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Weak mission design takes away from a perfect game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 27 / 28
Date: June 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First off, I must say that Splinter Cell is the leader of stealth action games. It's fun, thoughtful, and intuitive. This game took many of the flaws of it's predecessors - "Pandora Tomorrow" and improved upon it. The three main improvements are the ability to save at any time, co-op, and a slightly better close up killing method.

All in all, if you played the other Splinter Cell's, it's pretty much the same. Which is good. You still can shoot lights, you still need to stick to the shadows, walk softly, kill quietly, and hack your way in. It continues the most thought provoking action series around, even though the latter levels are pretty annoying. The game mechanics have yet to be matched by any other game around.

The level designs are fun, unique, and varied. There 10 levels, with levels 3 to 8 being equally the best.

Unfortunately, this is not a perfect game. While there have been improvements from the previous game, there have been some drawbacks. In my opinion, some strategy and thinking have been removed from this game. Pandora Tomorrow (at least the first half), was really a thinking man's game. This chapter in the series sort of eliminates it. It's more of, "how many guys are there I need to kill". I found less reliance on shooting lights, taking out cameras, sneaking around and avoiding enemies, and more concentration on just plain shooting. Kind of dull and annoying (especially the last two horrid levels). Also, hand to hand combat is still not good enough. The newly added knife is excellent, but it still attracts attention, and grabbing guards is still to finicky. With more enemies in smaller spaces in this game, this flaw really stands out.

The co-op is interesting. Not as great as I'd hoped, but still not too shabby. It's definitely better than nothing, so I will give them credit for that. Since there are two people, it would have been interesting if there were more enemies, as both can handle the enemies simultaneously, but alas, the majority of the co-op is running really fast to avoid autoguns or figuring out where I can use the special co-op moves. The whole team aspect isn't really utilized in a manner befitting this series. It sort of feels tacked on. They have unique co-op missions that are really short, and the whole co-op only lasts a few hours, but there is no mid mission save for some reason. Oh well.

There is online as well. I can't comment on it because I would just be fodder for Splinter Cell nerds living in their mom's basement, so I didn't try.

Pros:
Co-op exists
Still the same great Splinter Cell gameplay
Knife kills are quick and fun
Can save anytime

Cons:
Co-op short
Too much action, not enough stealth
Close combat still not perfect

Time to Complete (on normal): 15 hours

Difficulty (on normal): Medium

Frustration Level (on normal): Medium

Splinter Cell Does it Again

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: June 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've been playing the Splinter Cell series from the begininng, and have always been impressed with the games. Chaos Theory is the latest game and builds well upon the sucess of the previous games, while adding enough new moves and changing several controls around to make the game more playable and enjoyable. The only part of the game that I was not impressed with was the mapping -- I found the 3D map to be both difficult to see and manipulate. There's nothing wrong with floor plan map views; and the lack of a "you are here" marker made it difficult to get my bearings at times.

That said, the basic gameplay and combat system are excellent. My favorite weapon is the sticky shocker, a non-lethal attachment to your main weapon that shoots like a bullet but shocks the daylights out of your victim instead. The storyline is pure Clancy -- believable enough to happen tomorrow. This game earns it's M rating and should not be played young children.

death from above

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: March 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

the first thing that i wanted to do when i loaded this game up, was to hang from a pipe, upside down, and strangle somebody to death. but, as my luck would have it, i could not do so on the first level. but oh well, my time will come.....it better anyway.

so, i wanted to get this for my pc, because it's really fast and i know it could handle the spiffy graphics and stuff, but alas, my EB Games did not have it for PC, so i got the limited edition ps2 version. now, i remember way back when, when the first Splinter Cell game was ported to the old Playstation 2, and when i fired that sucker up, i was appalled by the terrible graphics. terrible, not just compared to the XBOX version, but just terrible in general. but, i thought to myself, i can't get screwed twice! and, luckily enough, i didn't get screwed over again, not entirely. for those of you who do not own an XBOX or a high speed PC, do not feel frightened to purchase this game for the PS2. the graphics, while not super-realistic like the other two higher end installments, are still good none the less. they are some of the best graphics on the ps2. the water looks mighty neat, and most walls and floors have their own different surfaces and shine. now, of course, the little black, flat rectangle that is the playstation 2 cannot handle things such as rain dripping off Sam (who you play as, just in case you're new to the series) as he ducks into a cove, into the shadows. or when he steps in a deep puddle and gets wet, he is supposed to be soggy and dripping and all that kind of cool stuff. but not so much in the ps2 version. but, eh, i don't really care. the gameplay is where it's at, so i can take a few graphical downhauls as a sacrifice to play the game on my ps2.

