spies could at least stun them with a stun gun or launch a smoke grenade in their direction. Now spies have no guns, and can only carry one (that's right, one) gadget - like the smoke grenade or flash grenade. While previous titles made multiplayer such an integral part that it really made the game worth buying, the multiplayer on DA is stupid, unbalanced, and no fun whatsoever to play.

The single-player story is more or less the same gameplay as previous splinter cell games. The "trust" meter thing is pretty silly and it basically goes up or down depending on whether or not you complete primary and secondary objectives. It adds nothing to the game.

The mini-games are a nice addition. I'm starting to wonder if all games will have mini-games one day. At any rate, the ones in DA are a bit on the difficult side; but not so aggravatingly so to make you throw the controller.

I was a big fan of the original trilogy of splinter cell on x-box. But with a short story and a real let-down in the multiplayer department, this will be the first splinter cell title that I will NOT be buying.

Great Game but nothing drastically new!!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: November 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

How is it possible to write a bad review for this game. The graphics are awesome. The storyline is interesting especially since in this game you are a double agent. Like all past splinter cell games, you cant complain. Even though that's true, while playing I cant get away from the feeling that I've played this game before. There isnt anything really that different from this title compared to the others. Sure the xbox 360 graphics are great however I've always believed that splinter cell on the old XBOX used that console's graphics capabilities very well. So taking that into account the upgrade isnt that drastic. The double agent storyline is interesting but I cant say it is an upgrade compared to other storylines in the past. As for a storyline, there's only so much they can do in a game like this.

So bottom line, this is a great game. If you have never played this title before you will be blown away!!! If you have played this before, you'll still enjoy it, however, you may get a feeling of wanting a little more.

Great Game However nothing drastically new........

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 12
Date: October 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

How is it possible to write a bad review for this game. The graphics are awesome. The storyline is interesting especially since in this game you are a double agent. Like all past splinter cell games, you cant complain. Even though that's true, while playing I cant get away from the feeling that I've played this game before. There isnt anything really that different from this title compared to the others. Sure the xbox 360 graphics are great however I've always believed that splinter cell on the old XBOX used that console's graphics capabilities very well. So taking that into account the upgrade isnt that drastic. The double agent storyline is interesting but I cant say it is an upgrade compared to other storylines in the past. As for a storyline, there's only so much they can do in a game like this.

So bottom line, this is a great game. If you have never played this title before you will be blown away!!! If you have played this before, you'll still enjoy it, however, you may get a feeling of wanting a little more.

I didn't like it.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: December 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I originally got DA for the regular XBOX, and played a few levels. I thought it was pretty good, but not as good as past Splinter Cells. When I finally got a 360 I decided to trade my XBOX version of DA for the 360 version. This turned out to be a mistake, and shortly after playing the 360 version of the game, I wanted my XBOX on back.

First off the levels in the 360 version are different than the regular XBOX version. This is OK in itself, but to me the levels are just so boring an do not make much sense. To me it seems that the level were just thrown together with no thought on how things would play out when someone actually played the level. A good example is the first "real" level at the JBA headquarters. You had to do a couple of things for the NSA, and to do this you had to find time to go to a restricted area to plant some bugs. Your main task was for the JBA to go through a pretty simple obstacle course and open a safe at the end, all of which takes 4 minutes. However you are given 15 minutes to complete the task. How convienient, plenty of time to plant bugs. And what makes this worse, even after you finished your tasks for the JBA and NSA you will more than likely have 3 or 4 minute left, and then you HAVE to wait those 3 or 4 minutes IN REAL time for the guy to come check on you. How lame can you get? Its a complete waste of time. I blew it off, because it was one of the first levels, but the next levels I played were just as boring.

Another thing that I found missing was the many of the cool things you could do or had access to in past Splinter Cell games is not in DA for the 360. Even the Xbox version has these things, but the 360 version does not. Example, you cannot remote hack, you don't have the visibility and sound meters on your opsat, the enemy tracker in your 3D map does not show enemy positions in real time, its only a snapshot; so if the enemy is walking, you won't see it on your map. the regular XBOX version of th game has this, why not the 360 version? I don't know if you can do the split jump or not, but I never had an opportunity to try it. You can unlock different gadgets by completing tasks without getting detected by the enemy, but why not have them in the game to begin with? It just makes the game more frustrating. One thing I hate about video games, is when they make you unlock stuff that should already be in the game.

