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Amazing graphics and immersive gameplay

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 99 / 101
Date: November 27, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This latest Tom Clancy game has amazing graphics and some incredibly detailed body movements. It takes the spy game genre to an entirely new level!

I'm a big spy-game fan in general, and we have all 3 major platforms, so I went into Splinter Cell curious about all the hype. It's gotten incredible ratings from several magazines. I have to say, after having played it, those ratings were well deserved.

First, the graphics. The amount of work that went into graphics on this game is just phenomonal. Your character goes through smoke and fire, through darkness and bright neon light, under shaded lattices, through light coming through venetian blinds, through hazy curtains, through punch-hole metalwork. It is just STUNNING. You really begin to believe that this is a movie and you're controlling the outcome.

The other senses aren't neglected. Sound is KEY and you are constantly aware of how much noise you're making while you're sneaking around. The speed at which you move, your crouching, your stance, all affect how well people notice you. Unlike other games which blast you with rock music, in this one you're so attuned that you hear the little movements of your own feet as you creep, or the movements of guards walking down the hallway.

The animation on the character is fantastic. Press up against a wall. Climb a fence and roll over the top. Slide down a wire. Go hand-over-hand across a pipe, and pull up your feet to get more traction. Slide down a ladder, jump up a wall and do a split to stay there, unseen. The way the character moves is just amazing. Some serious work was put into this effort, and it pays off.

The gameplay missions are logical and draw you along into the story. It's not exactly a ring-through-the-nose drag like other games. You are given objectives - "Get object X which is in building Y" but you aren't handed a map to follow. Instead, you're put into real-world situations and have to figure out for yourself the best way to accomplish that goal. You could try a frontal assault, you could try the sneaky back way. It's up to you, and your success depends on your ability to think through a situation and then implement your path.

The game even encourages you not to be violent. It points out that your aim is stealth, and that you should try to stay unseen and sneak by whenever possible. In most missions you can get through without killing anyone, if you use your head.

Highly recommended for any first-person-shooter fan!

Best stealth action game to date, hands down.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 30 / 31
Date: January 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

While it lacks universal appeal, Splinter Cell (SC) is an outstanding game that provides an experience on the Xbox that no other game can. You take the role of Sam Fisher, an veteran special forces commando called out of retirement for a new, experimental intelligence initiative of the NSA. The storyline is classic Tom Clancy (as is Fisher, Clancy readers may wonder why they didn't just name the character Clark and be done with it). As far as simulating this type of experience goes, SC is remarkably well done but what will really determine if you like the game is whether or not the core concept appeals to you.

If you're considering purchasing SC then you've doubtlessly already read about how fantastic the graphics and sound are. Believe the hype. The music and sound effects are wonderfully immersive and create the sort of tense atmosphere this game needs. The lighting engine is nothing short of revolutionary. There are some clipping issues (dead bodies can poke through walls) but it is difficult to pick on the game for this considering how much power must be devoted to the best real time light and shadows ever in a game.

The gameplay in SC is excellent. The conrtrols and camera are intuitive and easy to use. Fisher can perform an extensive variety of physical actions to interact with his environment. Sometimes it is difficult to get him to do exactly what you want because there are so many options available and so many objects to interact with but practice and experience will solve most of these problems.

It is important to be clear that SC is not a shooter in the classic sense. Certianly, you will encounter some scenarios in which the only real course of action is a full blown fire fight with automatic wepaons, but they are rare. Ubi Soft did a fantastic job of conveying how chaotic and disjointed such combat must feel. Fisher's aim worsens drmatically if you try to move and shoot at the same time and both you and your opponents will miss a lot. In addition, everyone is realistically fragile - it only takes a few rounds to put someone down and head shots will always kill. But SC is really a stealth game. The point is to sneak through a dense thicket of security without being caught. The game's finest moments are found while you wait in the shadows, timing the complex patterns of a group of guards, waiting for the exact second to move to the next pool of shadows. Or when you sit in the darkness, mere feet from a pair of guards with machine guns as they stalk by, your heart stuck in your throat as you wait to see if they discover you. Depending on the way you choose to approach the game, you might kill every guard you come across or kill virtually no one. It is almost like there are two games in SC. You can play through as a cold machine, dropping every guard you come across, or you can take the self-imposed challenge and try to minimize the body count and the game will never really punish you for choosing one over the other.

