Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

Written by Nick Doukas  on April 11, 2005

Review: The third time's a charm for sure...

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What can I say about Splinter Cell that I haven't already said in numerous reviews, previews, and articles? Well, I can definitely say that it's clearly a defining series for this generation, and particularly for Microsoft's Xbox (yea, yea it's multi-platform, but we all know the Xbox is its true home). The stellar first title with its groundbreaking light and shadow effects, the incredibly unique multi-player of Pandora Tomorrow, and the third and final iteration (for this generation anyway) Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory's triumph of artistic vision and incredible technology. It's the most complete Splinter Cell package ever, boasting three separate and fully featured game types, as well as quite possibly the finest graphics to yet grace a console to date. Read on to find out why you should already be playing this gameЕ

Chaos Theory features a fully fleshed out single player campaign comprised of 10 missions. The plot harkens back to the first game, with repercussions resulting from Philip Masse's algorithm work during the Georgian information crisis coming back to haunt Sam Fisher, and Third Echelon. The missions are extremely well designed and will have you doing everything from assaulting an old Spanish fort overrun with terrorists, to pulling an Ocean's 11 style heist in a Panamanian bank, and everything in between. UbiSoft Montreal has eschewed the rigid Уtoo many alarms = mission overФ this time out and has instead crafted operations where the player has much more freedom of choice in how to tackle them. The enemy AI is much better now, and works on a multi-tiered system. Guards will at first only think they saw someone, and may come investigate your position with a flare or flashlight. You can sneak up and grab them for interrogation, then choke them unconscious or kill them. Barring that, you can pop them in the head with a pistol shot, bring an all out assault on them with your rifle, snipe them from afar, or simply gas or shock them out. Plenty of ways for you Ц the player Ц to choose from, which is the key component that makes this Splinter Cell title the most fun yet. In a new twist, a sound meter has been added to your HUD along with the now standard light meter. Creating sound that causes the meter to pass the level of ambient noise in the room is likely to get you checked out intensely by the nearest guard, so you'll have to keep an eye on it. To UbiSoft's credit, it all fits organically into the gameplay very nicely, and creates yet another level of deep interactivity.

The inclusion of optional secondary objectives (hacking thru computer security to upload email and tapping camera lines - among other things) lends more depth to each outing, and the multiple-pathways that have been integrated into the missions allow for the use of different tactics in subsequent play-throughs, encouraging plenty of retries. As before, the Third Echelon team makes a return to form here, with familiar faces like Sam's commanding officer Irving Lambert and his right hand Anna Grimsdottir guiding the field operations from offsite. As usual these roles are played with great style, and the voice acting is top notch.

You can take a stealth loadout into the field (less lethal ammo, more gadgets), an assault loadout, or your weapons expert's recommendation (which is generally a good balance between the two). Your pistol features a secondary function that knocks out lights and other electrical sources for a brief period of time with an EMP pulse. In fact, all the cool weapons and gadgets are back, along with a few new ones, such as Sam's new combat knife Ц very useful in melee combat, or the sniper/shotgun attachments for the SC-20K. You'll still get old favorites like Sticky Cameras and Shockers, the Ring Air-Foils, as well as several types of grenades. Sam also has new lethal and non-lethal combat moves, such as hanging upside down and breaking the necks of unsuspecting guards, or pulling them over railings so they fall to their deaths. As well he can choke foes, or simply rush and knock them out.

Most of the moves that Splinter Cell veterans are familiar with make a return here (save for things like the swat-turn from SC: PT - while it looked pretty cool, I suppose its usefulness was limited) and Sam controls as perfectly as you'd expect. The camera is once again virtually foolproof, and affords a fantastic view of your surroundings Ц and I guarantee that you will want to view those surroundingsЕ a lot. The Splinter Cell series has always been famed for its outstanding visuals, but Chaos Theory takes the cake, pushing the Xbox to its absolute limits. Everything is here, and the presentation is truly beautiful. Gorgeous real-time lighting and shadows, amazing specular and bump maps, razor sharp textures and insane attention to detail are evident in every level, everywhere you look. Light sources look incredible, the character models are uber-realistic looking, and all of the animations are spot-on perfect. The sound is just as nice, and gamers with 5.1 set-ups will appreciate the positional audio and the immersive effect it has on gameplay. The NPC voice acting is solid, and the music Ц by Amon Tobin Ц adds a robust, cinematic feel to the proceedings.

The new Co-op mode is a great addition to the Splinter Cell universe, and the developers have crafted 4 unique missions that can be played via system link or Xbox Live. The levels are large and contain multiple objectives, and they're well designed with the teamwork aspect firmly in mind. All new abilities like two man rappelling, body climbing and a cool torpedo move where your partner throws you (or vice versa) into an enemy to knock them out are included here, and they add a fascinating new dimension to the stealth action gameplay. As well you'll need to disable cameras and laser grids using the pistol's EMP pulse, only here in co-op one spy needs to hold the trigger while the other passes the area, then reciprocates. Interestingly, speaking too loudly into your communicator will allow the enemy AI to actually overhear you, and come running. It basically takes the fun of the single player campaign and allows you to experience it with a buddy. With many different ways to play through, you'll want to tackle the missions repeatedly and try a variety of different infiltration methods. It's extraordinarily fun, and playing as two new Splinter Cell rookies, the story ties in with the campaign in interesting and amusing ways. Despite a bit of occasional slow down, the co-op mode performs well, and UbiSoft will likely be releasing additional missions for download at some point in the future, which is welcome news to be sure.

The incredible Spies vs. Mercenaries multiplayer mode returns as well, and it's better than ever, with all new moves and gadgets - mercs get a new camera network, while spies get a sweet Predator - like camouflage upgrade to their stealthsuits that renders them virtually invisible to the naked eye. A handful of Pandora Tomorrow maps make a return here, and they look and play better than ever. These include Warehouse, Deftec and Museum. The new maps - such as Aquarius, Clubhouse, Factory and Orphanage - are beautifully laid out, graphically and interactively intense, and extremely fun to play. The objective based nature of these maps makes for extraordinary multiplayer action, as spies can create more favorable conditions for success by completing tasks that affect the defenses of particular areas. In addition, there are multiple game types here as well. Overall, it's a fantastic follow up to the original online game, and it expands and improves in every way possible as well. For Splinter Cell junkies and stealth action fans alike, it just doesn't get much better than this.