The protagonist is Sam Fisher, an agent employed by a super-secret autonomous group within the National Security Agency called Third Echelon. Third Echelon is responsible for protecting the U.S. from threats to its technological infrastructure and national security through any means necessary, including espionage, kidnapping, theft, and even assassination. Sam is Third Echelon’s right-hand man, an ex-Navy SEAL and gruff war veteran expertly trained in the art of silent infiltration. If he gets caught, the U.S. government will disavow any association with him or his mission. He is a 21st-Century ninja charged with doing Uncle Sam’s dirty work. For his first task, Sam investigates the disappearance of two Third Echelon agents in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. In short order he finds himself swept into a global terrorist plot that threatens to cripple the world’s technological infrastructure and possibly trigger World War III.

Although high-tech weapons and gadgets have their place, in Splinter Cell they take a backseat to the importance of light and shadow. Sam Fisher is a lone operative in enemy territory, and his night vision goggles and the cover of darkness are his strongest assets. The bulk of the gameplay rests in the player’s ability to traverse the shadows unseen and unheard. A light meter in the bottom right corner of the screen shows how well Sam is covered in darkness, and the precise analog controls allow a careful player to move without making a sound.

Fisher has an impressive array of physical moves at his disposal, all of which are easy to use. He can crouch, roll, shimmy across pipes and walls, crawl, double-jump off of walls, and wedge himself into hallways with a split jump to lie in wait for unsuspecting enemies. With a quick blow to the back of the head, he can neutralize any guard. He can interrogate enemies, use them to open retinal-scanner-locked doors, and even use enemies as human shields. Splinter Cell makes excellent use of the Xbox control pad to make all of these abilities instantly accessible and effortless to use.

Sam also has a multiplicity of interesting tools and weapons. In addition to a silenced pistol, he has a rifle with a sniper sight and a multipurpose launcher that fires nonlethal rounds, sticky cameras, diversionary cameras equipped with knockout gas and noise emitters, smoke grenades, and more. Locked doors are no problem either. In addition to a set of all-purpose lockpicks, Sam can use disposable picks that instantly dissolve a lock – for those moments when a quick getaway is essential. Want to peek out of a door before you unlock it? Use the optic cable to grab a quick glimpse of the room ahead. The game manages all these gadgets with an intuitive inventory system accessible at the touch of a button, so you’ll never have to interrupt the flow of gameplay to access some cumbersome menu screen.

You will need each of these gadgets and techniques to overcome the gauntlet of obstacles Splinter Cell throws at you: land mines, laser tripwires, security cameras (some armored, some not), searchlights, attack dogs, and automated machine gun turrets are but a sampling of what the game has in store. In several missions you’ll be under orders not to kill anyone, meaning you’ll have to be especially creative with the tools provided. In one memorable scenario, you’ll have to sneak into a high-security installation through a darkened sewer patrolled by three flashlight-equipped guards – without killing any of them. Level objectives unfold naturally and logically without forcing the player to backtrack or mill around rooms in confusion. New, unexpected objectives unfold on just about every level, from kidnapping security leaks to rescuing prisoners. And each level makes creative use of Sam’s many abilities.

Games of this type frequently collapse under the weight of their ambitions; often they provide so many features and options that the general flow of the gameplay is stilted or interrupted by constant menu-switching. Splinter Cell avoids this problem through its superb interface and excellent level design. Every onscreen move is perfectly keyed to the controller, and no item is more than a button press and a couple nudges of the analog stick away. This means you can draw your gun, shoot out a light, use the shadow to crouch and sneak forward silently behind a guard, knock the guard on the head, approach a locked door, equip your lockpicks, and open the door with little hassle. Even the act of lockpicking is cunningly integrated into the gameplay; when you use the lockpicks on the door, a diagram of the lock appears, and you must turn the left thumbstick and feel for the vibration of each pin to undo the lock.

Aside from the short cinemas that play in between each level, all of the plot developments happen in-game, something that will please those who disliked the lengthy cutscenes in MGS2. Often these plot revelations are offered as a reward for pulling off some difficult gameplay feat, such as tailing the car of an important general just before he leaves a heavily guarded embassy. When I picked up his potentially earth-shattering conversation on my laser microphone, I couldn’t help feeling a glow of accomplishment.

Since the first playable betas of Splinter Cell emerged, critics have praised its innovative use of light, and the finished product does not disappoint in this area. This is easily one of the most graphically impressive Xbox titles, and its use of light and shadow is unprecedented. Beams of light spill out of bullet holes and butterflies cast shadows on Sam’s face. Shadows move and stretch as characters move closer to light sources; needless to say, all these effects are rendered in real time. Still screenshots are striking enough, but seeing the game in motion is jaw-dropping. Furthermore, the game camera is easy to manipulate with the right analog stick, allowing you to choose the best viewing angle in just about every situation.

Sound is handled quite well. The weapon effects are satisfying, and the music, while sparse, is appropriate and chillingly effective. When you are spotted by a guard, a sharp, low piano key sounds, followed by a rustling drumbeat. When a guard spots you, the music explodes into a fast-paced techno orgy that rests only when you’ve shaken the enemy’s tail. As an added treat to big-beat techno fans, the opening sequence is accompanied by the Crystal Method’s Name of the Game – a ditty that gets you appropriately pumped for the ass-kicking you will serve up after pressing the Start button.

Since Splinter Cell’s overall graphical presentation is so superior, its few flaws are more glaring than they otherwise might have been. There are some clipping problems, particularly when bodies are placed next to doors. And while the game maintains a rock-solid 30 fps through most of the game, there are some notable incidents of slowdown, though on the upside these instances are confined almost entirely to one level, and only when the player manually manipulates the camera. It would have been nice if the developers could have achieved an overall framerate that approached MGS2, but given the impressiveness of the lighting effects, such deficiencies can be forgiven.

At the beginning of this review I stated my opinion that Splinter Cell is superior to MGS2, but conceded that the games are substantially different. To elaborate further, Splinter Cell more closely resembles a modern-day version of an action-platformer like Flashback, the classic Sega Genesis/Super Nintendo sci-fi platformer. Much like Flashback, you must overcome a series of puzzles through creative use of an extensive physical vocabulary. Solving these puzzles through mastery of Splinter Cell’s control scheme is a gratifying challenge. Hence, the game focuses on precision, finesse, and technique at the expense of all-out action. This may disappoint some who enjoy the classic firefights of Metal Gear, but for those who prefer more demanding, skill-based challenges, Splinter Cell is the better game.

A short footnote: Splinter Cell is slated to be the first console game to feature downloadable levels. Through Xbox Live, Ubi Soft plans to offer an unspecified number of new levels available for download. Since these new levels were unavailable at press time, this review covers only the nine levels available on the initial disc.

· · · Sleeveboy