Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory

 

Nothing is what it seems...

 

Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft Montreal
Release Date: April 1, 2005
Platforms: PC, PS2, DS, NGE, XBOX, GC
Genre: Modern Action Adventure

 

Tom Clancy is the No.1 (at least for me) writer in spy-fiction. Novels like “Hunt for Red October”, “Patriot Games” and “Sum of All Fears”, are some of his worldwide best-sellers, that became top-selling movies and introduces us in a world of conspiracies and spy-games, where nothing is what it seems. Same thing happened in gaming community with Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell.

 

 

SCENARIO: You are Sam Fisher, a special member of Splinter Cell team, a man fully trained in the “art” of spying, both deadly when using your knife or your gun. Game starts in Japan with the creation of a team called Information Defense Force. Its purpose is to defend the country from enemy threats. After World War II, Japan signed a treaty, so that they could have an army, for “special emergency situations”. But IDF’s creation was considered a threat from Korea and China, as they believe that Japan is somehow breaking the treaty. Under big secrecy, the leader of IDF begins attacks against Japan, putting the blame to North Korea. When U.S.A. interferes, according to Article 9 of the treaty I mentioned above, they suffer an attack, which makes North Korea to launch another one to South Korea. Are you getting a little confused? This is only the beginning. You must stop the alliance between a Japanese admiral, a “neurotic” hacker and the leader of an international military organization.

 

REALISM: Top-class. At the start of your second mission, a dialogue between Fisher and Lambert, gives everything that game is all about. Lambert informs Sam that in the ship he’s on board, a new alarm system has been established. Fisher naturally asks if the mission is over, in case the alarm is triggered 3 times, while Lambert’s reply is negative. Forget stealth games that there was only one road to success. Firstly, you can choose if you want to move stealthy or you‘re gonna invade with your shotgun (I personally strongly recommend you to be sneaky, a bullet in Fisher’s head convinced me). Enemy soldiers act differently when you are stealthy and differently when the alarm is triggered. Pay special attention where to leave a dead body, when you close a door or turn off the lights.

 

 

GRAPHICS: Most of the missions are in the dark and you ‘ll catch yourself using “Night Vision” too often, or you ‘re gonna increase “Brightness” of your monitor. That doesn’t mean graphics aren’t detailed. From a wave hitting the rocks, to the inner places of a cave and from the rusted parts of a ship, to the wooden boxes in the cellar, textures are so realistic that will make you wanna touch them. Incredible work is made in terms of physics (e.g. you kill an enemy and when you bring him to the top a precipice, you push him, so he naturally falls).

 

SOUND: Two words… Extremely good. Some simple examples can convince you. The touch of your boots in the ground, the strike of a thunder (you’ll run outside to see if it’s really raining!!!), even the noise of an electricity power machine. Amon Tobin has created the music for that game, one of the biggest personalities of music nowadays.

 

CONCLUSION: There’s no doubt that this 3rd part of Splinter Cell is the best in series. It breaks the “borders” of Action games and invents a new genre; I’d call it “Spy Simulation”. If you‘re fed up with every day life, Chaos Theory is for you…

 

Rating: 4/5 Stars