Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow

2 years after Sam Fisher became the undercover hero of defeating the Georgian Terrorist threat.

This time he's dealing with Indonesian Gureilla Terrorists. Who are planning to attack the USA with a virus under the code name: Pandora Tomorrow.

Sam Fisher is once again on new undercover missions to prevent losses of innocent civilians.

He must go from Indonesia to France and L.A.X. to confront and stop the enemy at all costs.

The game has the similar features from the first one, only newly improved here and there. Same weapons including some new ones for greater advantages. The game play is different, but you get use to it real quick as you play the game. The graphics are great as ever. And the voice acting is as super as it was in the first game. Contains the usual strategy/stealth action.

Those who liked the first one will like this sequel.

To avoid confusion, this is a review of the PC version. You know how follow-ups, almost by definition, suck? And there's the lesser-known thing about sequels to stealth games being easier than the original, perhaps to broaden the appeal(stick with continuing to satisfy the core audience, please, we don't need everything to look alike). Don't you just hate that? I'd wager the good people of Ubisoft do, because they avoid both, and do so looking *fantastic*. If anything, this is slightly tougher, at points. There are still only two difficulty settings, and arguably no replay value, but if you're into this type of thing, then you probably loved the first, and you'll have the same response to this, I guarantee it. Not a single of the enticing cut-scenes are live-action, and when they can be this gorgeously fully rendered, why would they? They've built a brand new engine, and it is stunning. The graphics and animation is extremely smooth, far superior to that of the predecessor to this, and those were already amazing. This takes everything that made the first so marvelous and streamlines it, and it's almost invariably a positive. What little there was that needed aid, as far as controls go, is fixed. Now you can actually *see* how many, if any alarms you can afford/have already "used", and there is a genuine response by your foes, strike one, Kevlar comes on, two, helmet, three... you're outta there. The game-play is immensely entertaining, and a solid challenge. Leaping is improved majorly, and new moves and equipment is introduced. The Half-Split Jump that adds to maneuverability and the SWAT Turn *rock*. As far as additional ways to take out enemies(which, along with the nifty sneaking, is the best thing about this) goes, there's the Chaff Grenade that disables electronics in a small area, and the well-known Flashbang. And yes, this still has the best darn throwing system I've ever seen, and the "taking a deep breath before you fire"-thing, for the sniping, is also again magnificent. Your opponents now use Motion Detectors and Booby Traps, apart from all that they had access to in the first. Shooting is greater, and much more fun, than before. You again take on the role of Sam Fisher(cheer for him, people, he's finally learned how to open a door crouched, instead of standing up like a doofus and being a target, and he can Whistle, to attract attention, very useful), working for Third Echelon, on missions(the opening one serves as training, no tutorial this time) of infiltration, data retrieval, etc. Inbetween each, there are again clips of fake news broadcasts that add to the high realism that this, and anything else that Clancy(and he sure left his finger-print on this, it is a must for any fan of his) has enough creative control over that it be worth mentioning. They found a better balance between it and the enjoyability, this time around. The tone is spot-on, this never talks down to the player, and is rather mature and intelligent. That goes for the story, as well, which has surprising twists that hold up. The characters are credible and consistent. All of the writing is masterful, and there are next to no clichés in this. The dialog remains clever, if it does try a little hard in some places. This has an appropriate length, and doesn't overstay its welcome. The sensitivity to light and sound remain unbelievably incredible, and the strongest aspect to this, an inspiration for similar titles. AI, what can I say, it's stupendous. There are a few bugs and glitches, relating to that, among other things. Stability is beyond reproach. They basically drop the whole map thing entirely, and you do spend time trying to figure out where to go, but this is less frustrating and tedious than the first one(which wasn't all that bad). The objectives are varied and imaginative. I'd say the locations and situations are memorable and interesting(who knew "awesome" was spelled T-R-A-I-N?), with France and Jerusalem being on the list. The design of the levels(as well as everything else in this, frankly) is excellent. That does bring me to the only complaint about this(heck, the series, thus far), the continuing utter lack of freedom of movement. Maybe I've been ruined by the Hit-man games, and to an extent, also the Commandos ones... nevertheless, why is this so completely linear? You could also explore in those, and it was worthwhile to do so. After being told what you are to do, you got to decide how to, and then you proceed to do it, which, let's face it, is a big part of the coolness of these. As soon as you have figured out what the creators intended, here, you do get to that. I suppose it has to do with this being plot-driven to an extent not found in the aforementioned competitors. That doesn't completely excuse it. I'd say to try the first one before this, to have the ground-work laid out(not to mention, it's well worth the time), in all areas, since this doesn't retell everything. There is less of the silly humor. The music is astounding, as is the voice acting and all of the audio. This is very satisfying to play, and the ending is worth the effort. Plus, this has multi-player(!). It's Spies(similar to single-player, with abilities and non-lethal attacks) Vs. Mercenaries(like the terrorists you usually fight, run and gun), the goal is to conquer or to protect the canisters, respectively, and the modes are Neutralization(find and destroy them), Extraction(bring them back with you) and Sabotage(use modems to dispose of them). While I haven't had a chance to try it, it certainly sounds well thought up, inventive and fresh. This is for anyone who liked the first, the overall concept, and the novels(and all media outlets that have to do with them) of Tom, with all the thoroughly researched, precise military facts. I recommend this to anyone who thinks they'd be into it. 9/10

I gotta say, out of all four Splinter Cell games: Pandora Tomorrow is my favorite. Splinter cell had the intro and the opening to introduce Fisher and his life as a covert opp., but lacked the grittiness and charisma of a Tom Clancy idea. Chaos Theory was for the hype, it had cool weapons, cool submission moves and environment interactions though. Double agent was just reaching too far. It's a next gen game, but it just failed to deliver on the character development of it's hype. But Pandora tomorrow: as true to Clancy as one of his novels. Gritty, suspenseful, and challenging. I liked the need for patience and timing in the game, and it had more levels with cinematic flare then the rest. The T.V. station level with the rain? Classic. The player has to change vision modes to avoid flash blindness by the lighting and time it to take out the guards around him. If there is ever a movie of Splinter cell, that level has to be a adapted for it.

I will agree that the environments and the AI were incredible and the graphics overall were second to none, but I feel that the single player mode was sacrificed in order to bring the multi-player mode to life. The game was far too short and I didn't feel the profile of Sadono was robust enough. In the original, you actually felt hate and anger towards Nickoladze because of the detail and time spent to develop that character. I am not saying that Pandora Tomorrow was bad, not at all. I am just hoping that they go back to formula with Chaos Theory and develop a new era for gaming, much like was done when Splinter Cell 1 was first released. I gave Pandora a 4 out of 5.

I have all 4 Splinter cell Playstation 2 games and everyone rates a 10. Michael Ironside is one of my favorite actors. He has a very recognizable voice. I hope that they will produce another Splinter cell episode. I also have seen a lot of his movies and Would like to see him play the hero in a movie. Pandora tomorrow is as great as the previous two. Double agent is another fine work of gaming. Keep up the great work. I will be looking forward to a new splinter cell game in the future. Also it would be great to know if there is a fan club in Alberta. If there is I would like to know where it is and how I can join. Yours Truly Recyled Teenager