The official name of this game is Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® Pandora Tomorrow™. And, when I see Tom Clancy's name on a game, I instantly ratchet up my expectations about six notches. So far, this has proven to be a good move, as I've always been impressed. The original Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell® and the new Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® 3 prove my point with suitable impact. These games carry the same high quality and real-world plausibility that makes his novels so cool. This latest installment in the adventures of Operative Sam Fisher is no exception.
The game's controls are as follows: The four colored buttons are assigned to Jump, Crouch/Roll, Draw Weapon, and Interact/Reload. The Right Trigger is used for attacking. On the D-pad, you can access Night Vision or Thermal Vision by toggling left or right, and you can select items by toggling up and down.
Stay down. It's windy up here.
Like one of Clancy's books, the game wastes no time getting you into the thick of the action. The mission I played literally started on the roof of a speeding train. The wind ripping by and the sound of the train made me feel like I should be looking ahead for tunnels! It also taught me a quick lesson, which I’d like to pass on to you: Crouching is very handy.
This portion of the game started me out in a couch, and I found that if I stood up, the wind would really do a number on me, so I stayed down. Staying down came in handy later, too.
The next thing I realized was that I had lots of options. I could hang over the side of the train and slither along. I could run along the roof. I could climb down and hang underneath the train, and I could sneak inside through one of the doorways. Never get fixated on one way to complete a mission. If you're not having any luck, there's probably an alternate way.
Approaching the door to one cargo car, I slipped the fiberoptic cable camera under the door. This little gem is just the thing to keep you from opening up a door or hatch to find a nasty surprise. It's fisheye view can show you what's just ahead. In this mission, my object was stealth, so I was happy to know that there was a guard on the other side of the door. Use the camera whenever you can.
The fiberoptic camera. Peekaboo!
After he moved away, I opened the door and crept into the car. It was dark, mostly, but there were patches of light from the illuminated area at the far side of the car. Fortunately, the game offers me a way to know if my foot is sticking out into a bright spot. There's a meter which shows you how "hidden" you are in the environment. This measurement affects whether the A.I. will be able to see you or not. When you want to remain undetected, always keep your eye on the Shadow Meter. If things look a little too bright, you can use your pistol to shoot out lights.
I approached the guard from behind and saw that I had triggered an action option. The legend on the screen allowed me to select the option to grab the fellow, rather than just shoot him with my silenced pistol. Since the object of the mission was not to kill a bunch of civilian guards, I had Sam grab the guy. I was surprised to see that Sam could interrogate him and find out some information about his real target’s location. The dialogue was all voiced (and very convincingly, I might add). After I thought I'd learned everything I could, I pulled the Right Trigger to deliver a knockout blow to his head with the butt of my pistol. Lesson learned: You don't have to kill everyone you come across. Some folks are more useful alive.
Stay calm and quiet if you want to live.
So, keep your head down, stay alert, and keep to the shadows. Good luck!
