Gaming Target - Xbox: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

Written by Gavin Wright on September 13, 2003

Full Review: All the fun of Metal Gear Solid, only without the 50+ hours of cutscenes.

There can be no doubting the tremendous impact that Konami's Metal Gear Solid has had on video games over the past decade. The game introduced a unique, innovative take on the action genre, and has worked to set new standards in terms of storytelling and production values. While games such as Headhunter and Winback have attempted to capitalize on the success of the Metal Gear franchise, neither could so much as hold a candle to Kojima's masterpiece. But now, after nearly five years, a game has finally come along that may very well give Solid Snake a run for his money. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell blends the best elements of the Metal Gear series with a wealth of new stealth-inspired concepts, along with a fair dose of Clancy's trademark realism to form a distinctive masterpiece of a game that nobody should dare to miss. While Splinter Cell may not have nailed every single aspect of the quintessential stealth-action hybrid, in this case you'll find that the good far outweighs the bad.

Splinter Cell places you in the role of a secret agent named Sam Fisher, the sole field operative of the Third Echelon initiative, a top-secret intelligence-gathering organization working under the United States government. Fisher has been endowed with the right to exercise his so-called СFifth Freedom', a nonexistent clause in the U.S. Constitution that grants him the right to protect and ensure all other freedoms by whatever means necessary. As the Third Echelon's first mission, Fisher is sent in to investigate the whereabouts of two missing CIA agents in the Middle Eastern country of Georgia. As the story unfolds, Fisher unwinds a delicate terrorist plot that could very well ignite a third World War. It is your job to do anything and everything within your power to stop this from happening.

Sam Fisher is a hardened soldier that's worked for years inside the National Security Agency. His war-torn life has left him with somewhat of a grim disposition, as Fisher is nothing if not dead serious. While out in the field, Fisher is supported by a remote team consisting of three operatives that communicate with him via subdermal microchip implants. First up is Colonel Lambert, who serves as the link between the field agent (that's you) and the rest of the Third Echelon team, and also provides Fisher with both pre- and mid-mission briefing. Then there's Grimsdottir, who provides Sam with information pertaining to the high-tech gadgets used in the game. Lastly there's Wilkes, who basically serves as Sam's getaway driver at the end of each mission. Although Fisher may have an entire team backing him up at base, out in the field he can rely on nobody but himself. Unlike Metal Gear Solid, you're not given the luxury of instant communication with your other team members when in need of assistance, which really enforces the idea that you're in this all by yourself, and you'll need to use your brain if you want to get out of it alive.

In Splinter Cell stealth is more than simply a suggestion, as it's absolutely critical to your survival. Nearly any potentially deadly situation can be averted through thoughtful planning and clever diversion. Since most of the guards you encounter can tear you to pieces in an all-out firefight (you must keep in mind that your weapons are not intended for mowing down rooms full of enemies) it's rarely a good idea to use lethal force. However, when killing is necessary it must be dealt out in such a manner so as that you won't alert other guards or take out any individuals that might be vital to your mission. Ideally, you should try to infiltrate the base undetected, get the necessary information, and get out without leaving any traces of your presence.

A major element of stealth in Splinter Cell is learning how to use the environment's lighting to your advantage. It's much easier to sneak around in the shadows than it is out in the open, and as the game gets going and darkness becomes less easy to come by, you must learn to exploit this advantage wherever possible. The light meter on your HUD shows the exact amount of light shed on Sam's body, ranging from pitch black on one side of the slider to total visibility on the other. Before entering a room with patrolling guards, it's important to look out not only for dark areas to hide in, but also for the exact sources of the light. For one, this makes it less likely for an enemy to spot your shadow, since you'll know the exact direction in which your shadow will be cast. Secondly, many of the lights can actually be shattered with gunfire. So if you think that a room doesn't give you enough darkness to work with, simply shoot out a few lightbulbs to tip the scales in your favor. It's ingenious to see firsthand how the developers have taken a concept that was once purely cosmetic and integrated it so tightly into the fabric of the game, and that's why the lighting in Splinter Cell can be considered such a tremendous innovation.

In Splinter Cell there's a very fine line between alerting a guard to your presence and sneaking past them undetected. You'll quickly learn that you're much stealthier when crouched, since you make less noise and are less visible to patrolling guards. You should also take into consideration the different ground surfaces in a given area, seeing as how stepping on a loose texture such as gravel or broken glass makes a louder noise than would carpet or concrete. Since enemies react to any suspicious sounds they hear, throwing a can or shooting in the opposite direction can usually draw a guard away from their post just long enough for you to sneak around them. It's a good idea to study the nuances of the guards early on, so that you'll learn what you can and can't get away with in the game.

Much like Metal Gear Solid, the game uses a hierarchical system of alarms to dictate the level of aggression your enemies exhibit. If a guard catches a small glimpse of Sam or hears his movements as he sneaks through the shadows, they'll draw their weapon and go to investigate. If a quick search turns up nothing, they'll simply dismiss it and continue on with their patrol. But if the enemy gets a direct look at Fisher or traces either his gunfire or a hurled object back to his position, they'll sound an alarm without hesitation. Once the alarm has been sounded you're left with one of two options Ц either to stay and fight or look for a place to hide. Since all nearby guards will be alerted to your presence, a straight firefight will likely result in a quick death. Hiding is probably your best bet, and since the guards will all rush to the location in which you were originally spotted, ideally you should try to get as far away from that area as you can without being followed.

