Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Written by Kyle Williams  on January 10, 2005

First Impressions: I don't know how he did it, but Tom Clancy seems to be the king of videogames.

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I mean it. I can't figure out how someone makes the transition from author to video game namesake so seamlessly. It seems like only yesterday that everyone was reading a copy of The Hunt for Red October or Patriot Games. Now that I think about it, Mr. Clancy made his way into Hollywood pretty well, too. I think that it is a conspiracy. I think that Tom Clancy must be a patsy that is designed to take all of the credit...

Now that we have the worst conspiracy theory ever out of the way we can talk about good news for Clancy fans. In March we are going to be treated to the next great game to bear Tom Clancy's name, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. It's true that the title is a mouthful but, after careful examination of it's lineage, Chaos Theory appears destined for greatness.

Following in the steps of Splinter Cell and Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory will put you into the role of Sam Fisher, the most elite of the NSA's black-ops agents. Sam will still rely upon stealth to get up close and personal with his opponents, being all sneaky up until that moment where he breaks the neck of an unsuspecting soldier. We can expect that many of the conventions established in the previous games will make their way into Chaos Theory which promises countless more hours of intense espionage.

Early screen shots from Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory look fantastic, blowing the socks off of it's already impressive predecessors. Everything about the game's graphics scream ambiance, from the lighting effects to the super-clean models and textures. Ubi Soft is also promising that Sam will interact flawlessly with the environment, hopefully leading to the end of clumsy animations and collisions. Of course, the commitment to realism isn't going to stop with the graphics, either. Chaos Theory is going to sport an AI system that sounds like it will be the next best thing to infiltrating a real armored compound. This AI system is going to bestow personal attributes to each of your foes, wherein each one will remember what's already happened to them. It sounds like these guys would eat Solid Snake for breakfast when they didn't magically forget that he crawled under a storage shelf.

In an effort to add more replayability to Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, Ubi Soft Montreal is incorporating a very open design into each of the game's levels. Promises of multiple completion paths and optional secondary objectives are sure to enhance Chaos Theory's longevity, but it is the incorporation of a multiplayer cooperative mode that will open even more doors. These levels look to be designed specifically around teamwork and expect to be a little bit competitive when playing with your friends, even though you are supposed to be on the same team.