and the gameplay is indeed where this baby shines. like the new game, God of War, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is all about the cool moves (and gagdets). for vets of the series, you will notice that all of your favorite split-jumps and pipe hanging are back, as well as a few new tricks. one, and the coolest by far, is where you climb across a pole over an enemy, then either: a) hang down and snap his head for a quick kill, or b) grap him around the neck and lift him off the ground, thus strangling him to death while he kicks and gasps. you can also hang upside down and shoot and all that good stuff, but that's nothing new, though it is still fun. like a lot of reviews have been stating, while he has these few cool new moves, he doens't really get that many chances to put them to use. sure, it would have been a wee bit silly to put a pipe over every enemy in the game...but just imagine....i'd be in neck snapping/strangulation heaven....

anyway, all the wonderful shadows are back for you to hide in. in fact, most of the game is basked in darkness, requiring you to wear your nightvision for most of the game. which isn't a bad thing, but even on the ps2, the levels still look pretty nice and i would have liked to see more of what they looked like without ink-black spilled all over them.

the difficulty in Chaos Theory isn't nearly as frustrating as Pandora Tomorrow, the second installment in the Splinter Cell series. this time around, if you set off an alarm, or too many alarms, you aren't done with the mission and have to start over. you just can't complete that one certain mission this time round, and you just go on with your other missions. sure, there are some missions that require NO KILLING, but that isn't too hard to avoid while your kneeing people in the face or giving them the old one-two to the skull with your meat-hooks (fists, i'm talking about fists). there are numerous ways to complete each level, and five minutes into the very first level, you'll already be saying, "man, i can't wait to do this mission again and do it different next time." or something along those lines. if you want to be Rambo and shoot from the hip through the levels, go ahead...it will just be much more difficult, mainly because the enemies are a hell of a lot smarter this time, and they will flank you, call for help, team up, track you down, all that good stuff. and they are really good shots this time, too...which pissed me off a few times, but it was my fault for stepping into the daylight like a suicidal vampire. the freedom of the missions is refreshing, and opens up all sorts of doors to you, the player.

the story is your usual terrorist/political fair. it's very similar to what is going on in the world today, as was the developers intent, and it suits the game well. Sam is the same old rugged over the hill rogue that he has always been, though in this game he looks a bit younger for some reason...oh well, he still has that gravelly old voice. you travel through a variety of mission locations, from an island in the sea (with a light house and a torture room! hooray!), to the back alleys of Manhatten, from an Oriental mansion/base, to a sea fairing vessel packed with terrorists and other unmentionables that you must do away with. and these levels are no walk in the part. the first level alone took me almost 45 minutes to complete on the easiest difficulty (yes, you may laugh. but i should point out that i'm a die-hard Metal Gear Solid/Solid Snake fan, and i would prefer a cardboard box to hiding in the shadows any old day! that, and this is the first time i've played a Splinter Cell game since the original, so i was just getting back into my groove....it's not an excuse! shut up! )

okay, well...graphics, story (kinda...it deals with terrorists and the government, use your imagination), levels, moves, oh, the controls are very good. i never got used to the XBOX controller for the original game (mainly cause i only played it for ten minutes), but the ps2 controller is good for this game, all of your cool moves and sneakiness flow like water from your hands with this game. the voice acting is good. Sam doesn't use crappy one-liners, i won't name names (ratchet & clank series, Jak and Daxter series, Robots (it's for my little cousin, honest!), Prince of Persia, the list goes on...). so, i guess, to end my review, i would just like to say again, that i believe that the Playstation 2 version of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, while not super-freakin'-tastic looking like the XBOX and PC versions, still fairs well with the rest of the ps2 games out now. so, pick up a copy, a limited edition copy, if you can, cause the extra dvd is pretty funny and interesting, though not that long, like the Halo 2 Limited Edition DVD, but anyway...like Sam Fisher, i will now lurk about in the shadows, until i am spotted, then i will just click my red shoes together and wish i was home.....ugh...i'm lonely. so, i hope this review helped you with your decision on whether or not to buy this game. if not, sorry. um, so, if you want a cool, stealth filled game, buy this. if not, and you don't want to sit around in the darkness and wait for a gaurd to walk by so you can stab him in the stomach BEFORE asking the questions (mwahahahahahahaha!), then fine, be a jerk and go play with your...your Pong, and your Hungry Hungry Hippos...or go buy a God of War or something. but seriously, this game takes patience, but you will never be frustrated, unless you are missing fingers or something (no offense to any fingerless people out there), the you might have a problem. but other than that, just sit in the shadows and strike your firey vengeance upon thine unsuspecting gaurd.

oh crap, i suppose i could talk about the multi-player. well, i don't have the internet, but i'm sure you've all heard super great things about all that online mercs vs. spies stuff anyway, so i won't talk about that. but this time around, you can play with a friend in a new co-op mode, where you can help each other up ledges and into windows and stuff. you can even play on the same system if you have two controllers, it's just split-screen then. i think that if you have four controllers, you can do the spies versus the mercs on one system, like a fps set-up, but i could be wrong. okay, now that that's done, make your choice, and do it quick, before you feel an icey blade stuck in your get and see three glowing green circles hovering in the shadows of nightfall...

