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A Must Buy for Combat Fans

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: May 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow is the sequel to the award-winning XBox hit Splinter Cell. Once again the graphics are incredible, the storyline is immersive and the stealth is great.

If you haven't played the original Splinter Cell, I highly recommend you get it and play it first. The graphics were just jaw-dropping, with the way light played across active characters, and the use of night vision and thermal vision was crucial to completing missions.

This "Splinter Cell 2" builds on that previous knowledge. While the initial message begins with some tutorial-like messages, they really expect you to have familiarity with stealth behavior and what to watch for. It's not very far into mission 1 where things get tricky and you're interrogating enemies for knowledge, while skulking in shadows to avoid being seen.

The game is a wonderful change from all the shoot-em-up blasters out there. You are told to avoid confrontation, to get your mission done with a minimum of life loss. There are missions in buildings, missions by the water, mission with sunsets painting the sky. The range of worlds you work through is impressive. You truly feel like you are part of modern-day problems, finding solutions that really make a difference.

The sounds add to the quality of the game, with the water dripping, the footsteps and other subtle noises that can spell the difference between survival and failure. I do have to say that the stock "You stupid jerk, you've failed" messages get REALLY annoying if you've gotten stuck at a certain point and have to listen to them 10 or 15 times in a row ...

It can get frustrating sometimes for beginners to get the hang of stealth - but it's well worth it. You really feel a part of the game, watching for the shadows, listening intensely for the slightest sound. This isn't a game that you play with screaming kids in the other room and friends throwing popcorn across the table. It's a game that rightfully demands all of your attention, and rewards you well.

There's also a multiplayer component, which is great fun. Get together with your friends, or meet new friends from across the globe, and slink through the quiet shadows together. While the game itself is fun, it's always FAR more challenging and enjoyable to face off against other human targets. AI has come a long way in the past few years, but if you want a real challenge, it's the humans you want to pit yourself against.

Highly recommended for any combat fan!

A lesser version of the original

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: July 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Like many people, I was sucked in by the first Splinter Cell and eagerly ate Pandora Tomorrow up as well. And again, like most, I was somewhat disappointed with it.

The same gameplay is here, the same engaging interface, the same main characters. There are several new villains to battle and the storyline is very involved, though not as involved as the first Splinter Cell. You do travel to some interesting geographic areas, like Jerusalem, Indonesia - even LAX.

I was initially encouraged by the game, when the second level turned out to be one of the coolest Splinter Cell levels in both games combined - the train level. At the start of the level, Sam finds himself on the top of a speeding train in the middle of the night. You have to climb down the side, almost getting clipped by another locomotive passing. The graphics in this level are amazing and it's unlike anything you'll see in the first installment of the game. Then there is Jerusalem, amazingly recreated to cinematic proportions. At this point I began to notice the music. The same Splinter Cell themes were there, but performed with a Middle Eastern orchestra, incorporating percussion and instruments native to that area only. I was pretty impressed with this attention to detail.

But then the game began to wane. It was more like work than gaming. Many of the levels have a 1-alarm limit. Someone sees you - that's it. You're restarting from the last save point, which was probably several minutes back. I found that there was very little action and a great deal of strategy, which is fine I suppose - that's what you get in a Splinter Cell game. But sometimes it was to an excessive point, and I was just trying to get to the next save point, not really engaging in the Splinter Cell world. At other times I was rather impressed with the attention to puzzles. In one level you must navigate a dark mine field - with your thermal goggles - while spotlights scan the surrounding area. However, the spotlights are timed in such a way that you must move at very specific times, in a very specific pattern. It was well thought out.

The ending was very anti-climactic, and I wasn't even sure it was the real ending until the credits started rolling. I didn't feel the game was particularly long. I'd be interested to see how it compares to the original in its length. In the first game I felt almost overwhelmed as the levels kept coming and coming. In Pandora Tomorrow, as I said, I was surprised at how quickly the ending came.

