Splinter Cell: Xbox Live Tactics

You're familiar with Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell. The third-person stealth-based action title that redefined third-person stealth-based action titles. The drop-dead gorgeous eye candy. The challenging stealth tactics. Hero Sam Fisher's bad-ass, take-no-prisoners attitude. Ubi Soft's Splinter Cell was arguably the hottest title to hit any console in 2002. But some five months later, where's your copy? Collecting dust in a pile of games destined for trade-in value? Not so fast, bucko! Ubi Soft has been hard at work preparing "Kola Cell," an exclusive level downloadable only through Xbox Live. So warm up that Ethernet port and hop on—you're about to be reminded why Splinter Cellstill rocks.

Kola Cell
Just when you thought Nikoladze's terrorist network was completely dismantled, Third Echelon learns of a new cell located in an abandoned factory somewhere on the Russian Kola Peninsula. Intelligence suggests that Phillip Masse, the computer programmer that made Nikoladze's information attacks possible, is hiding there and is ready to strike again. You must locate Phillip, get a sample of his source code, and then eliminate him.

"Shoot first and ask questions later" is a dependableSplinter Cell strategy, but there are a couple areas in which stealth is an absolute necessity. This walkthrough takes you to the end of the mission, but you're encouraged to use it only has a guide—get as creative as possible with your counter-terrorism tactics.

In the Beginning…
When Kola Cell begins, admire the spectacular headlight effects for a few seconds. Then get serious. Find the ventilation grate dead ahead and enter it. Run down the shaft until you see light, and then shift into stealth mode. You'll spy a guard on patrol up ahead, and a firefight is not how you want to start things off. Wait for the guard to initiate a conversation via walkie-talkie before sneaking up to grab him. Knock him out and hide his body in a shadowy area. As with any unconscious enemy, whether or not you want to finish the job with the silenced pistol is totally up to you. Continue through the narrow corridor, making sure to wall-jump over the motion sensor. It's crucial not to trip this sensor—if you do, the door ahead will lock and you'll have to take an alternate route. A much more difficult, potentially bloodier, alternate route.

With the sensor behind you, take a quick peek towards the right. Make a mental note of the jammed door because it will be part of your escape route later in the game. Turn left and continue past the retinal scanner and into the open door ahead. Flip on the night vision goggles to reveal a room full of laser alarms. Don't panic. Jump onto the metal walkway and access the computer to unlock an unseen door on the other side of the room. Don't even attempt to make it through the lasers. Go back out the way you came, take a left at the retinal scanner and enter ventilation shaft number two. Once you reach the end, go right and follow the wall until you see another door, which will now be open.

Cool thing to try #1: If you trip the lasers here, three guards will charge you. But you can hide from them, either by finding a shadow spot or by split-jumping between the corridor walls. If you successfully evade detection, you'll be able to hear the guards having a conversation.

Climb the stairs to a small room and kill the light. Pick the lock on the door and enter the next room. Walk down the short hallway and tumble roll across the corridor into the shadows. Wait a moment and you'll hear a conversation between two guards. You can handle this situation in a number of ways. One is to hang out in the shadows until the conversation ends, wait for one of the guards to turn his back on you, and then grab him. Use him as a human shield to take out the other guard. Once the guards are finished off, ditch their bodies into the small closet in the hallway. Swipe the health pack on the shelf to heal any injuries.

Flip off any light switches and head left towards the stairs. Don't bother with any doors—they're jammed. Stay to the edge of the stairs. They creek, and any noise will alert a guard stationed at the bottom. Use either the silenced pistol or the SC-20K rifle to eliminate him. See the ventilation grate next to you? Open it now to help yourself later. Crawl over the boxes toward the door, but before you enter the next room, glance to the left. Hey, look what you found, a secret area! Slide past the stacked boxes to find some extra pistol ammo.

Cool Thing to Try #2: Try a a split-jump between the two walls when you come down the stairs. It presents the perfect opportunity to drop-attack the guard while he's heading up the stairs.

The next part gets a little tricky. The sound of footsteps on the other side of the door is a strong hint not to rush into the room. Use the optic cable to monitor the guard's movement patterns. Wait until he has his back to you before entering. Open the door and slowly move straight ahead into the shadows to avoid detection by another guard on your six. He may see you, but stay motionless in the shadows and he'll eventually lose interest. Scale the boxes for a good vantage point and squeeze a few rounds into the guards. Find the next door and equip the camera jammer.

Cool Thing to Try #3: Advanced users can climb on the sprinkler pipe to stage a surprise attack. Run to the end of the lockers. Hop on top of the boxes. Wait for the guards to disappear. Find the next door.Cool Thing to Try #4: Another split-jump opportunity here, right between the two stacks of crates where the guard patrols. Use this to your advantage.

Open the door and approach the camera while targeting it with the jammer. Just be quick about it and you'll have no problem making it underneath the camera before the jammer runs out of power. Take the stairs, but be sure to leap the sensor attached to the sides of the wall. You're now in the computer room, and from the looks of things the IT guys need to call a plumber.

