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This Week in Xbox

A Choking Good Time, Part 2

By Ryan McCaffrey, Assistant Editor, Official Xbox Magazine

The term "deathmatch" has become quite a ubiquitous one these days. Nearly every game has some sort of "shoot the other guys" multiplayer, and while plenty of it is fun, it's rare that something new, original, and brilliant comes along. Last year's spies-versus-mercenaries stealth multiplayer component inTom Clancy's Splinter Cell® Pandora Tomorrow™ did just that, and the imminent Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell® Chaos Theory™ is taking it to the next level with not only the return of this mode, but also a full-on, two-player cooperative campaign that pits you and a friend against A.I. foes over the course of four missions.

Gotcha. Next, please.

First, the versus mode. It's back and evolved from its Pandora debut, returning five of the best maps from there and introducing six new ones. I'm personally a bit sad that Mount Hospital is not amongst the maps being carried over, but I have a feeling I'll be playing most of the new ones anyway. During some recent playtime, I got a whole new kick out of playing as a mercenary, since he can now swing the butt of his rifle in the face of an attacking spy, knocking the stealthy pest to the floor. The merc can then move over the fallen spy, plant his boot firmly on the spy's neck, taunt him through the Xbox Live® Communicator, and then finish him off. The tables have been turned, spies! The new camera network also proves to be handy for the mercenaries, letting them set up cameras around an area and view them all at any time. And the addition of a shotgun to the mercenary's arsenal (borrowed from the single-player campaign) really lets a merc tear things up at close range.

That rock actually feels wet.

But wait, friends, there's more. The aforementioned cooperative mode, like the single-player and versus modes, is worth $50 on its own. Playing as anonymous Splinter Cells in training, you and a friend (in either split-screen, System Link, or on XboxLive) work together to accomplish missions. That "working together" part is key, as the game encourages and often forces you to cooperate, frequently putting you in positions that a lone operative could not handle—whether you need a pair of guards to simultaneously open dual retinal-scanner-locked doors, or one of you must lower the other down from the ceiling to hack a keypad above a laser-covered floor, or you just need to give your buddy a boost to reach an otherwise-unreachable ledge.

Cat and mouse, merc and spy.

Do yourself a favor and buy this game when it releases on March 31. If you're still not convinced, check out the single-player demo of the first mission on our March issue demo disk, available everywhere right now!

Livin' Live
While we anxiously await the upcoming downloadable content for Halo® 2, our crew of OXM and Friends has taken to creating our own game modes to keep things spicy hot in our nightly matches. "Peacemakers" is among our favorites, and nary an evening goes by without a round of swords on Lockout.

Tip of the Week
Don't forget about using your grenades and your squad to flush out foes in Brothers in Arms Road to Hill 30™. The emphasis is always on your squad, but a well-placed grenade can also get the job done.

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