All in all, I expected much more. It was essentially the same game as the original but with new levels and a new story.

I've read some about Splinter Cell 3 due out later this year (or early next year). It's supposed to be the game that most of us expected Pandora Tomorrow to be. A completely redesigned interface, a sound meter (to go with stealth), new weapons and completely new ways to circumnavigate your enemies are just a few of the features. I suppose Pandora Tomorrow was released to hold us over until then, but all in all it's only a mediocre effort that doesn't offer much than simply replaying the original.

This game is so awesome.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: July 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I'm a huge gammer and this game is so close to perfect.

The sole lacking side of this game is it's single player. Anyone who gives this game a bad review has not played multiplayer, or has not invested the time (a few hours) to get good at it. There's something just beautiful about this game online; it's possibly the most challenging game I've played. As a spy you must stalk the enemy, giving witht the cruicial momement of murder. As a merc you are confiened to the most challenging first person shooter ever made. You must counter for the ingenuity of your foes, their wit is your challange. It's quite indescribable really. Often times while playing I'll listen in to my opponents communication as my partner attacks and I can hear the frantic screams and calls for help; when was the last time you screamed out loud while playing a game?

not as good as the first one

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: October 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

although this is a good game, it isnt as good as good as the first one.Yes there are a couple more features, it is plainly a little two hard. which could be good or bad. so id say tou should rent it first/

Back and better than ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: November 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The original Splinter Cell redefined and revolutionized the stealth genre. With killer visuals, an intriguing storyline, and entertaining gameplay, it was one of those titles that just couldn't be passed up. After spending weekends locked in my room away from anything the resembled an organic being with this title, I can accurately say that the second iteration in the Splinter Cell franchise, dubbed Pandora Tomorrow, surpasses everything that was set out before gamers in the first. Everything that was enjoyable in the original has been taken, amped up, and scrubbed like a dirty dish until every tiny aspect is sparkling clean.

In the sequel to the original Splinter Cell, a confident, observant, lovable protagonist was introduced- Sam Fisher. The king of one-liners returns for another test of talents in this game, sneaking into the welcoming arms of gamers. The threat to society (and Sam) that crops up in this title appears in the form of Suhadi Sadono, a psychotic 3-year-old who eats brownies topped with peanut-butter for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Wait... nevermind, I'm thinking of someone else. Sadono is actually the head of a Timorese group of rebels known as the Dara Dan Doah (which translates to Blood and Prayer), intent on ridding Timor of the presence of everyone's favorite super-power, the U.S. Sounds like a job for everyone's favorite spy, right? Right. As the ever-aging Third Echelon sneak, it's your job to show those Timorese psychos who's boss. As one would expect from a Tom Clancy game, the plot is dark, mysterious, and mature. Expect a few twists as you play through this title.

The chief gameplay element in the original Splinter Cell consisted of hiding in the shadows and creeping around like the spy you were. Pandora Tomorrow takes this to a whole new level with tighter controls, more fluid gameplay, and much more interesting (and more often than not tough) situations. Players will find themselves crawling along the belly of a speeding bullet-train, creeping through the foliage of steamy jungles, and rolling through the shadows of a Jewish city. Level design is top-notch, and hardly ever gets repetitive.

But what would be a great game without great baddies? Pandora Tomorrow doesn't ceases to impress in this field, with a plethora of tough, intelligent AI. Players will find themselves in some pretty sticky situations with some highly alert guards, and it's a refreshing wake-up call from easy levels filled with thugs with an average IQ of about 20.

But our hero Sam has more than one way of giving these thugs the slip, and if need be, taking them out. The second iteration in the series finds Fisher, as he is often referred to, with some new gadgets and some returning favorites. The sticky shocker and the famous goggles are both here, as well as a laser scope for Sam's pistol, and a few other nice toys. The laser scope makes aiming quite a bit easier than in the previous installment, but every action has an equal and opposite reaction, as the unfortunate fools that line up in Sam's crosshairs can trace the laser back to the source, and blow Sam's cover. Playing a deadly game of hide-and-seek has never been this much fun, or this awesome.