Incredible

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Splinter Cell Chaos theory is an incredible game. It is a stealth game. The focus is light and dark: hiding in the darkness and sneaking up on guards thtanever heard or saw you. You can use non lethal attacks like punches, knees, or choke-holds, or lethal attacks like neck snaps and throat slits. The graphics pushn the ps2 to the limit: many cutscenes can be mistaken for movie scenes. Do not believe any bad review you hear. There is also a co-op mode and an online, spies vs. mercenaries, mode. The level design, sound, and story are great.

Graphics-pushes the ps2 to the limit. 9.9=4.95
Gameplay- stealty, light and dark, play 9.6=4.8
sound- good msuic, but nothing spectacular 8.5 4.25
fun factor- if you do not enjoy stealth games, you will after splinter cell chaos theory 9.5=4.75
note: the game is very hard

Best PS2 game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is awesome! The single player game's levels are challenging and expansive. All of them have multiple pathways and let you go into the missions with recommended weaponry, stealth weapons, or heavy weapons. On most levels, heavy weapons are your best bet. The AI is very smart. One example is when you disable a light, some enemies will use a torch or flashlight to try and find you. Another great improvement is the ability to save ANYWHERE! This is a great feature and makes it much easier to complete levels. The game also has co-op gameplay, where you and a friend team up to complete levels. When playing co-op, just make sure your friend is good at the game, and if they aren't good at it, make sure they can follow directions. Because if 1 of you dies, its failed mission. Now down to the core of the game: multiplayer online. The multiplayer is why i rated this game 5 stars. It is amazing! You can either be a spy or a mercenary. When you're a begginer, i recomend being a mercenary, because it's much easier to kill spys. When you are a spy, you have to jump on mercenaries or sneak up behind them and brake their neck. Mercenaries just have to shoot the spys. Overall, this is a must buy if you like the stealth genre and have a PS2, Xbox, or good PC. If you have a gamecube, but not a good PC, you dont know what your missing with the multiplayer mode.

Chaos Theory is Insane

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: April 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This was well worth my money. Chaos Theory is probably (if not the best) the best espionage game out there. So far in my mind its neck and neck with MGS3. I own both of them and love them. The gameplay in SC-CT is smooth, and intense. The enemies are not retards with guns, they act like real mercenaries/guerillas and do not stand waiting to get wasted. There are also many more paths to take in the missions, and much more strategy elements, like the sound level that you have to pay attention to along with the visibilty level. The Graphics have a new boost to them from a technique called "Geotexturing" which gives all textures a realistic look and real bumps and such. The Story line is also straght out of the Tom Clancy style with terrorism and global threat. This isn't bad though. Overall, the single player is well worth your money, with its new elements of gameplay, AI, and graphics.
The Co-op is very fun, along with the online, which has Mercs vs. Spies. The online is fun, but only has 4 players in a server. But, the game modes make up for the lack of players and can deliver a solid gaming experience.
THIS GAME IS A MUST BUY!!

I shall end with pros and cons...

Pros-
Good AI
Great graphics- EVEN ON PS2!!
Multiple pathways
Great, intense gameplay

Cons-
Gameplay can get hard because sam moves slowly with his weapon (im too used to socom and run and gun games, purely for my situation)
If you have no patience, dont buy this
Less pathways than PC or XBOX, but its not very noticeable to me

These cons barely subtract from gameplay if you have experience in the genre.

Buy this game now, but if you are unsure, rent it now.

PS2 Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game As far as multiplayer goes, there is an even bigger improvement. There is the new Deathmatch mode for versus. Spies now have a gadget tha lets them turn invisible for a short time. Mercs also have three different tyoes of mines (laser, proxy, poison) to use. There are also many new and exciting maps, each with their own objectives to complete so it never gets repetitive with the same game types.

The new Co-op mode is definately the best change in the game. Although there are only four missions (five counting training), the gameplay is great. There are many co-op moves that both people need to do to complete. For example, one person can throw the other across a bunch of lasers.

