Only on Xbox
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, a brilliant new espionage game from Ubi Soft, creeps onto the Xbox just in time for the holidays. You play Sam Fisher, "Splinter Cell"—a one-man infiltration, recon, and assassination squad—working for a new division of the US National Security Agency called Third Echelon. This third-person stealth adventure pushes the Xbox envelope with dazzling graphics, ear-pleasing sound, a page-turning plot packed with tension, and smoothly innovative gameplay. And if you need another reason to congratulate yourself for playing Xbox, get this—it won't be available on any other console.
Sam "Sneaky-Pants" Fisher hard at work.
Spy Noir
Consider Splinter Cell the current Citizen Kaneof Xbox games, because you've never seen a game that looks like it. Ubi Soft has used the Unreal engine to remarkable effect on the graphically muscular Xbox, creating a full-color spy thriller full of crystal-clear sound effects, shifting shadows, sidelong light sources, and generally moody atmosphere. Sam's missions immerse the player in dozens of almost-real-world environments in places like a Georgian police station, a Chinese embassy, an oceangoing oil rig, the HQ of a certain intelligence agency, and a good old-fashioned burning building. The Dolby 5.1 surround sound makes every mission come to life, and can help Sam survive if he listens closely to where the certain sounds come from.
Sam shifts to a more predatory outlook.
SplinterVision
Sam's two alternate vision modes—night vision and infrared—not only look cool as hell, they're also incredibly useful for an agent that must maintain a minimum of contact at almost all times. Many rooms and areas are extremely dark—great for Sam to hide in, equally great for enemies to do the same. You can't overstate the importance of lighting and sound inSplinter Cell. Sam must stay in the shadows to succeed, and something as simple as shooting out a few lights or getting through a single door can turn the tide of the whole operation.
You never know where Sam will pop up.
Sam Fisher himself is perfectly articulated from every angle, even if one does begin to wonder if he showers in his nightvision goggles. Whether he's lurking in the shadows, pressed against the wall, dashing across a courtyard, zip-lining from roof to roof, interrogating a hostage, clambering up a drainpipe, or any one of his many other versatile moves, the super-spy looks supercool. And, I might add, he's got a decent haircut.
A favorite Fisher hangout.
Plots and Peril
The Splinter Cell story line takes place roughly two years from now, and focuses on sudden aggression in the Balkans initiated by the dictatorial president of Georgia (the one that used to be part of the USSR). Things get moving when Lambert, head of Third Echelon, calls Sam Fisher into action and sends the covert operative into the field. The entire mission is as much an investigation as it is a test for Third Echelon itself—if things go wrong, Sam's cut loose and the NSA goes back to assessing intelligence reports from headquarters. I won't spoil the rest, suffice to say the plot has all the twists and turns of a Clancy novel, filled with stealth, tension and furious bursts of exhilarating action. And eventually, like all good super-spies, Sam Fisher's got to save the world.
Stay in the shadows to take your shot.
The game's third-person camera will make even the most die-hard first-person fanatic think twice. Metal Gear's uncontrollable camera will drive you crazy by comparison. The various perspectives Sam can get on his surroundings don't allow you to cheat, either—what you can see is pretty much what Sam can see. Splinter Cell makes excellent use of every button, stick, and trigger on the Xbox controller to give you easy access to Sam's multitude of useful moves. Use X to aim your weapon, A to interact with the environment, Y to jump (even to a zipline or ledge), and B to crouch. Expect to hit B a lot. The under-appreciated Start button opens Sam's Palm Pilot, where you'll spend a lot of time researching your mission, checking maps and notes, or just plain inverting the Y-axis.
So there—you're pretty darn glad you've got that Xbox now, I'll bet. Maybe another game console could pull off the spy-gasm that isSplinter Cell, but the developers didn't waste time trying. Solid Snake, with all due respect, is looking a little soft.
By Ben Barker
