Splinter Cell

This review is for the PC version. I haven't yet played any of the other titles of this franchise, nor have I even looked at any of Clancy's books relating to them(if there are any). With that said, I have read some of his novels, and this definitely is a product by him... for better or for worse. It is nearly only a positive thing; this is masterfully done. The by far best things about this are how vital, and how amazingly sensitive, light and sound are in this. I have never in any other game seen anything quite like it, and certainly not before this came out. You are literally more likely to successfully hide almost right in front of someone, if in complete darkness, than further away, to the side, when well-lit. As a help, you're supplied with a meter, that tells you in no uncertain terms exactly how much in the shadows you are. The amount of noise you make is determined by how fast you move, as well as on what. You can walk regularly, as well as sneak, and both have degrees of speed to that type, adjusted with the mouse wheel. That's one of the ways control differs from the norm, and as soon as you've gotten used to it, you'll be grateful they made it this way. The graphics and animation are incredible, if not entirely as smooth as that of the recent(not first) Prince of Persia trilogy that this slightly predates and was also made by Ubisoft, then again, they're close. And this is their initial attempt, and they hit so much of it right out of the park that we can forgive the couple of clumsy things to it, the biggest being the awkward jumping. Even the simplest of moves requiring it are made tougher than they ought to be, and you know that famous, nifty position where your legs are all that's keeping you up, between two surfaces, that everyone has at least heard of being in this? It's the main reason the leaping is so odd, and I can't claim there was a single place I used it. There are other cool acrobatics(and they completely rock, with no exception), though they seem terribly underused, and every last one is specific to the places you can use it. That's right; there's not one level of this that isn't linear(meanwhile, they're invariably fantastically well-designed), so there is absolutely no freedom of movement. Proceeding in this too often means "figuring out what they intended for you to do". Not only that, no, you spend much too long *just finding out where you're supposed to go*. That works for a lot of VGs, heck, it was a massive step up from the classic side-scroller and such when it originally came about. I'm not arguing that fact. What I am pointing out is that this is stealth(it surpasses others in most areas, not all). Plus, you've got a team backing you up, would it kill them to at least let you know the basic *direction* you're going in? Yeah, you get a map, however, unless you make sure you know where you are at all times(and how would you), it can prove utterly useless. Allow me to draw a comparison to the Hit-man series, I'm certain I'm not the only to do so. In each of those, while maybe not always, they offered multiple solutions, and you can go back and try out something else, and if it makes sense to do, you may very well be allowed to pull it off(especially in Blood Money, it got greater). You're told what you are to do, given an in-depth satellite view of the location, and from there you can soon think of ways to do it, and start actually *doing* those. Why not here? There is no replay value. This goes back and forth between being too easy and equally hard, and can be frustrating. The rigid military precision that Tom, and his work, is infused with can be irritating in this, and sometimes shooting is overly difficult, and enemies don't seem to have any problem with it. With that said, the two weapons, fitted with silencer and flash suppressor, pistol and SC-20K(to know it is to love it) are a ton of fun to use(when the time is right), as is all the equipment. Diversions that can also render foes unconscious, a reusable reconnaissance camera, the Sticky Shocker, and that's not the only *launchable*(!) stuff you get to use. Optic cable for looking under doors, wall mines, lock-picks, flares, grenades, and I could go on. The tactical opportunities is another thing where this really shines. Night and Thermal Vision(and trust me, it is perfect) demand mention, as well. Don't get me wrong, the game-play is magnificent. The AI is beyond reproach. Responsive and eternally as smart as they're meant to be. The music is well-composed, aids in that it changes when you're in immediate trouble, and you may frankly find yourself humming the kick-ass theme to yourself. There are next to no bugs or stability issues. The "humor" is really the usual silly stuff, fortunately, it's seldom in this, and the tone is an earned maturity(this never talks down to you) not ruined by the many bad-ass lines and moments. Sam Fisher, who you're taking on the role of, is voiced by Michael Ironside, who owns the crap out of every vocal emission(including the freaking *death scream*), since that is one of the things he can just *do*. He doesn't go overboard. The acting/audio is all marvelous. This has an interesting and immersive plot. Every character is credible. Realism is through the roof, and it almost always does pay off. This respects its audience. Inbetween the well-written and nicely varied missions, you see bits of faked news reports, that adds loads. This ranks tension higher than action, and you'll get to do some awesome infiltration. I recommend this to anyone that sounds appealing to. 9/10

When I was off work for many months with broken leg, I had nothing to do, so I brought an xbox, splinter cell is a budget games with everybody saying how good it is, believe me, it is good! For the xbox and P.C., the graphics are very good, I believe for PS2 they turned the graphics quality down, but they were still very good by PS2 standards. This game took ubisoft five years to develop, and it shows! The controls are easy to master on the xbox version, it totally gripping, very believable, running around with lots of guns will never happen in real life, hence why in splinter cell, for the first few levels, you get a silenced pistol, with very limited ammo, so ideally you don't use it, you have to think around how to get somewhere, how to moves to a certain locations, avoiding guards, knocking guards out, cleaning pipes and walls, action blending nicely with real life problems you might except in the real world of espionage, the object of each level is basically get in, get out, without anybody knowing you are there at all, tricky, mistakes either let the guards know your there, or get you killed. I'd recommend this game to anybody, and as it's so cheap on most formats now, trying it won't dent your wallet either!

