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Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
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Graphics & Sound:
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is a beautiful game, featuring an amazing lighting system that displays filtered light very realistically, shows accurate shadows, and displays models and textures that are crisp and well defined. The game can be displayed at a number of resolutions, and animation tends to be smooth as long as there is ample computing horsepower available to the game. The visuals not only affect the presentation, but they factor heavily in the game play. Shadows are the perfect place to hide, while well lit areas can easily give away Sam Fisher's location, and curtains and other transparent or semi-transparent materials provide a medium to look through. Sound is also well executed, providing clues not only to what is happening with enemies, but also with the hero, Sam Fisher. If he makes a noisy move, this can be readily heard, giving the player the opportunity to change tactics based on the environment. Music goes along well with the action, and adds tension and suspense to the game.
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Gameplay:
Featuring a third-person perspective, with Sam Fisher looming large on the screen, game play is generally centered on stealth operations. Missions are heavily scripted, with some openness in terms of how to complete them, but generally there is only one way to correctly perform a given task. Sam Fisher is equipped with only a silenced pistol at the beginning of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, but later he has access to a rifle with a scope. Beyond these two weapons, there are also other tools of the trade available, such as his own hands, which he can use to incapacitate enemies, as well as camera probes, grenades, lock picks, and night vision goggles. Different missions require different weapons and tools, and items from one mission do not carry over to the next. Sam Fisher is only given a limited supply of ammunition or traps for each mission, so conservation is the key. Enemies' weapons and ammunition cannot be salvaged, so expecting to steal from the incapacitated or dead is not a viable strategy. Some items, like cans or bottles, can be picked up and then thrown to distract enemies, but otherwise one must complete a mission with the assigned equipment. |
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Difficulty:
Missions range from simple info gathering exercises to assassinations, and environments range from foreign police stations to oil rigs to the CIA headquarters. Overall, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell offers a wide range of things to see and do, but the difficulty ramps up quickly, and one can find his or herself reloading a saved game over and over again in hopes of figuring out the correct strategy. The game can be saved at any time, which means missions do not have to be started over from scratch unless one leaves a body where it can be found by the enemy. So this is yet another aspect of game play that is both interesting and frustrating: When one incapacitates or kills enemies, it is important to dispose of the bodies properly. Generally this means dumping them in the shadows where their buddies can't find them. If a body is found, an alarm is sounded, and incapacitated enemies are awakened. This provides another level of difficulty, and over all, one will find Splinter Cell an extremely hard game to complete. |
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Game Mechanics:
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell's user interface is patterned after a Personal Digital Assistant. Screens are generally laid out well, if not a bit confusing. The transition from a console based game to the PC has gone well, with the mouse and keyboard well supported. The controls are tight and aiming and executing moves is very fluid. Splinter Cell is a game that features gorgeous graphics, immersive sound effects and music, and riveting game play. The scripted missions can be frustrating, but for those hardy souls who thirst for difficult games, this is probably a dream come true. The game's realism, environmental based game play, and stealth aspects are appealing, and overall the game is highly recommended.
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-Gordy, GameVortex Communications AKA Gary Lucero |
Minimum System Requirements:
Pentium III 800 or equivalent, 256 MB RAM, 8X CD-ROM, 32 MB VRAM, 1500 MB disk space, mouse, sound card, DirectX v8.1. |
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Test System:
Windows XP Home, 2 GHz Pentium 4, 256MB RAM, GeForce 4 Ti4200 w/64MB RAM, SoundBlaster Live! Value, 32x DVD-ROM. |
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