Splinter Cell's New Versus Mode

Between my friend Unpro and me, we've probably put damn near 600 hours into playing Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell® Pandora Tomorrow™ and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell® Chaos Theory™ online. For months after Pandora Tomorrow came out, I could expect a call within a half hour of coming home saying simply, "get on …" <click>, and I did just that: Logged into Xbox Live® for a cat and mouse battle of spies versus mercs.

However, it can be brutally demanding to become proficient at Splinter Cell online. Just last week I was telling my boss that it look a friend of mine, a guy I would call a hardcore gamer (13,000+ gamerscore) several days before he was comfortable competing online in Chaos Theory.

The good news is that Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell® Double Agent® has taken great strides to making the multiplayer game more accessible to the average gamer. That doesn't mean it's easy though, so a clear explanation of the mode is still in order.

The Premise
The basic structure of multiplayer has remained the same since Pandora Tomorrow. There are two teams that compete against each other. One team is made up of Shadownet spies, and the other is a team of mercenaries. In Double Agent, the teams have been increased from two people to three on each side.

The goal of the spy is to steal information, which is stored in computer terminals throughout the map. Sometimes a spy will only need to download from one terminal, sometimes from several. Once the data is stolen, it needs to be taken to an extraction point. Extracting the information and getting it to the drop point twice will win the round.

The mercenary's goal is much simpler. They only need to stop the spies from achieving their goal, either by killing them or preventing them from accessing the terminals.

Essentially, Splinter Cell multiplayer is a sophisticated game of cat and mouse, only the cats are armed and the mice have night vision goggles.

Spy Perspective
Spies play from the same third person perspective as Sam Fisher, and use much of the same equipment, including night and thermal vision. Their speed and acrobatic abilities allow them to move through the maps far more efficiently than the mercenaries. Spies can crawl through vents, climb pipes, jump from windows, use zip-lines, and much more.

The spies, however, present virtually no offensive threat. Even the sticky shocker from previous games has been eliminated, now the spies must rely almost solely on stealth and surprise.

Merc Perspective
The mercenaries play from a first person perspective, and while they move slower and can't follow the spies into small spaces, they have an assault rifle with unlimited ammo, frag grenades and flying drones.

The mercs also boast a headlamp, motion sensors that will detect spies who move too quickly, and electromagnetic vision that will show spies who are hacking or using their own vision modes.

The Essential Differences
Though the basics are unchanged, the execution of the multiplayer mode in Double Agent has seen some drastic changes from its predecessors. There are several key elements for both the casual fan and the Splinter Cell hardcore to keep in mind.

• Gadget Free: In an effort to streamline the versus experience, the developers at Ubisoft have eliminated most of the gadgets used by both spies and mercs. Where once the spies could hold up to four pieces of equipment, they can now only hold one at a time. The mercenaries are now limited to their assault rifle, a few grenades, and an explosive drone.
• No Alarms: The laser guarded doors, security cameras, and motion sensing alarms have all been eliminated, giving the spies easier access to the environments.
• Opened Up: In general, the maps now offer wider corridors and bigger rooms, and they offer much less darkness as cover, giving the mercenaries an edge in tracking the wily spies.
• Universal Forearm: The primary tool for the spies is a utility gadget on their forearm that can hack terminals, destroy lights, shatter glass, and even hack the mercs, wreaking havoc with their sensing technology.
• Terminal Awareness: Though the terminals have separate locations, they are now completely networked. You can start a job at one and finish it at another. You can also return to a terminal for the second objective, even if you've used it before.
• Smoke Grenades: In the last two games, the smoke grenade could be used as an offensive tool, knocking the mercenaries out in addition to offering cover. Now the smoke grenades will only slow the mercenaries down.

Much may have been changed for the Splinter Cell multiplayer game, but the basics remain the same. The changes made should make for a faster experience, focused more on movement and tension, with much less waiting around for something to happen. These changes should also ideally bring more balance to the multiplayer game. The added agility, speed, and ability to hack from a distance should allow the spies more of a chance at victory than before.

Article by Ryan Treit