Look for the grate on your left and enter it. Head to the end of the shaft, climb on to the pipe, and make your way above the computer room. Drop down, find a computer terminal and access it. Take a breath. Now save.

So This Is Why the Servers Are Down
Once the short dialogue sequence ends, the enemy is alerted to your presence. Climb right back into the ventilation shaft in the ceiling, and make sure you are far enough in to elude the eyes of the guards. Those crafty suckers have night vision goggles, giving them a slight advantage, so they'll be able to spot you in the shadows. Since you can't see them, listen for audio clues. Wait for three distinct sets of footsteps sloshing through the water—that's your cue to shoot a sticky shocker into the water to incapacitate them. Any guards not electrocuted can be eliminated with a few well-placed rounds to the head. Jump down and search the bodies. One of them has a wall mine that'll be quite handy later on.

The door to the server room is now open, so take the direct route back to the stairs. Remember the wall detector! Jam the camera while backpedaling and head into the room with the two dead guards. Opening the door triggers a scene in which Colonel Alekseevich is expressing his extreme displeasure about the lack of security. Little does he know he's the next target on your list. You need his eyes to activate the retinal scanner close to where you began the mission.

As soon as the scene ends, crouch behind the stacked boxes between you and the guard walking toward you. Wait for the guard to head back up the stairs toward the Colonel before making a move. Climb over the taller stack of boxes to evade the Colonel's detection and sneak quietly into the ventilation shaft. Head all the way to the end, hop onto the ledge, and then onto another. To reach the next ledge, double jump off the wall. Recognize where you are? You're in the corridor ceiling directly over the Colonel's head. Wait for the guard to come up the stairs and back down again to give yourself plenty of time. Drop down and grab the Colonel. It's up to you what you do with the guard. You can escape undetected if desired. A guard is poised to enter through the jammed door if alerted, so keep that in mind when making your escape.

Cool thing to do #5: You know you want to eliminate that guard. A clever way to dispatch this unlucky fellow is to shoot the fire extinguisher when he's standing next to it. Then plug him when he's distracted.

Continue backtracking with the Colonel, with the ultimate goal of reaching that retinal scanner. Return to the room with the security lasers. You'll notice two flashlight beams from two unseen guards. By the direction of the beams, you can tell where the guards are looking, so wait until the beams disappear. If you follow the perimeter of the room you'll find a small crevice you can hide in on the way to the door. With patience it's easy to slip past the guards; in the event you're spotted, just use the Colonel as a human shield. The guards won't shoot if you have your gun in his ear. Continue on to the retinal scanner, force the Colonel to use it, enter the room, rub out the Colonel, and climb the ladder. Take a another deep breath and save.

Masse in the Crosshairs
You're now in a meeting room flooded with stunning lighting, a staple for Splinter Cell. On the box dead ahead is a frag grenade. Snag it. Walk to the single door on the far wall, but don't open it. Take a look inside the room with the optic cable and note the three guards shooting the breeze. They aren't a threat for now. Place a wall mine to the left of the door—it will be useful later. Open the double door to trigger a scene starring Masse. Move undetected to a vantage point where you can snipe the only guard in the room and watch Masse run for cover like an eight-year-old girl. He's not going anywhere so prepare for potential problems before confronting him.

Make your way to the computers. You should see two wall mines sitting next to the server. Grab them and place one on each side of the double door you entered. Now go back to Masse, grab him, and drag him to the computer with the red screen saver. Force him to download his personal source code. Once you hear the scary music, that's your cue to knock him out. Don't waste any time behind the servers to watch the chaos erupt. Guards have been alerted to your presence—they'll rush through the double doors on the second level to find you, but someone forgot to tell them about the wall mines! The explosive force is usually enough to take out all the guards, but occasionally one makes it through. Alone, he's an easy target with the SC-20K.

Find the unconscious Masse and finish your objective: kill him. Once that's done you must reach the extraction point, which in this instance is the insertion point. Return to the room that contained the three guards (now dead) and enter the ventilation grate on the far wall. Progress through it until you reach an office. There's a frag grenade on the desk you'll probably want, so be sure to grab it.

Cool thing to do #6: Look around the office. Is that a basketball net? Why yes it is, and those are definitely nerf balls on the floor. Try to hit a shot. It's difficult, but it's just one more super spy skill to add to your résumé.

Open the door and move to the opposite wall. Look familiar? You're near the beginning—you just exited the first door that was jammed. Shimmy to the end of the wall and you'll see a guard with his back to you. Sneak up behind him and grab him. Don't be too hasty because in the corridor immediately to your left is a guard patrolling the area with another guard behind him. Drag the first guard back to the door and knock him unconscious. The second guard can be dispatched in a number of ways, but launching a distraction camera and then gassing him works well without startling the other guard. He can be sniped rather easily from a distance. Bolt through the corridor and back through the tunnel to where you started. You'll see the truck, the lights… open the second grate on the other side of the box and you're home free!

Mission accomplished. You're a Kola Cell champ.