PC Version Reviewed

You have been given the fifth freedom, the right to commit espionage, kill terrorists, and to defend the United States against any threat foreign or domestic. You are Sam Fisher, a splinter cell. A member of the National Security Agency's "Third Echelon" division, a black ops spearhead group that tries to prevent all threats to the nation. Set in the near future, Splinter Cell deals with political turmoil in the same region as Ghost Recon, Georgia. No not the state, the former Soviet nation of Georgia.

It’s 2004, a new President has taken control of Georgia due to an uprising, and things are starting to change for the better in the country. This guy seems to be willing to work with the United States and her allies to promote peace and all of that good jazz. However, something more sinister is rearing its ugly head, and as the game progresses, it is apparent that the new Georgian President isn't as peaceful as he wants the world to believe he is.

The story is told through clippings from the television news between missions and through what bits of intelligence you can collect throughout the course of your mission. Thankfully though, if you happen to miss a bit of intelligence in the course of a mission, you don't miss the complete Splinter Cell storyline, which is really good, because sometimes, it just isn't possible to hack into every single computer, especially during the mission that takes place at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia. We'll get to more on that mission later, though.

The action is viewed from a 3rd person perspective, like Tomb Raider, but is a lot different. To be honest, when I first played the game the only thing went through my head was; "Ewwww...3rd person perspective..how am I going to be able to shoot people in 3rd person mode?" The designers came up with a clever way to handle this problem; when you dig out your sidearm, the view changes dramatically, so instead of trying to aim for a target in true 3rd person mode, the view switches to an almost over-the-shoulder 3rd person view, making aiming and gameplay better.

The graphics are superbly done, but it is not the graphics that make this game great, it is the shadow and lighting. In just about every level there are places to sneak in and hide, unlike some games, there is not a sharp contrast between complete light and complete darkness. The closer you get to a spot that is completely dark, the less light there is in the game, just like in real life.

The gadgets featured in the game are pretty darn nice. There is an optical camera that you can slide underneath the cracks in the doors to get a look at the next room, all important data is stored on an OPSAT (it's basically a PALM pilot strapped to the arm of Fisher), there is also automatic lock picks and regular lock picks as well. The weapons I have encountered are pretty standard, the only weapons you are allowed in the game is a silenced 9mm pistol and a weapon called the Bullpup. The Bullpup can outfit several different gadgets, such as one that allows you to make a camera go 'blind.' Also can't forget the standard night vision goggles and the thermal vision mode that is accessed later in the game. As for game play, overall, the missions range from average to damn hard. Some missions you'll make a stupid mistake on and have to repeat it several times until you do get it right (which is a pain), there are some missions that you want to replay just to repeat some cool sequences (there is one mission where you get to rappel down the side of a building and then enter via an open window.) However, there is one mission where most people have a very difficult getting through, that mission is the one in the CIA Headquarters. You cannot kill anyone, you can knock people out, but if you don't hide the body well enough, the alarm will go off and then, its game over.

One more complaint that I have with the game is the lack of thermal vision goggles up until the CIA mission. Those would have been very useful early on in the game, especially in the mission where you have to break into the Georgian political offices. Not to mention that at sometimes, it is much easier to use the night vision goggles. Although the good thing is that the AI is very superb. Most games have AI problems early on, but, thankfully, Splinter Cell doesn't have this problem. Other than minor complaints, Splinter Cell lived up to my expectations and this is a game that everyone should have for their PC, Xbox, PS2 or GameCube.

Final Grade: A