Overall the level design and widely ranging methods of attack give SC a great deal of replay value. There are only nine levels, but each one takes several hours to complete and expansion levels will be available through Xbox Live or the Official Xbox Magazine game disks soon. The path through the levels may be a bit too linear. There is often really only way to travel from the start of a level to the end. The designers did this intentionally to keep the levels from being confusing, but it would have been a better simulation if it included such uncertainty. You can only save your game at certain check points in a given level and this is a good thing. It keeps the tension higher than it would have been if you could save your game anywhere.

The final point to touch on is the game AI. Overall, it is quite good, especially on a room to room basis. Enemies react realisitcally to your discovery and will investigate any sounds you may make. However, the game AI does have its faults. First it is possible to do things like shoot out a camera and then simply wait out a guard's investigation. If you stay hidden, eventually the guard will just figure it broke or something and forget about it rather than raising an alarm. It is also odd how you can stalk into a building, leaving in your wake nothing but broken lights and carefully hidden bodies, and no one on the radio network operated by the security notices the growing silence. It is also odd nobody ever notices a camera going offline when you shoot it, but the moment a camera sees you, all hell breaks loose. In the sequel Ubi Soft should try to address this, perhaps by upping the overall state of alarm every time a camera or radio equipped guard goes off the air.

In the end, SC is a game that anyone who finds the idea of slowly sneaking through shadowy compunds while dodging cameras, security guards, and dogs appealing should flat out purchase. You won't be disappointed. If you are unsure whether or not you would enjoy a video game where the tension and excitement come from the portions of the game that aren't action driven, then you should definitely rent first.

Great game! Not sure what "Druff" was thinking...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 35 / 44
Date: November 08, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Druff called this game "horrible. Very horrible." This is untrue. Splinter Cell is one of a kind. Metal Gear Solid 2: Subtance, is good, I don't deny that, but Splinter Cell is better in every aspect. In Splinter Cell, you can interrogate civillians, use human shields, and many other original things. Hey you don't have to take my word for it. Look at the XBOX Magazine. Splinter Cell was rated 9.6 (out of 10) and on the cover it states [Splinter Cell] "BETTER THAN METAL GEAR!" Splinter Cell is the new king of stealth games, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

The best XBOX title to date.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: November 26, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game redefines the stealth gaming genre that Thief and Metal Gear Solid series made popular. You control a NSA splinter cell agent, Sam Fisher, who doesn't exist. The 9 stealth based missions (and 5 extra missions downloadable through Xbox live in March) usually involve infiltration into an enemy base to extract specific information.

The thing that makes this game so cool is the combination of breathtaking graphics, superior level design, precision character control, and the multitude of high tech gadgets and moves you can make.

The game uses a tweaked Unreal engine. The first thing you'll notice when you play is how life-like things look due to the dynamic lighting effects made possible with the nvidia graphics chipset in the Xbox. Light reflects off Sams body and all objects in realtime without the need to prerender frames. It's absolutely gorgeous.

Eye candy can only bring a game so far - it really has to be designed well. The levels in SC increase in challenge as you become more comfortable with controls. Early on you learn the basics and then later are expected to perform more complex tasks, i.e. rapelling down a wall vs. rapelling down a wall while avoiding moving lights. There are 9 missions with the game, and 5 extra missions will be available in March as downloadable content though XBox Live.

The fine grain accuracy the controller gives you over Sam is outstanding. If you push the left thumbstick forward slowly, Sam creeps along. The other stick gives you a 360 degree camera around Sam so you can evaluate all of the surroundings. The game is mostly in third person, with an over the shoulder view when shooting.

All these things make a great game, but the gadgets is what separates Splinter Cell from all the rest. Sam has an thermal/night vision headset, an ephedermal comm link, a Palm Opstat, a pistol, a fn2000 gun which can alternate fire smoke grenades, remote cameras which can act like his headset or emit smoke, ring airfoils to incapacitate guards, and shockers. There's also wall mines, flares, and computers to interact with. You can sneak up on enemies and interrogate them at gunpoint, or force them to open doors for you.

