Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow

Quite literally, SC:PT is two different games. On the main menu, you have a choice of single or multiplayer Ц selecting one over another leads to an entirely different interface, truly splitting up the games into a double pack of sorts. The single player game takes place a couple years after the events of the original Splinter Cell Ц you play as Sam Fisher again, the middle-aged, gruff, darkly sarcastic NSA operative; a Splinter Cell, who can use the so-called СFifth Freedom' to protect the freedoms of the USA silently, quietly, and sneakily. In this case, Fisher is called out to stop a mysterious situation involving something called Сpandora tomorrow' (gee, wonder why the called the game that, hmm?), and you have to sneak around the world spanning 10 different levels, including one brand new one exclusively on PlayStation 2. Like the original, the plot is not bad, but strange and not really emphasized, instead putting importance on refining and excelling at the stealth elements, which are a bit more robust this time around.

Truth be told, the single player campaign is not much different to play than the original Splinter Cell, which means that if you're not into MP, you best have enjoyed the first game, or you'll dislike this. With heavy stealth emphasis, you spend much of your time sneaking from place to place, staying in the dark, and cunningly plotting ways to take out enemies blocking your path. Sure, you're equipped with a firearm, but ammo is scarce and killing everything in sight won't get you too far. There are unquestionably instances where you must do some killing to make a safe path for something, but normally, you can clear any stage without using your gun. It just involves plenty of skills, thinking, and tactical strategy to pull it off. Some parts of the game could very well take hours to totally grasp while you patiently wait to move in for a swift knockout or sneaking to another dark spot to hide. Of course, Fisher is equipped, or can find, many different Сdeterrents' for enemies, like sticky shockers to KO from a distance, airfoil rounds to temporarily stun an enemy, and the various cameras (and those blasted wall mines as well) Ц SC fans will know these well. Sam does have some new stuff though Ц you're able to whistle as a manner of getting attention of an enemy to either lure them into a trap or lure them away from the area you need to reach, and the very cool Сswat turn' which lets you slip past an open door or pathway quickly and nearly invisible. It's a handy move. It's all done in the trademark intuitive manner with the controls, which makes everything within reach, which is, you know, handy when you're up against an enemy and need to do something fast.

As you'd probably expect, Pandora Tomorrow's single player game is difficult. Like the original, there will be plenty of times where trial and error is the only way to succeed. The addition of varying levels of alarms means you can't make as many mistakes, though you can actually drop the alarm level if you can sneak around for a while. Of course, while most levels allow you to end the lives of terrorists and other various forms of scum & villainy, some have a strict no kill requirement Ц such as the very first level in the gameЕwhich could be quite daunting for new players. Some even have no kill, and no alarm requirements Ц meaning not only must you avoid doing any dirty stuff, you can't even be spotted at all! Even for hardened SC fans, this can be frustrating. As such, if you're a new Splinter Cell player, pick up the Greatest Hits version of Splinter Cell and spend some time learning how the game works. Even for veterans, Pandora Tomorrow will present even more difficulty than the original, with even more emphasis on stealth and extremely tactical gameplay. While one could argue this is nothing more than a Сsneak to a dark spot, shoot out light, advance' game of stealth (and compared to say, Hitman Contracts which has a whole different brand of stealth, perhaps this is accurate), it's done so well, polished so wellЕand it just plays so damn well that it's forgivable. While it's obvious that single player wasn't the true motivation, it's difficult to argue that this is a very fine form of Сmore of the same.' With Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory coming around perhaps later this year, it might make up for the lack of solo emphasis, anyway.

When you're ready to get into multiplayer (andЕuhЕplease play the single player first so you don't look too owned online, best to know the basics even if you're a merc), Pandora Tomorrow changes. Functioning the exact same way as the Xbox version, the multiplayer is an incredibly innovative and unique form of play, and online (and LAN play as well if you're able to do so), and one that might be the best alternative to SOCOM. While it's only 4 players at a time (2 on 2, co-op and competitive), no more than 4 are needed in this instance. And as the MP is broadband only with full headset support, you can get a great team-based game without any lag or other various problems (especially knowing the Ubi online servers are awesome). In this mode of play, you have one team of faceless Сsplinter cells' and a team of mercenaries. The splinter cell team uses traditional stealth measures, as they complete their goals of recovering СND133' before it can be used for evil deeds, while not getting killed by the mercenaries in the process. Played in a traditional 3^rd person perspective, splinter cells have all the tools Sam Fisher has in single player, along with some new goodies, like a camera you can stick on a mercenary and actually track their movements to set up for a good time. On the other hand, mercenaries recover the ND133 for more nefarious purposes, but the goal is still the same Ц like CTF, only a bit different. Mercs play completely different from the splinter cells Ц played entirely in the 1st person perspective, their job is to hunt the hiding stealth masters and kill them. This takes place in a couple different multiplayer modes for obvious purposes of diversity. A solid selection of maps (though lacking the ability to get new maps like the Xbox version) rounds it outЕ

ЕAnd it's incredibly fun. There's a ton of honest-to-goodness moments of fear and trepidation from either side Ц who's to say there's a splinter cell hanging around in the dark waiting to move in for a butt-whoopin' for the mercenaries, and a splinter cell has moments where they could be literally inches from a firepower-loaded merc, hoping and praying they don't notice you. There's genuine tension, and though MP carries a very strong learning curve, especially for those who perhaps aren't super-skilled stealth gamers, it's such fun that you could very well be playing all hours of the night teaming with people and completing your objective Ц the more co-op games, the better, in this day and age of Сkill everybody you see' online games. It can wear thin after a while, like all games do, but if you're looking for some truly innovative online play, Pandora Tomorrow has it in spades.

While certainly inferior to the Xbox version visually, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow handles itself very well, and ranks as some of the finest graphics on the PS2. A good portion of many levels are reworked to avoid problems with sections that were heavy on techniques that the Xbox is strong in, but the game still maintains a polished, realistic feel despite it. Special tricks like lighting effects are toned down but still work very well (I was very concerned about the Сstay in the light' objective in the single player first mission, but it turned out exceptionally well), and while not pitch black in dark areas, the ability to check your stealth meter evens things out. Sam again moves around well, though much of his animations naturally come from the original game. His anonymous multiplayer compatriots also move around quite well. To top it off, the slick presentation on both sides of the game is easy on the eyes and works extremely well. If you've never seen the Xbox version, you're in for a treat Ц and those who have seen the Xbox version, while you'll notice the differences, you should be quite pleased, like with the original, in how good the game looks still despite the aging hardware.

On both ends, the audio excels. The soundtrack for the solo game is reserved, only really making its presence felt in certain situations (i.e. tension), instead putting emphasis on the various sounds of the game. Like its predecessor, there are numerous sound effects that can tip off your stealth, like walking over broken glass, running fast across hardwood floors, slipping through water quickly, or walking through brush or other weeds/bushes. Even in MP, keeping silent and not making noise will be your benefit Ц this game truly uses normally complimentary things like visuals and sounds to enhance the game, and make it an actual part of the game. Voice acting again does a good job; Michael Ironside returns to voice Sam Fisher, and Dennis Haysabert (best known as the dude in the Allstate commercials and the President in the TV show 24, but real fans know him as Pedro Cerrano from Major League!) takes his turn as Irving Lambert, the voice in Fisher's head. The fake accents of your enemies is evident, but the dialogue can be witty and amusing at times which takes some of the edge off a mostly serious game.