Tom Clancys Splinter Cell Double Agent (vf)

Okay let me go on record as saying I LOVE this game so far (about 50% thru) from the stellar graphics to the non linear deep story. Is it the best in the series, THAT is a matter of opinion. I will say however that it IS MY favorite Splinter Cell (SC) to date. And I have played and loved them all, even found joy in the PSP version. But one thing particular makes this one my fave and that is the Story. I will not spoil anything but it is truly engrossing. Now let me follow my normal review format.

Graphics - 5 out of 5 Ubisoft really decided to show true 360 power. OMG! The graphics in this game rank up there with the greats...(FN3,COD3, Oblivion, etc.) may be the best I am still trying to compare. So many details in Sam's wetsuit, backgrounds, and enemies!!! Let me put it like this, you sneak up on your prey, grab him and hold him to interrogate watch his eyes flutter while he spills the beans and then watch his eyes roll to the back of his head when you choke him out. Nuff Said!!!

Sound - 4.5 out of 5 Michael Ironside does the voice acting for Sam, do I really need to go on? The sounds and background music is exactly what you come to expect from the SC series. Turn off everything in the room and turn up the volume you will get sucked in.

Controls - 4 out of 5 Here is my one and only CON, the camera doesn't always like the way you want control Sam, you end up having to toy with the right analog stick a little too much in some situations to see what you want to see. But as far as everything else it flows smoothly and controls pretty much like the others in the series!

Gameplay - 5 out of 5 Okay this is where the game absolutely TAKES off!!! There is just something about sneaking out of the shadows, grabbing and choking your enemies then hiding the bodies, gets me amped!!! But we have already done that right with others in the series right? Well imagine hanging and lowering yourself on a winch Mission Impossible style to obtain access to a certain objective or catch an enemy off guard. Or how about popping out of icy waters grabbing an unsuspecting enemy and dragging him underwater with you to choke him out (without fully getting out of the water). Let me tell you ladies and gentlemen this is STEALTH done absolutely right!! Then on top of the stellar gameplay mechanics. You have options on how to use those gameplay mechanics. Meaning you are a double agent, if you kill your enemies recklessly, leave innocent people to die you get closer to becoming that evil which you are trying to fight against. On the other hand if you choose to save the innocent and take your enemies out sparing their lives, then you uphold that which you have stood for all your years as an NSA agent. Simply put: THIS GAME ROCKS!!

Story - 5 out of 5 I am only about halfway thru this masterpiece and I will not spoil any of what I have experienced thus far I will however tell you that this is so far one of the best story I have experienced in a game. Ending not rated yet...

I will now say that I am a big Splinter Cell fan anyway so this review may come off somewhat Bias. I tried to be as unbiased as possible, but I honestly can not imagine anyone NOT liking this game once they get the hang out the controls and fortunately there are 2 training missions (practice) to help accomplish this. Also let me say that I play my XBOX360 on a 32" Samsung HD TV so when I rate the graphics that is all I have to go by, so I cannot honestly tell anyone how good the graphics look on a regular TV. I cant imagine they would be that much worst though.

Bottom Line: This game is one of the few (so far) for which you purchased an Xbox360...and it is NOT to be missed Trust me!! Let the Holiday Games begin!!!

PROS:

- Unreal Engine

- No forced grab cover as with many new games.

- SAVE ANYWHERE!

- Excellent main character voice acting, especially Michael Ironside. It really helps.

- Excellent music. This really helps too.

- Complicated story with interesting morality. I never understood irrational "ends-justify-the-means" ethics, which this game obviously employs, but it's certainly realistic to our ultra-nationalistic, ultra-militaristic government, so using it as a plot device in this game makes perfect sense. The enemy is mostly domestic so no one can claim anti-Arab, anti-Muslim or racism. Branching storylines and alternate endings as in a special edition DVD.

- Very very interesting psychological training levels (although this is far too brief and actually doesn't really train newbies on most weapons and gadgets).

- Sammy gotta girlfriend. Awwwww.

- Map - don't know where to go? Look at the map.

- I never once had to consult the internet due to bad design, didn't know where to go, what to do, glitches, etc. Double-plus good on that.

CONS:

- Deplorable recycled enemy voice acting during combat. Your enemies will even switch from new voice actors to completely different (old) voice actors if you enter combat. They'll say things like "let's try something different, fall back!" and other various quotes from older Splinter Cell games (Chaos Theory). Tons of them are from the exact same voice actor, which again is from older games and there is not even an attempt to make him sound like a different guy each time. How much effort could it take to get some voice actors into a studio to some new lines. You could get a bum off the street to do this.

