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There's no doubt that Double Agent remains a visual charmer, although perhaps not as next-gen-looking as some of the other newest Xbox 360 titles like Gears of War or even Call of Duty 3. The audio packs a terrific punch, as the weapons, shouts of enemies, gunshots, and communications with home base are as realistic and powerful as ever. The variety and scale of the various levels, combined with a much more interesting story, drew me into the game more than any of the previous efforts. While there are some aggravating aspects – such as the aforementioned difficulty and occasionally ambiguous goals – in my opinion, this is the best package of Sam's exploits.
And now, the real controversy. As mentioned earlier, there have long been debates over the famous Splinter Cell multiplayer. Ubisoft must have taken those to heart, because while the enemies remain the same (mercenaries against spies), the game is completely different. Gone are the days of two versus two, with mercenaries armed to the teeth with spy traps or trip wires and spies skulking around with guns and sticky cameras. This time, the party has been expanded to three against three. Everything about the game has been streamlined, simplified, and sped up – with fantastic results.
The premise – thankfully – is simple. Spies have to download some information from some computers, then get the hell out before they're killed by the mercenaries. That's it. Mercs, naturally, have to pump the spies full of lead before their valuable information makes it to the outside world. What could be so critical in these files that two groups of men are willing to sacrifice their lives to get to it? Alas, some things man was just not meant to know.
The spies don't have a whole lot of gadgets at their disposal. Their arsenal consists of a handy-dandy wristband, smoke grenades, and whole lot of quickness. Mercenaries have, naturally, a big-ass gun, along with some built-in visual assistance that will have spies show up on-screen as well as indicate when the precious data is being downloaded. Don't mistake stripped down for easy, though – Ubisoft still makes you earn your stripes by completing some online training first, then opening up only a few maps until you can prove your chops and expand to the full list. Each level is full of all sorts of nooks, crannies, pipes, and crawlspaces for the black-clad spies to meander through, while mercs pretty much have to deal with being allowed to move around through more standard walkways, staircases, and the like.
Since spies now carry no weapons, there's much less emphasis on disabling or killing mercenaries, although it still can be done by sneaking up behind one to break a neck, or a well-timed jump onto an unsuspecting head from an area on high. All in all, the overall experience is a major improvement for all but the true die-hards that spent countless hours mastering each of the gadgets, maps, and tactics in the earlier games. Sure, we may hear some complaining from them about the so-called "dumbed down" multiplayer game, but I view it completely differently – it's a lot more fun for a lot more people. Frankly, I wish every online multiplayer game took such an approach.
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