The AI is very decent in the game. Sam has a light meter which shows how exposed he is. Anytime this meter is above 1 tick he can be seen by enemies. Enemies can also hear his footsteps, esp. when running or on metal/wood surfaces. Unlike MGS2, you can't just re-enter a room to remove an alarmed situation - the SC enemies remember, and also know where to look for you.

Overall the gameplay is in the 25-35hr range, give or take depending on how quick you want to breeze through the levels. There are checkpoints placed in the mission, with up to 3 distinct saves.

Do yourself a favor and get this game if you have an XBox - it won't disappoint.

The best single player game to come out in years

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: June 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Splinter Cell is quite simply the best single player game to be released on any platform or console in years. This review will be based on the XBox release.

GRAPHICS
Splinter Cell is widely regarded as one of the few games to fully leverage the superior graphics rendering engine of the XBox because the visuals and level of detail are astounding. UBI Soft invested a great deal of time in the little things such as lighting and the movement drapery and it shows. The only minor flaw is an occasional "clipping" glitch, where the heads of bodies you are tucking into corners will appear to go through walls. Other than that, this game is beautiful.

SOUND
The soundtrack for this game is impressive. Music plays softly and in the background when you are stealthy, fast paced and loud when you are on the run. Additionally, the character voices are well cast, including Michael Ironside (of Total Recall and Starship Troopers fame) as Sam Fisher, the protagonist. Sound is a critical part of this game, as it is one of the ways in which you can be detected, and here again UBI Soft does not disappoint. Conversations vary in volume according to distance, floorboards creek, and Sam grunts and breathes like a real person when performing the physically taxing tasks.

GAMEPLAY
Gameplay is incredible. Sam is capable of performing numerous moves, all of which are very intuitive to execute. Your movement is carefully controlled by the amount of pressure you put on the thumbstick; a little bit and you tiptoe quietly through the darkness, a lot and you're running from trouble. Advanced moves include dropping down on bad guys, a split jump (where Sam dues the splits between two walls), and interrogation/human shield, where you can sneak up unsuspecting bad guys and grab them from behind. Sam is also equipped with numerous fun gadgets, including cameras that you can shoot ahead of you to scout out trouble. The plot is engaging and the path to follow is pretty straightforward, a relief for me from the endless and mindless running around in circles I did when playing Jedi Outcast trying to figure out what the heck to do next. The best part of the game, however, is clearly the mental component. Much like games like Thief, stealth is the key; rather than blasting your way through levels, you will find that you spend a great deal of time devising - and executing - clever ways to distract or get past your adversaries when you are clearly outnumbered, using everything from the items in your inventory to your environment. Saving is checkpoint based, so if you die mid-level you have to restart from your last checkpoint.

REPLAYABILITY
Replayability is not this game's strong point. Although there are two difficulty levels and there are multiple solutions to the same areas in the game, the plot - and how to get through obstacles - remains the same. New levels can be downloaded if you have XBox Live.

Overall, every gamer should experience Splinter Cell. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

New Standard for Gaming: Splinter Cell-Exclsuive to XBOX

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: December 03, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Well, I've been reading some of these reviews. "I saw the trailers, good!" "I saw a commecial!" "I read about it!" Ok, any game can look good. This is what I thought (I own and love) of the soon to be classic: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (actually played it)!

1. Gameplay: Incredible, and so many options. Here's the basic plot and story of the game. There is some evil plan going on, a plan or weapon tha could cause another World War: World War III. The U.S. drops you off as a spy, to find and destroy this weapon, person, whatever it is...you must find out and destroy it before it happends. You are Sam Fisher, Splinter Cell. If you are captured, you cannot reveal your link to the U.S. Good luck Sam, may God be with you!