Prior to each mission, Sam is outfitted with a healthy array of gadgets that may or may not be vital to the completion of your mission objectives. The lockpick, optic cable, and night vision goggles are available from the beginning, and you'll have to learn to rely on each of them as you go through the game. The lockpick, which is quite an innovation in itself, allows Sam to get through just about any door he wishes, with the notable exception of those guarded by keypad locks and retinal scanners. The optic cable can be used to slip under doors and view what's on the other side without exposing yourself to any danger. The night vision goggles give Sam a definite advantage over his enemies, allowing him to see effectively in the dark. Other gear, such as the distraction camera, ring airfoil, and camera jammer are issued on a mission-by-mission basis. The distraction camera is a nifty little device that lets off a whistling noise to draw guards toward it, which can then be followed up with a generous dose of knockout gas. The ring airfoil is a projectile used to temporarily incapacitate a target rather than kill them, somewhat along the lines of a rubber bullet. Then there's the camera jammer, which emits a microwave pulse that disrupts the signals used in surveillance cameras, giving you the opportunity to sneak past undetected. And let's not forget Sam's custom-made Palm PDA (or OPSAT, for short), which houses all his mission briefings and notes pertaining to the objectives at hand. The gadgets in themselves can be a lot of fun to toy around with, and they're easily one of the coolest aspects of the game.

Sam Fisher has a list of moves so long it would make Solid Snake blush. Naturally, he's capable of basic maneuvers such as grabbing ledges, climbing pipes, and flattening his body up against walls. But he can also pull off advanced techniques like the wall jump, drop attack (silent, deadly attack that's done by dropping directly down on an enemy from above), split jump (more of a novelty, though it allows Sam to position himself at the top of a narrow corridor and attack stealthily), and the door peek (opens a door just enough to get a peek of what's ahead, although the optic cable usually does a better job at this). He can also rappel off of certain objects, and he can even shoot while doing it. It's essential to learn the extent of Sam's physical abilities so that you'll know exactly how to approach any given situation on the fly.

Solid A.I. is one of the more essential aspects of any game, and one that takes on a newfound importance in the case of games based around stealth. That's because the entire premise of stealth gameplay is basically an elaborate manipulation of your enemies' artificial intelligence, and if their behavior and actions aren't dead-on it's going to show through in the final product. That said, the game's enemy A.I. leaves at least something to be desired. On one hand, while in shootouts the enemies tend to simply stand in place and shoot, even if there happens to be a wall between the two of you. And they're more or less dead accurate when they have a clear shot at you, regardless of distance. On the other hand, their interactions with Sam while he's in stealth mode are practically flawless. While some early frustrations can often stem from not knowing the extent of your enemy's sight and hearing abilities, it doesn't take too long to get yourself acquainted and it all makes perfect sense once you've figured things out.

At certain points it may be necessary to interact with NPC's (non-playable characters) in order to get past certain obstacles or obtain necessary information. Most of these interactions require you to get close to an enemy and grab them without being detected. While grabbed, Sam will hold up the character using whatever weapon he has out at the time (or he'll simply put them in a stranglehold when unarmed). From there, certain people can be interrogated for the purpose of obtaining information, while others can be forced to assist Sam in getting past retinal scanners or computers. If the enemy serves no other purpose, they can be used as a human shield or knocked out. In a nice little touch, surrounding enemies will hesitate to shoot at you while you're holding up a fellow guard, although they'll open fire as soon as you give them a clear shot.

Splinter Cell uses an over-the-shoulder camera view positioned directly behind Sam. The right joystick can be used to swing the camera 360 degrees and in any direction, giving you the ability to look around corners without actually exposing yourself to danger. In a way this makes up for the game's lack of on-screen radar, giving you a definite advantage over your enemies.

The more difficult portions of the game are typically reduced to fits of trial-and-error, forcing you to continuously reload your game in search of a path to slip past the guards or other obstacles. At times the game can seem very arbitrary in terms of what you can and can't get away with, in that you could perform nearly the same exact sequence of moves two times in a row, only to sound an alarm the second time out as though the game had randomly chosen to aggravate you. Granted, it's probably better to have that added element of surprise intact, but with it can come a lot of frustration. The checkpoint system that the game uses is more than adequate, but perhaps a save-anywhere feature would have been better suited for a game of this type.

The game is rounded off in a near-seamless visual package that rivals even the very best of what the Xbox has to offer. The lighting effects are nothing short of incredible, casting and bending photo-realistically over every little intricacy of the environment. The hand-drawn animations are just as remarkable. Sam's movements are fluid and very believable, which is quite a feat considering the sheer amount of moves he has and the countless possibilities afforded by the levels for which to use them. The little details are really what separate the Сgood' from the Сgreat' in terms of graphics, and Splinter Cell seems to have nailed every last one of them.

The sound department receives high marks because (like every other element in the game) the developers have managed to intertwine the audio so closely into the core gameplay of Splinter Cell. The voice acting is top-notch, particularly the gritty persona of Sam Fisher as portrayed by Michael Ironsides. The sound effects are crisp and varied, and they always match the objects they're tied to perfectly. But the musical score is where the game's audio department truly shines. While Sam is in stealth mode, the music stays calm and low-key, while still working to set the tension and mood of the game. As the state of alarms change, so does the music. Listening to the music can give away important hints pertaining to the enemy's alert status. In this way, the sound design is just as integral to the gameplay as is any other single aspect of the game.