One of the only good things about this game was the graphics and sound. But even the sound seemed to mess up during the gameplay. Without warning the sound of enemy talk and weapons firing would go out and you couldn't hear anything except of the enviroment itself and sometimes the background music. In addition to this, my game has frozen a few times without warning, forcing me to start over. Another strike.

The game itself played OK, the controls were pretty responsive for the most part but even that messed up. When the sound started going out, your controls seemed to be affected as well, and there was a slight delay when firing your weapon.

One final thing about the gameplay that was pretty corny in my opinion, is that you have this stupid light on your suit that shows green when noone sees you, but as soon as an enemy sees you it turns red. Why is this nesccesary? This was not in previous splinter cell games, and I think a good reason for that is that it's not needed and it looks stupid. It's just more proof that this game was just thrown together without any real thought into actual gameplay.

I thought I would never give a Splinter Cell game a bad review, but the XBOX 360 version of this game gave me no choice. I finally had enough, so I returned the game back to the store for a full refund. (Thank goodness I bought it used). I had to rebuy my traded game back for the lower used price, but that was OK with me. So instead of getting the full cost for DA for the 360 back, I only netted 20 bucks. Its still OK with me though, because I wasn't at all happy with the 360 version. I am back to the regular XBOX version of the game, and I couldn't be happier.

If you have or thinking about getting Double Agent for the regular XBOX, keep it! To me the 360 version is a huge dissapointment and I encourage others to stick with the more polished regular XBOX version.

I gave this game 3 stars overall, which was very generous, if this was my first Splinter Cell game, it would definetely be a 2. My review for the regular XBOX version of this game is coming soon.

What the @#$% went wrong???

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: November 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

When video game companies change developers mid-stream on a franchise, you can only expect bad things *(see Call of Duty 3).

Not unlike how John Gruden wanted to make the Tampa Bay Buccaneers HIS team, apart from Dungee's Bucs----second-party developers look to stake their own claim...raise their own flag on a successful game franchise---and more often than not---gamers pay the price.

This game was helmed by Ubi Soft Shanghai...and man does it suck more than an overcrowded Chinese subway. They tried to add a "free will" aspect, which doesn't give you free will at all, but instead gives you timed missions and added, pointless stress that doesn't make the game more fun to play, but likens it unto getting a root canal.

Sure the graphics are great---but I think in the four days since it's release, Playstation 3 owners can tell you that in this day and age---and when it comes to games----beauty ain't everything.

Regardless, avoid this game if you're a fan of the other Splinter Cell titles. RENT IT if you haven't picked one up before. All in all though, this is a bigger ball-drop than "Halo 2" ever dreamt of being.

This old dog's tricks are still cool.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: November 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Sam Fisher is in quite a jiffy. The mole deep inside the territory of a domestic terrorist organization, he's the double agent holding a gun in the face of an innocent man, an innocent man the bad guys want dead and the good guys don't. Lambert's screeching in one ear and the enemy impatiently barks in the other, waiting as Sam decides to hit or miss. You, the player, grip the right trigger and it's up to you and only you to let the bullet hit its mark or ricochet harmlessly off of the grimy wall.

Ubisoft's fourth Splinter Cell adventure, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent has an ongoing double agent theme, hence its title. Sam Fisher's ready for retirement and his last mission before that big break is a massive undercover operation that takes him into the belly of John Brown's Army, or the JBA. The JBA is an organization bent on terrorizing all over the globe. The NSA wants Sam to work for the enemy at all the right times while keeping his head on straight and his mind on the greater good. The story and the missions that take place in Splinter Cell: Double Agent constantly put you, the player, into these two-sided situations. Do you risk losing JBA trust in order to secure some files for the NSA, or alternatively, lose Lambert's respect for hitting a target the JBA wants out of the gene pool?