Even though the game-play is great the story implies a world view which gives me the creeps. The essential freedoms and the human rights can only be protected if the "good guy" break undermine these rights? Terrorist and unliked politicians have to be executed. Not even the government is being informed...because it is just the right thing. Even though many games use these ideas the normally don't promote them in such a naive propagandistic style.

With such naive distinction between good and evil implicating that the end always justifies the means, promotes fascistic ideas. it is a shame that such a great game is being destroyed down by the infantile world view of its designers.

game-play 4.5 out of 5 story ought better be banned

Whilst Splinter Cell might have made a pretty good game for the Xbox, it simply is not up to the standard expected by more discerning PS2 owners.

Whilst it absolutely is not in the same league as MGS (1 or 2), the game itself is actually more akin to Syphon Filter on the PS1 - which it has "borrowed" greatly from in many areas.

Most annoying of all, it keeps the S-Filter approach to stealth - in that once you are spotted then it is game over on many levels (!!) Wheras in MGS, Solid Snake had to deal with the consequences of being discovered.

So in S-Cell you find yourself repetitively going over and over the same sections of the levels.

On the levels that dont have this drawback, the AI is so stupid that you can simply charge through as if you were playing a shoot 'em up.

And as for all those fancy moves you see on the box, forget it, I completed the game and not once did I find anywhere to perform the promised moves - they simply arent required.

And also, the box says "creat your own darkness path" - ie all lights are supposed to be shootable - rubbish, very few lights are shootable.

The game is very very linear, you simply can only take the route laid out for you, you cant climb on stuff that the programmers dont want you to - even though they are low enough.

This game could have been so good ! But quite frankly it is just plain ordinary. If you have never played MGS then you might think this was pretty good, but otherwise just rent it from Blockbusters (PS2 owners) before you consider buying it.

And poor PC owners need a 1gb, 256mb, 64mb GFX PC to run this !! Talk about sloppy coding !! It runs with all the same FX on a 300MhZ PS2 - the only difference being in a lower screen rez ! When will PC programmers learn to code as efficiently as Console coders ? Probably never.

8 out of 10 - The Game That Lit the Shadows

The original Splinter Cell wasn't just a stealth game. It was a statement. Released in 2002 during a time when action-heavy titles dominated, Ubisoft's Splinter Cell did something bolder: it made you slow down. It made you think. And it brought shadows to the forefront in a way gaming hadn't truly seen before.

The Birth of Sam Fisher

This was the world's introduction to Sam Fisher, voiced with grizzled perfection by Michael Ironside - a no-nonsense operative for the NSA's ultra-covert Third Echelon. Fisher wasn't a superhero. He was a ghost. No regenerating health, no bullet-sponge bravado. Just a man, some gadgets, and a grim mission to stop a geopolitical catastrophe.

Set during a fictional uprising in Georgia (the country, not the state), the story spirals into international espionage with cyberterrorism, military coups, and the threat of global destabilization. It was a political thriller delivered with grit and realism - and it set the tone for the series.

Gameplay: Light and Shadow Redefined

Splinter Cell's greatest innovation was how it weaponized light. You weren't sneaking in darkness just for style - you needed it to survive. The light meter became your gospel, and every flickering fluorescent bulb or exposed hallway became a puzzle.

You could shoot out lights, crawl through vents, use fiber-optic cameras under doors, and deploy non-lethal gadgets like sticky shockers and ring airfoil rounds. You weren't encouraged to kill - you were encouraged to evade, extract, and disappear without a trace.

It was challenging. Brutally so, at times. But when it worked, it felt incredible. You weren't just controlling a character - you became an operative.

Level Design: Industrial, Tight, Tactical

From CIA headquarters to oil refineries and foreign embassies, the environments were tight, cleanly designed, and built to support stealth. They weren't open-ended playgrounds like later entries - they were missions, with very little room for error.

It was linear, yes, but deliberately so. Every corridor had a purpose. Every guard had a patrol path. And it was your job to crack the code without ever being seen.

Presentation & Audio

For its time, Splinter Cell was visually stunning. The use of dynamic lighting and shadows on the original Xbox and PC was a generational leap. Ubisoft built an atmosphere of tension through minimalist music, ambient sounds, and Ironside's iconic voice work.

Every interaction had weight. The sound of a guard's footsteps, the hum of a nearby security camera - it all mattered. This was immersive stealth done right.

Why 8, Not 10?

Brutal Trial and Error: The game demanded perfection, sometimes to a frustrating degree.

Limited Save System: Some missions could be punishing due to sparse checkpoints.

Linear Paths: Unlike later games in the series, there was little freedom in how you approached objectives.

No Multiplayer: This was a solo affair - and while gripping, it lacked the innovation Pandora Tomorrow would later bring with Spies vs. Mercs.

Final Verdict

8 out of 10. A foundational stealth classic.

Splinter Cell (2002) wasn't perfect, but it didn't need to be. It invented the modern stealth blueprint for Ubisoft and introduced one of the most iconic operatives in gaming. Its atmosphere, challenge, and use of shadow-based stealth were years ahead of their time.

It's not the easiest game to revisit now, but it commands respect. Without it, we wouldn't have Chaos Theory, Conviction, or any of the greatness that followed.

It's not just where Sam Fisher began - it's where an entire genre evolved.