Visuals are an important part of every game as well in addition enemies, if not more significant. While Pandora Tomorrow's graphics aren't a huge leap from the visuals of the first, they are fluid, realistic, and downright awesome. Every time the player sneaks up on a helpless guard, you can't help but feel like a badass as Sam puts the unsuspecting victim in a chokehold and proceeds to drag them to the safety of the nearby bushes.

The audio in Pandora Tomorrow is good, but not great. Voice-overs are witty, funny, and sometimes, outright awesome. The in-game soundtrack, however, while good, is not one of the most memorable you'll find, especially in stealth titles. Catchy beats are somewhat lacking, but when they are there, are quite enjoyable. As I said before, the audio is a relatively nice experience, and doesn't detract from the experience, but Ubisoft left some room for improvement.

The main draw of this title, despite the brilliance of the single-player mode, is the multiplayer option. This game possesses one of the most unique and entertaining multiplayer modes of any title on the Xbox. That's saying a lot, but if you take the time to enjoy it and get into it, you'll have a lot of fun, guaranteed. Besides tying into the main storyline, which is awesome in itself, Pandora Tomorrow's multiplayer pits the Angus Mercenaries against a team of Shadow Net spies. Mercs, as would be expected, use a first-person view, and spies use a third-person view, much like Sam's in the single-player mode. Graphics are simply gorgeous, and the control scheme is every bit as tight and easy to use as in the single-player campaign. The objective of the spies is to sneak past the mercs and onto their objectives, and the objective of the mercs, obviously, is to stop them. Slaughtering your buddies has never been so much fun.

Overall, this game is a masterpiece. While not necessarily a huge leap from the original, it improves upon every aspect of the first Splinter Cell, and therefore makes it a worthwhile experience. While the game's audio is not as exemplary as the rest of the title, its bases are covered by the sheer entertainment level of the multiplayer, which is every bit as enjoyable as the single-player. A dark, mature storyline fits right in with the game's primarily dark atmosphere, and will have you raving about it to anyone who'll listen. If you have yet to play this title, move out of the obscure, tiny little African village you're living in and drag yourself to the nearest video game store to shell out the required dough for this game. I guarantee you won't regret it.

Back in Black

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: January 24, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Sam fisher is back, and he bought some of his friends. There is now a revelountary multiplayer mode of Spies Vs. Mercanies. Mercs get the 1st person view and the big guns while spies get the 3rd person and the great moves.

Unbelievably Short

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: April 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game was so rushed it is sad. They should have taken more time to make it more involving. The game is only like litteraly one third as long as the first. The levels are more fun but it is ver very short.

Better than MGS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: October 19, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is better than metal gear solid.It has better control, graphics, plot(the MGS1,2 plot blows) and is simply a better game. IF YOU PLAY XBOX, BUY THIS GAME!!!

ok

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 9
Date: May 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Not really that great. The part that gets to me is how it tries to be all "realistic," but it is very far from it. Metal Gear was a much better game. The multiplayer was incredible, I admit, but I don't judge a game solely on it's multiplayer. Also, it was two damn easy. I always play a game on normal, but this one I had to put on hard by the jungle level. It's just not that great, I don't see what makes it so profound and epic. Go play internet Hearts or something, has the same excitement, and the story is better.

AWESOME GAME BUT NOT FOR ME!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: April 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

THIS GAME IS AWESOME BUT I DONT LIKE STEALTH GAMES BUT IF YOUR A STEALTH FAN THIS ONE IS RIGHT UP YOUR ALLEY CHARLIE V1 IS COMING BACK THIS THURSDAY CANT WAIT TO COME BACK HEY CHECK THIS OUT MY FRIEND DANNY JUST SAID I WAS LOOKING AT STUPID VIDEO GAMES WHEN HE HAS A PS2 FIRST OF ALL GAMES AN'T STUPID (...)

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