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Few titles elicit the kind of visceral response from gamers as those in the Splinter Cell series. It seems that there are polar opposites when it comes to opinions – you either love 'em or you hate 'em. No one would deny the graphical prowess or technical achievement of the seminal original Xbox outing, nor the followups of or Pandora Tomorrow. Heck, even the grumpiest observer would applaud the grand scale of the accomplishments of both single and multiplayer implementations (the first game notwithstanding). However, with all of the accolades heaped upon Ubisoft's flagship franchise, two foundations serve as the great divide between the lovers and the haters – stealth and complexity.
The lovers point to the stealth aspect of the series as the hallmark of everything right about "smarter" gaming – no running and gunning here. Rather, players have to plan, think, and outwit their AI opponents to succeed; certainly a radical idea at the beginning of the Xbox era. The haters can't handle tiptoeing around a map, blowing out lights, and otherwise meandering through a level without blowing lots of things up – not to mention a lack of a significant storyline. Multiplayer, though, truly pits gamer versus gamer – starting with Chaos Theory and extended in Pandora Tomorrow, the hypercomplex spies-vs.-mercs gameplay demands a major investment in time, memorization, and tactical execution. Ultimately, many gamers (this reviewer included) simply couldn't muster the dedication needed to succeed against those who spent the time learning all the tools of the trade, and wound up putting the game away, never to be seen again.
Enter the newest title in the series, Splinter Cell Double Agent for the Xbox 360. In reality, it should be considered as two entirely separate games stored on a single disk, since the single- and multiplayer game share very little similarity other than graphical commonality. Ubisoft has gone out of its way to distinguish both aspects of the game from earlier efforts, while keeping enough of past gameplay (including the main uber-hero Sam Fisher and the spies vs. mercs multiplayer mechanic) in place to ensure longtime fans return yet again to the fray. In virtually every way, Double Agent is a smashing success – and yet I've got a feeling that the debates are far from over.
Ubisoft has gone out of its way to distinguish both aspects of the game from earlier efforts, while keeping enough of past gameplay in place to ensure longtime fans return yet again to the fray.
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On the solo side, one thing is clear right off the bat - Sam Fisher has got some problems. He's pretty much beat after years of serving his government in dozens of harrowing missions, but he's back for another go-round. This time, he's got to infiltrate a terrorist cell that's bent on (what else?) blowing the living hell out of something somewhere. The newest twist in the Splinter Cell canon is the whole notion that you are simultaneously working for two groups – the government and the terrorists, and choices that are made along the way can ultimately change the outcome of the game. This makes it instantly replayable – a welcome change from the past, where difficulty settings were the only reason to start over – since the action is enjoyable enough to go through it a few times to get all of the multiple endings. Another welcome addition is a healthy amount of daytime missions, so a good bit of time is spent squinting in the sun instead of peering into the murky green and black hues of Sam's night vision (although there's still plenty of that, too).
Double Agent also tosses in some free-form aspects, breaking from the traditional linear-based approach. While these take place only in certain places, the ability to pick and choose what to do within a certain amount of time in any order desired encourages experimentation (or trial and error). Even the standard levels offer the ability to sneak or shoot – but stealth is always rewarded with additional gadgets and weapons when you're successful. As you might expect, Sam's job isn't easy. Even though I've played through each of the earlier games, I found myself getting killed very easily right off the bat – even in the training missions! There will be more than a few times that the wrong move means virtually instant death, whether in an enemy compound, dusty African town, or federal prison. Thankfully, the good folks at Ubisoft implemented a "Save Anywhere" feature, eliminating the angst that usually accompanies such a disastrous fate.
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