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December 20, 2003 | 10:00 PM PST
by: Donny Simpson
A new stealth game submerges from the depths of video games. Perhaps a rival for the Metal Gear series? So far the game has won an award for Console Game of the Year (2002), and a sequel has been announced. Does the game really live up to its hype, or is it a fluke?
As a “splinter cell” working for the Nation Security Agency (NSA),—the largest United States government agency and a world-wide technology provider—Sam Fisher must provide evidence of a terrorist group who plans on starting a World War III against the United States. As a one-man army, Sam Fisher must infiltrate into enemy territories, silently, hiding all evidence of his presence. As Sam gathers enemy intelligence, the NSA provides him with his mission objectives through an “OPSAT.”
Each mission is based upon stealth. If you try to play the game as a “shooter,” you’ll learn relatively fast you’ll get nowhere. Instead, you should always attempt to find a way around using your weapon. This can be a turn-off to those not used to stealth-based games, and it can become really old as the game progresses. However, being a stealth game can have its advantages. For instance, Sam has the ability to interrogate enemies, hold them hostage and use them as a “human shield” (enemies won’t fire if you stand in the right position), and carry dead or knocked out bodies to other, darker areas. You (generally) won’t see those features in “shooters.”
The controls are very simplistic once they’re learned. Perhaps the hardest to learn is using the camera. Like a lot of GameCube titles, the C Stick is used for the camera. However, unlike most of those titles the C Stick is not inverted, and thus you move the stick in the direction you wish to face. The basics like firing a weapon, crouching and walking slowly, grabbing opponents, and changing items is really simple. Items and weapons are changed simply through the D-Pad, while just about everything else is done with the other buttons.
The story is learned as you progress through the game collecting vital enemy intelligence. At the beginning all you know is there is a possible Georgian army posing a threat for a World War. Later you learn other involvements and scandals helping the Georgian armies. Although there isn’t a whole lot in the story, Ubi Soft did a pretty good job of spreading it out, although that may not appeal to everyone.
The best part of the sound is character voice-overs. Sam Fisher’s voice varies throughout the game, but sometimes it seems a bit hard to hear him, even with the television at high volumes. (Other character voices do this as well. Very irritating.) Sam’s most notable voice attitude is when he interrogates an enemy. The character voices, however, add a bit to the game’s style, and it helps not having to read the text at the top of the screen while “stealthing” around.
While First News Wire (FNW) isn’t in the game a whole lot and makes a total of about four appearances, I ponder why Ubi Soft just up and had some of the news reports cut out during what seemingly appears to be the middle of the report. The news reporter will be talking and a clip will be playing on the screen (think CNN), and all of the sudden it goes onto the next news clip, cutting the reporter off in the middle of words sometimes. This is rather poorly done by Ubi Soft, and they should have just cut FNW out since they obviously did not do it properly.
Splinter Cell graphics are some of the best graphics on the GameCube. While playing the game everything seems very clear with absolutely no mess-ups. However, strangely, some of the cinemas seem to be of less quality. They are still great, and the flaws aren’t that noticeable unless one looks closer. The character models are extremely well-done, and it’s not surprising that Ubi Soft did an excellent job. While characters are speaking (in cinemas and during gameplay), their mouths actually move, often in the way the words are spoken from a human mouth. When Sam scares someone by grabbing them from behind or sneaking up on them, their faces often show emotions. Other graphical features, like fire and water, are quite in the mediocre category. Some water, however, looks a bit realistic, but the most part it is dull.
While Splinter Cell is a fun game to play, there isn’t a reason to beat the game or play more than once. The game is in a linear pattern, and all missions have to be done in a specific order. There are also so many save points and check points in the game that even if you do die, you will start right where you left off. This idea isn’t the best; they should have clearly separated the check points a bit. Even if you complete the game for your first time, you will notice the per cent meter will say 100%. This leaves absolutely no reason to go back and play the game unless you want to play a mission or two for fun. If you beat the game on normal mode (the lowest mode), then you may want to try Hard mode thinking it’s a lot different. Wrong. Hard mode simply makes guards more alert. There are no new mission objectives, no secrets to find. Absolutely nothing extra added. Only the fact that guards will see you more even if your stealth meter is near the left (meaning near invisible). This poses no reason to want to complete the harder mode. Even if you do, it’s not that much more challenging.
The game won Console Game of the Year for 2002, however, this title isn’t for everyone. If you’ve played stealth games like Metal Gear and enjoyed them, this is likely the game for you. If you’ve never played them before, you probably should rent this game as your first stealth game, as it is a good one. If you think this stealth game is different from others and you didn’t like the others, you shouldn’t really buy this game. Rent it. Since the game is easily beaten in 10 hours (perhaps more for slower gamers) for the 10 missions (that’s about an hour a mission) and there isn’t much if any replay value, you shouldn’t dish out $50 unless you’re willing to perhaps rue the purchase. In other words: Fun game, but short lived.