Ok, so you are a spy, must fine and destroy whatever it is that is out there, and do it in stealth. Being found means death for you. Luckily, you have every gadget, weapon, and move in the book to accomplish your mission. Now, the cool thing about Splinter Cell is first: the awsome story that you go along by. I mean, wow, it really made this game shine. But to go with the story is perhaps the best gameplay ever seen in a Stealth Video game. Example:

There is a leader at the other end of the room, surrounded by guards. He knows what you need to find out; so what u do? You have several options (which is true for almost every mission). Shoot out the lights with your handy little gun called the "Silencer." The room is pitch black. Now you can put on your night vision gogles (you have 2 gogles: Night and Heat Vision), sneak across the room past virtually blind guards (who basicly think the power went off since they don't know about you), knockout the leader, drag him into a closet, and interrogate him. Find out what you need to know, then knock him out.

Or... Throw a grenade into the room, blinding the people with smoke, and killing most of them. Use your heat gogles (which will help you see) to find people still alive and giving body heat. Take them out and find the leader. Make him give you the info then dispose of him as you wish (normally just knock them out). You knock out the lights when security arrives and head out. You are Sam Fisher!

Most of the gameplay is like this. Sometimes, when you need to figure out a code, hide behind a door, while 2 guards press the key pad. When the door opens, and they step in, come out and put your heat gogles on. The first keys they pushed will be the least warm, while the last one touched will still be red in sight. Press the code, open the door, take out the guards, and intercept the e-mail.

You are also eqquiped with tons of gadgets. A camera you can stick under a door to see who your facing once entering. Little sticky things to put on your hands and knees to climb the wall, get to the ceiling, and jump on your enemy in surprise. So many options, gadgets, guns, and everything. Not to mention more levels than anyone could ask for! (the whole point of the game is to not be seen, to attack blindly before they know what happend). Can you imagine how fun this is?

2. Graphics: Perhaps the greatest ever to be seen in a video game. When you enter a kitchen, the chicken frying on the stove sizzles and steams. The cook humms to himself, adding salt and pepper, un-aware of your presence. The shadows, lighting, everything looks so sharp. To give you an idea, my good friend came in when I was playing and thought I was watching some spy movie. The people move to real life, you see people breathe in and out. The shadows and darkness is so real, you might really think the lights went out when you shoot them. If one is left, a lite glow will fill the room. Your shadow trails behind you as you sneak up on a scared guard. The graphics, like dozens of the other XBOX games, bring this game alive. Talk to dozens of other people, reviews, websites, and you'll hear the same thing. If you thought HALO looked good, your mouth will drop at these graphics.

3. Options: So many! You can crouch, open doors, climb walls, hide against a wall, put a gun to someones head, choke them to death, interragte them, hide a dead body in a closet, etc... So many options during gameplay, it's almost like you really are a real spy (this game captures the feeling). Wow, I am amazed at everything this game offered. From graphics, sound, moves, etc... This game has it all!

For parents shopping online, trying to pick a system for their kids, know that A. This game is a must-have (basic hints: X takes out your gun, puts it back in, holding black button brings out a small menu to choose a gadget). and that B. It is not violent: No blood, people screaming in pain and agony, guts flying, etc... This game is clean, it's just really cool.

This classic game, Splinter Cell, is a must-have for all XBOX / soon to be XBOX owners. And NO, it is not coming to the PS2 and GC. PS2 doesn't have the graphics power to support it, and the GC doesn't have enough buttons.

Well, I hope this helped, and you finally read a decent review. Oops, time to go. Enjoy Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell; thx!

Challenging, Beautiful and Original

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: December 30, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I orginally thought this game would be like a Metal Gear Solid clone with better graphics. To my delight, it has turned out to be better than MGS in every aspect. What always annoyed me in the Metal Gear games (otherwise fine games) was 1)The cheesy, unrealistic storyline (how can it be realistic when you have to fight a boss character every stage, or when the villain is a big robot?) and 2)The weak enemy AI.

Splinter Cell fixes both of these problems; the AI is very good (hard!) and less dense than in MGS, and more importantly, the game feels very, very real. The backstory is very plausible and up with current events (terrorism), and the action mimics real life as closely as possible (ie: a single bullet to the head is always fatal; there are no bosses that require 208 hits to die).

GRAPHICS: Amazing. The best I've ever seen on a home system. The atmospheric real time light effects are so beautiful I sometimes just look at them instead of playing.

SOUND: Again, amazing. Since much of this game is based on stealth, any sound you make can give you away. This game is so in tune with that fact that your feet make different noise depending on the surface you are walking on (carpet, wood, metal, broken glass, etc).