- infinite health nonsense like in Call of Duty 2, Gears of War, Rainbow Six Vegas, etc. no med kits, health packs, etc. I don't get this with the new games. It's a revolt against the old Doom health/armor tradition. Logically, it only makes sense if you have some sort of Halo character with a recharging shield or something similar. Sam ain't got that, WWII soldiers certainly didn't, neither do characters in other games - you might be able to give Gears of War a pass because they are wearing some sort of goofy suit in the future, but they really should either explain it (or explain it away) for this and other games. Infinite health changes the context of gameplay. There is no urgency to get to a health kit or be more careful if your health is down. Get shot a bunch of times? Just duck down for a couple of seconds, no prob.

- too many timed missions (entire levels are timed in this game in which you must complete complicated tasks and aren't even able to run - you're forced to walk). It's annoying.

- they took away the light and sound meters in favor of a lame traffic-light Homeland Security style color system. I miss the light and sound meters, they were cool. The color system is also redundant (they have it permanently on screen in 2 different places) -- why not have only 1 color alert (on his shoulder strap) and the light/sound meters for flavor. The light meter allowed you to see when you were APPROACHING vulnerability of exposure. Now they just have a yellow light which indicates only the exact moment of vulnerability, not when you are getting close. The sound meter similarly allowed you to see when you were able to surprise enemies more easily due to loud ambient noise.

- grenade throwing system downgrade. They used to show you an exact arc of where the grenade would land - this was realistic because throwing stuff into an exact location is fairly easy in real life. Even children can do it, so I gather an expert military veteran can do it. Not anymore because it's gone. Why?

Still an excellent game and I'm sure they'll give it a sequel. Chaos Theory was a little better IMO.

PROS:

- Unreal Engine

- No forced grab cover as with many new games.

- SAVE ANYWHERE!

- Excellent main character voice acting, especially Michael Ironside. It really helps.

- Excellent music. This really helps too.

- Complicated story with interesting morality. I never understood irrational "ends-justify-the-means" ethics, which this game obviously employs, but it's certainly realistic to our ultra-nationalistic, ultra-militaristic government, so using it as a plot device in this game makes perfect sense. The enemy is mostly domestic so no one can claim anti-Arab, anti-Muslim or racism. Branching storylines and alternate endings as in a special edition DVD.

- Very very interesting psychological training levels (although this is far too brief and actually doesn't really train newbies on most weapons and gadgets).

- Sammy gotta girlfriend. Awwwww.

- Map - don't know where to go? Look at the map.

- I never once had to consult the internet due to bad design, didn't know where to go, what to do, glitches, etc. Double-plus good on that.

CONS:

- Deplorable recycled enemy voice acting during combat. Your enemies will even switch from new voice actors to completely different (old) voice actors if you enter combat. They'll say things like "let's try something different, fall back!" and other various quotes from older Splinter Cell games (Chaos Theory). Tons of them are from the exact same voice actor, which again is from older games and there is not even an attempt to make him sound like a different guy each time. How much effort could it take to get some voice actors into a studio to some new lines. You could get a bum off the street to do this.

- infinite health nonsense like in Call of Duty 2, Gears of War, Rainbow Six Vegas, etc. no med kits, health packs, etc. I don't get this with the new games. It's a revolt against the old Doom health/armor tradition. Logically, it only makes sense if you have some sort of Halo character with a recharging shield or something similar. Sam ain't got that, WWII soldiers certainly didn't, neither do characters in other games - you might be able to give Gears of War a pass because they are wearing some sort of goofy suit in the future, but they really should either explain it (or explain it away) for this and other games. Infinite health changes the context of gameplay. There is no urgency to get to a health kit or be more careful if your health is down. Get shot a bunch of times? Just duck down for a couple of seconds, no prob.

- too many timed missions (entire levels are timed in this game in which you must complete complicated tasks and aren't even able to run - you're forced to walk). It's annoying.

- they took away the light and sound meters in favor of a lame traffic-light Homeland Security style color system. I miss the light and sound meters, they were cool. The color system is also redundant (they have it permanently on screen in 2 different places) -- why not have only 1 color alert (on his shoulder strap) and the light/sound meters for flavor. The light meter allowed you to see when you were APPROACHING vulnerability of exposure. Now they just have a yellow light which indicates only the exact moment of vulnerability, not when you are getting close. The sound meter similarly allowed you to see when you were able to surprise enemies more easily due to loud ambient noise.

- grenade throwing system downgrade. They used to show you an exact arc of where the grenade would land - this was realistic because throwing stuff into an exact location is fairly easy in real life. Even children can do it, so I gather an expert military veteran can do it. Not anymore because it's gone. Why?

Still an excellent game and I'm sure they'll give it a sequel. Chaos Theory was a little better IMO.

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