As a “splinter cell” working for the Nation Security Agency (NSA),—the largest United States government agency and a world-wide technology provider—Sam Fisher must provide evidence of a terrorist group who plans on starting a World War III against the United States. As a one-man army, Sam Fisher must infiltrate into enemy territories, silently, hiding all evidence of his presence. As Sam gathers enemy intelligence, the NSA provides him with his mission objectives through an “OPSAT.”
Each mission is based upon stealth. If you try to play the game as a “shooter,” you’ll learn relatively fast you’ll get nowhere. Instead, you should always attempt to find a way around using your weapon. This can be a turn-off to those not used to stealth-based games, and it can become really old as the game progresses. However, being a stealth game can have its advantages. For instance, Sam has the ability to interrogate enemies, hold them hostage and use them as a “human shield” (enemies won’t fire if you stand in the right position), and carry dead or knocked out bodies to other, darker areas. You (generally) won’t see those features in “shooters.”
The controls are very simplistic once they’re learned. Perhaps the hardest to learn is using the camera. Like a lot of GameCube titles, the C Stick is used for the camera. However, unlike most of those titles the C Stick is not inverted, and thus you move the stick in the direction you wish to face. The basics like firing a weapon, crouching and walking slowly, grabbing opponents, and changing items is really simple. Items and weapons are changed simply through the D-Pad, while just about everything else is done with the other buttons.
The story is learned as you progress through the game collecting vital enemy intelligence. At the beginning all you know is there is a possible Georgian army posing a threat for a World War. Later you learn other involvements and scandals helping the Georgian armies. Although there isn’t a whole lot in the story, Ubi Soft did a pretty good job of spreading it out, although that may not appeal to everyone.
The best part of the sound is character voice-overs. Sam Fisher’s voice varies throughout the game, but sometimes it seems a bit hard to hear him, even with the television at high volumes. (Other character voices do this as well. Very irritating.) Sam’s most notable voice attitude is when he interrogates an enemy. The character voices, however, add a bit to the game’s style, and it helps not having to read the text at the top of the screen while “stealthing” around.
While First News Wire (FNW) isn’t in the game a whole lot and makes a total of about four appearances, I ponder why Ubi Soft just up and had some of the news reports cut out during what seemingly appears to be the middle of the report. The news reporter will be talking and a clip will be playing on the screen (think CNN), and all of the sudden it goes onto the next news clip, cutting the reporter off in the middle of words sometimes. This is rather poorly done by Ubi Soft, and they should have just cut FNW out since they obviously did not do it properly.
Splinter Cell graphics are some of the best graphics on the GameCube. While playing the game everything seems very clear with absolutely no mess-ups. However, strangely, some of the cinemas seem to be of less quality. They are still great, and the flaws aren’t that noticeable unless one looks closer. The character models are extremely well-done, and it’s not surprising that Ubi Soft did an excellent job. While characters are speaking (in cinemas and during gameplay), their mouths actually move, often in the way the words are spoken from a human mouth. When Sam scares someone by grabbing them from behind or sneaking up on them, their faces often show emotions. Other graphical features, like fire and water, are quite in the mediocre category. Some water, however, looks a bit realistic, but the most part it is dull.
While Splinter Cell is a fun game to play, there isn’t a reason to beat the game or play more than once. The game is in a linear pattern, and all missions have to be done in a specific order. There are also so many save points and check points in the game that even if you do die, you will start right where you left off. This idea isn’t the best; they should have clearly separated the check points a bit. Even if you complete the game for your first time, you will notice the per cent meter will say 100%. This leaves absolutely no reason to go back and play the game unless you want to play a mission or two for fun. If you beat the game on normal mode (the lowest mode), then you may want to try Hard mode thinking it’s a lot different. Wrong. Hard mode simply makes guards more alert. There are no new mission objectives, no secrets to find. Absolutely nothing extra added. Only the fact that guards will see you more even if your stealth meter is near the left (meaning near invisible). This poses no reason to want to complete the harder mode. Even if you do, it’s not that much more challenging.
The game won Console Game of the Year for 2002, however, this title isn’t for everyone. If you’ve played stealth games like Metal Gear and enjoyed them, this is likely the game for you. If you’ve never played them before, you probably should rent this game as your first stealth game, as it is a good one. If you think this stealth game is different from others and you didn’t like the others, you shouldn’t really buy this game. Rent it. Since the game is easily beaten in 10 hours (perhaps more for slower gamers) for the 10 missions (that’s about an hour a mission) and there isn’t much if any replay value, you shouldn’t dish out $50 unless you’re willing to perhaps rue the purchase. In other words: Fun game, but short lived.
February 8, 2010