In some ways, this trust system works well with the otherwise traditional Splinter Cell gameplay. Since most of your missions have you being dispatched by the JBA, your primary goals will more or less be to please them. I found at many points through the game that it was difficult to maintain a good side with the NSA, and oftentimes their objectives required a lot more work than the JBA's kill-and-blow-stuff-up mentality. It's not so much like Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic, where your decisions make you a light-aligned or dark-aligned character, but it's a mutual system where a balance of sorts must be maintained. The interesting twist is that at no point in the game can either the JBA's or the NSA's trust completely deplete; and even in mid-mission if you agitate either side too much it's game over. It is entirely possible to find yourself in a lose-lose situation where you've saved your file in a spot where you didn't know you were about to lose that last shred of trust, and because of that, the trust system can be a little frustrating.

Still, the Splinter Cell gameplay is better than ever and you're able to keep Sam in line in several great missions. You'll put all of his abilities to the test, and even early on you'll find yourself being as acrobatic as a gymnast, only you're also as capable to kill as a precise sniper shot to the head. Sam's got all sorts of tools, including the return of favorites like the Sticky Shocker. Those never get old. Sam can also crack safes and hack computers and all of that cool stealth stuff, but most of that is old hat. Really the only big difference is the lack of on-screen meters. It's all the rage these days to show status information in a dynamic form, and Splinter Cell: Double Agent jumps that bandwagon pretty well. Sam's shadow meter has been replaced with a bright light mechanism. As he's cloaked in darkness, the light turns green, but should an enemy notice him or his presence, the light will turn yellow. In combat, or when discovered, the light is red, letting the player know of the imminent danger. The light thing is a little perplexing; similar to Sam's trusty googles, wouldn't the enemy see lights emitting from the darkness? Oh well. In short, Splinter Cell: Double Agent is more of the same stuff you've enjoyed for four years, but it's as much fun as it's always been and feels just like it always has.

Splinter Cell set a visual bar in 2002 when it came out on the Xbox, a bar that even some of today's new, lesser-developed Xbox releases can't reach. Needless to say the four years since then have worked magic on the visuals and the series' Xbox 360 debut is every bit as impressive as the series' debut back on the Xbox. Sam's grizzly, aging appearance is as detailed as ever and the environments that are snuck through are detailed perfectly down to the very last shadow. Oh, and yes, the curtain effect still looks better here than in any other game out there. If it weren't for the series' notoriously stiff animation, this would be a perfect graphical package. The voice acting is as flawless as ever, and with the emotional weight in some of the game's choices you'll hear a reciprocated effect from the supporting characters, like Lambert and the JBA's raspy leader, Emile. The gun sound effects still don't sound as explosive as other games but the ambient music and great voice overs do the trick aurally.

Online multiplayer has been a Splinter Cell highlight since it revolutionized online gaming in Splinter Cell: Pandora tomorrow. Like the single-player game, it wasn't broke, so Ubisoft didn't do a lot to fix it. Avid online gamers might cry fowl about a few things; some gameplay adjustments have been made that make the game a little less "in the dark," so to speak. Spies have really been dumbed down, and not in terms of their maneuverability, but now mercenaries can see a white outline around them after spotting them. Not only that, but force feedback in the controller of a player-controlled mercenary will alert him or her when a spy is nearby. This takes out all of the element of surprise, making it even harder for spies to sneak up on and silently kill mercenaries. Still, online multiplayer is intense and a lot of fun. Splinter Cell: Double Agent is easily one of the best Xbox Live games so far.

In conclusion, there is so little wrong with Splinter Cell: Double Agent that it takes some searching to point out flaws. As I pointed out earlier, the game isn't all that fresh, and the core gameplay is largely the same with Sam having a very limited amount of new abilities. It's really up to you to decide if you want to play through a bunch of missions with similar mechanics as three other past video games. If you make the decision to purchase Splinter Cell: Double Agent, you're most likely an action fan or someone who's already delved into the Splinter Cell franchise. Either way, you're going to enjoy this one. It's one of the better action games of the year and quite possibly the best Splinter Cell yet.

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