Splinter Cell`s actully fun! (no joke)

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Is this really Splinter Cell? it dosn`t feel like SC. Theres no trial and error, no 3-alarms-and-mission-over-crap. no 1-civilain-death-and-mission-over-crap. Instead of being 90% stealth, it`s more like 40%. And ya-know, this is the first one to actully be fun!!! No really, yeah it`s still a tough game but nowhere near as bad as the last two.And lastly,even though the Xbox is better this game has the best graphics on PS2 period(.) PS: i`m writing this on my PSP`s web-browser so pIease excuse my spelling

Close....so very close

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: July 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The first Splinter Cell game was a good freshman outing. Sure it had it's problems, but for a new game it showed great promise for other games in the series down the line. Pandora Tomorrow, while still good, felt morel like an expansion pack than a full game. With the release of Chaos Theory it seems that the promise of greatness has still yet to be fulfiled. Though it's still a great game in it's own right, Chaos Theory still suffers from some of the same problems that has plagued the series from it's inception.

With the fall of the Georgian renegade Nikoladze, the NSA's Third Echelon division is hard at work trying to stop the latest threats faced around the globe. The sinking of the United States Navy's newest ship the U.S.S Walsh, it's seems like thier man in the field Sam Fisher is going to be very busy.

At a time when people are saying the PS2 is looking dated, Chaos Theory shows that the machine still has plenty of juiced left. Using a new technique called Geo-Texturing, Chaos Theory has some of the best graphics seen on the PS2 to date. With the new graphics the overall look of the game has changed somewhat. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. The environments look less sterile and more natural. Everything down to the smoke effects has a nice feel. One of the big problems however is that in the PS2 version the levels are broken up into several parts each of which require you to sit and wait at a loading screen. This makes the environments feel disjointed and incoherent. Many of the levels still feel very linear though there are some multiple paths now.

The gameplay has remained largely intact. Sam Fisher still has to sneak around in the shadows using his night vision. After three games this has me asking if any of these building ever turn the lights on? The nightvision goggles are a big component of the gameplay but after all this time it's started get old. Sam has a few new moves including an exclusive "drown" move that can only be found on the PS2. The combat knife and some close quarters moves have been added but there still doesn't seem to be any sort of hand to hand combat system. You'd think that an Uber Agent would be well trained in martial arts or some sort of unarmed fighting styles, but for some reason we don't see them here. Sam has some new attatchments added to his SC-9mm pistol. One of them is a EEV device which disables lights without shooting them out. The night vision googles also have an electro frequency mode which allows you to see what objects emit electromagnetic waves. Another nice addition is the remote hacking feature. Computers can be accessed from a distance and hacked into using a decryption device. The actual decryption process is a bit trick and takes some practice but it's an excellent feature in the game. One of the things that I didn't like was that the training modes are now video presentations and not an active training session. This made things a little more difficult during the actual gameplay having no experience with any of new controlls. Unfortunatley there are no unlockable extras and no bonus material.

One of the main downfalls of the game is still the bland storyline and the uninteresting characters. The first game felt as if the story and characters weren't an integral part of the game. I felt almost as Ubi Soft were saying "it doesn't matter why you're on the mission just go and do it". After playing through the game five times I couldn't remember any of the characters names except for Sam Fisher. As a result Splinter Cell felt like a group of missions designed seperately with no commonality to them. The second game was more of the same. Chaos Theory is an attempt to give the player a more cinematic feel. But once again the characters are presented as one dimensional charicatures. They come across as flat and uninteresting. Alot of people will say "but it's more realistic". That may be true but it's not very memorable.

The online modes are basically the same as in Pandora Tomorrow (Spys vs. Mercenaries) but with the addition of 4 new maps.

Overall even Chaos Theory is an excellent game. The single player game is worth the price tag alone. With the new reduced price this is definitley one pick up. While it's still not a Metal Gear killer, it's certainly no slouch.

Go get it for PC (This review is for the PS2 version only)

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 12
Date: April 20, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This would be a great game if the PC and Xbox version of this game didn't exist, but sadly that is not the case. If you have a PC (most likely you do because you're reading this) and a ps2, go get it for the PC(or xbox). Here's what UBISOFT failed to mention when releasing this for the PS2.......the multiplayer Spy VS Merc component is EXACTLY THE SAME as Pandora Tomorrow with the exception of 4 new maps. No new Camo suit, no gas mask, no new weapons for either spy nor merc, oh and also...no Death Match and no new story mode either!!(but the PC and xbox version have all of the above)Also, the CO-OP in the PS2 version isn't online, just split screen. So if you have Pandora Tomorrow...and you're buying this to play Spy vs Merc onilne....you're going to be paying $50 for 4 maps(oh yeah, they fixed the double jump thing too). But if you don't play online, the single player is okie because all the levels are chopped up and smaller then it's PC and xbox counterparts (which means more linearity) but I must repeat, if you have a PC(or xbox), go buy it for the PC(or xbox).

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