CONTROL: Very good, although at times the camera needs to be adjusted and at others the buttons don't respond as quickly as I'd like them too. This is not a reflex based game, so it's a minor gripe.

GAMEPLAY: Incredible. This game is old-school hard, meaning that most of us will have to replay portions of a level multiple times to get through them. It's never cheesy, though, and you can take different approaches to get by many situations). Stealth is usually the best and most suspenseful; crouching in the dark with a single round of ammo left, hoping that a passing guard doesn't spot you is an amazing feeling. The various gadgets (parabolic microphones, lock picks, fiberwire optics to peek under doors!) are great.

Overall, I can't recommend this game enough. It really redefines the stealth action genre.

A most excellent stealth game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 15
Date: January 30, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I love stealth games and I love Splinter cell. It has excellent graphics (by far the best lighting I have ever seen and also I love the way cloth and soft materials react to touch), awesome ambient sounds (especially when you are using Dolby Surround), and solid voice acting (...cept for the chinese soldiers).
Is it better than Metal Gear Solid 2? Well...it depends. It depends on the kind of game you want to play. For a more realistic military experience go for Splinter Cell. If you want a game with a strong story then go for MGS.
Not specific enough for you? ok. Well, I'll compare and contrast MGS and SC.
MGS and SC has: Stealth elements, cool fighting moves, lots of interactivity (with environment, etc)
SC has: Revolves around stealth ALOT more than MGS does, alot more thinking involved, prettier environment graphics, a definite military feel.
MGS has: Usually more action than stealth, stronger character development, stronger story, more weapons.

Basically it depends what kind of game you like more. I would definetely recommend getting both Splinter Cell and MGS substance.

Unbelievable Single Player Experience

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 11
Date: December 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

In a word, this game is awesome. I have never played Metal Gear Solid (or its sequels), but my buddies with PS2 machines tell me it doesn't compare to Splinter Cell. Ubi Soft has really pushed the power of the Xbox with this game. The vertex shading and other lighting effects make this game look not only beautiful but realistic. The gameplay is also stellar and this is a must buy for those who like intense single-player experiences. There is but one drawback- see below.

Gameplay: 9.7

Simply the best overall game for the Xbox since Halo. The stealth involved in completing your missions, the myriad moves you can execute, the challenging aspect of not having ammo and health around every corner... all of these things and more provide outstanding gameplay. The camera is sharp and easy to manipulate and the AI is good enough to present a very good challenge on most of the missions. There is but 1 real drawback: It is only 3rd person. I would have preferred to be able to switch between 1st and 3rd. Also, if I wanted to nitpick, then I would complain about the pistol you have to carry throughout the first few missions.

Overall: 9.7
Combine the graphics, gameplay, and intensity and you have a winner. The few nitpicky drawbacks to this game cannot lower its value. The replay value is also sky-high thanks to many in-depth and challenging missions. Would a 1st person toggle been great? Sure. Would multiplayer, at least co-op, have been great? Certainly. How about a storyline that does not revolve around the former Soviet Union? Absolutely. Still not enough to detract from one of the best video games to date.

This is The greatest game ever created!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 13
Date: November 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Ive played the demos, read the reviews, seen the screenshots, none of it matters. This game is just plain cool, but its not the coolness, its just the presence of voilently realistic goodness. I mean, anything youve seen in a Jet Li mvie you can do here, do the splits between two close walls and watch your unaware prey walk underneath you, drop, hold a gun to his head, and pull the trigger. Throw a mini cam past a nearby wall and turn it on, watch him, how he moves, you can actually do this. The gadgets, the sticky cams, wall mines,hacking into computers, diversion mines, heat vision, night vision, anything you can think of. The diversion cams make distracting sounds, so the bad guy walks over, suspicious. When he gets close enough, you can manually make the device gas him!
The graphics are awesome, you can actually see a moth's shadow from a nearby light on your face. Shoot people without them even seeing you. You dont want to get cuaght at all, shoot the lights out in the room then turn your night vision on and shoot your prey as he fumbles for the light switch. Definetely a 10 out 0f 10 game. Ive already pre-ordered it on this site, I suggest you do the same!

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